KS - Fontainebleau
7- Also in my file was a set of orders, dated 11 August 1961, for me to go to Fontainebleau, France on TDY (temporary duty) for 28 days of training on a piece of equipment that I worked with. The odd thing about our communications equipment in SHAPE was that most of it was of an international variety that I didn’t study in stateside training. In fact, I only saw two pieces of equipment that was covered in our classes. Fortunately the principles were the same and I was still able to do my job.
Included was a map of Fontainebleau, but I can’t even presently point out the compound in which the school was located. The reason for this was we went to school all day and at night it was like - - dark. The students mostly just hung around the compound and goofed off after hours. In one such session I was an observer at a beer-drinking contest between two of them. The goal was to be the first to consume a total can of beer. The winner’s time was about 2 seconds flat – maybe less – I think he had done this before.
The scripture comes to mind now that refers to “heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks”, but I didn’t think of it then and was somewhat amazed by this feat. The reason for this was that I didn’t think what I saw was physically possible.
Another oddity of that location was the French girl at the laundry. She learned to speak English from her soldier boyfriend – who just happened to be from the South. This was the first female Southern drawl I had heard in about a year and it had the effect of making me very homesick.
More was learned at the school in Fontainebleau than just the ins and outs of electronic equipment. It was a very serious, up close and personal lesson about how that everybody smiling at me wasn’t my friend and those that didn’t were not necessarily my enemy.
It was a hard lesson that caused me to further isolate and insulate myself from close personal relationships, I had trusted very few before but now that number had dwindled to almost nobody – especially those of the feminine persuasion. This action not only didn’t work very well, but also left some unnecessary emotional baggage that I dragged along for several years. It was OK if they wanted to be involved with me but I determined not to get emotionally close to anyone.
TBC – ec
Included was a map of Fontainebleau, but I can’t even presently point out the compound in which the school was located. The reason for this was we went to school all day and at night it was like - - dark. The students mostly just hung around the compound and goofed off after hours. In one such session I was an observer at a beer-drinking contest between two of them. The goal was to be the first to consume a total can of beer. The winner’s time was about 2 seconds flat – maybe less – I think he had done this before.
The scripture comes to mind now that refers to “heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks”, but I didn’t think of it then and was somewhat amazed by this feat. The reason for this was that I didn’t think what I saw was physically possible.
Another oddity of that location was the French girl at the laundry. She learned to speak English from her soldier boyfriend – who just happened to be from the South. This was the first female Southern drawl I had heard in about a year and it had the effect of making me very homesick.
More was learned at the school in Fontainebleau than just the ins and outs of electronic equipment. It was a very serious, up close and personal lesson about how that everybody smiling at me wasn’t my friend and those that didn’t were not necessarily my enemy.
It was a hard lesson that caused me to further isolate and insulate myself from close personal relationships, I had trusted very few before but now that number had dwindled to almost nobody – especially those of the feminine persuasion. This action not only didn’t work very well, but also left some unnecessary emotional baggage that I dragged along for several years. It was OK if they wanted to be involved with me but I determined not to get emotionally close to anyone.
TBC – ec
posted by mreddie | 5:10 PM
6 Comments:
It’s a good line—“everybody smiling at me wasn’t my friend and those that didn’t were not necessarily my enemy”—and an excellent lesson.
Just a note to thank you for the comment on granny. Good old Willie and On the Road Again. Fortunately, most of our stores are located on one street so it's a relatively short road.
SSN - It was a good lesson but a difficult one at that time in my young life.
granny - That is a good thing at the price of gasoline nowadays. We might all be riding bicycles before long. ec
That's a set of baggage I recognize all too well. I agree with SSN, the line about friends and enemies was especially poignant!
Thanks for sharing :)
And then what happened? I'm agog.
I wonder if you have dreamed about your mother yet. That can be quite healing.
lis - Thanks for the comment - God has helped me be rid of baggage years ago, things are kept very current between He and I.
bjw - In the 22 months I was there I ate very little of their food - mostly army chow. I did like their crusty bread though.
pi - Thanks for the comment - this is a continuing story about which I post a couple of days a week until it's done. Covers the time period 1959 - 1964. I haven't dreamed of Mom a lot, hardly ever lately, but God has helped me with that as with all parts of my life. ec
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