We\nall have our best friends, but have you ever had a \u201cworst friend\u201d. I know it sounds like a paradox, but hear me\nout. I believe most people have\nexperienced a worst friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When\nI was stationed in Fort Lee, VA, I had a guy hang around me all the time. I couldn\u2019t shake him; he was there when I got\nup; he was there when I ate; he was there \u2013 yeah, he may have been in the next\nstall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
My\nblogs over the past year have taken you through my efforts at attempting to be\na good soldier while I was in Basic Training. \n[See: \u201c<\/em>Run, Ryan, Run<\/em><\/a>\u201d<\/em> \u2013 May 8, 2019; \u201c<\/em>Ryan, You Cheated!<\/em><\/a>\u201d<\/em> \u2013 June 12, 2019; Indoctrination<\/em><\/a> \u2013 July 10, 2019; and Go Away, Sunshine<\/em><\/a> \u2013 July 24,\n2019. This is a continuation of my life\nin Fort Lee, Virginia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So,\nthere was this guy, I\u2019ll call him Ziggy. \nI can\u2019t remember where he came from, how I was introduced to him, or\neven if he was in the same company as me. \nHe just showed up like an abandoned puppy, and stuck by my side no\nmatter what I did, where I was going, or with whom I was with. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I\ntried to be subtle at first that I didn\u2019t want him around me all the time. Some people just aren\u2019t able to take\nhints. So, I was up front with him. That didn\u2019t work, either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fate\nwas the eventual winner. Ziggy woke me\none morning to ask a favor. \u201cIf they\ncome to you and ask if I borrowed your CPO last night will you tell them\nyes?\u201d A CPO<\/a> was a popular jacket in the early\n70s. I said, \u201cwho is they? And why would I want to tell them I lent you\na jacket?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ziggy,\nserious as could be, told me that \u201cthe Military Police arrested me last night for\npossession of marijuana. It was in the\npocket.\u201d I was definitely awake at that\npoint. Did I hear him correctly? He wanted to say that the jacket he was\nwearing was mine, and that there was MJ in the pocket when I lent it to\nhim? Did he think I was that\nstupid? Obviously, the answer to all questions\nwas \u201cyes\u201d. I told him \u201cno\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\ndidn\u2019t make any difference what I told him, he kept to his story. It wasn\u2019t long before I was scheduled to talk\nto the JAG [Judge Advocate General]. I\nshowed up in \u201cmy\u201d CPO. I didn\u2019t have to\nanswer that many questions. I think the\nJAG knew Ziggy hadn\u2019t told them one ounce of truth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ziggy\noften wanted to borrow something of mine. \nHe wanted to borrow my Rare Earth<\/a> album and he\ndidn\u2019t have a turntable on which to play it. \nHe was constantly asking to \u201cborrow\u201d a cigarette, even though I could\nsee he had a pack in his pocket. An\noccasional cigarette \u2013 Okay. He was not\ngoing to borrow my Rare Earth Get Ready<\/a> album. It was my favorite album; I only had about 3\nor 5. I wasn\u2019t falling for that one!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\ndidn\u2019t see Ziggy for a while. Then, one\nevening, I was heading down the hall to use the men\u2019s room. Sergeant Youngblood was standing against the\nwall with a loaded pistol holstered on his belt. I glanced at him and he said nothing. I walked into the men\u2019s room and there was Ziggy,\nattempting to climb out the window. We\nwere on the 3rd<\/sup> floor. There\nwas a second story rooftop to the right, but he was going to have to swing over\nto it in order to keep from dropping three stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\nasked him: \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d He came\nback with a question of his own. \u201cIs\nYoungblood still out there?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah,\nHe\u2019s leaning against the wall. I\nwondered why he was there. Going\nsomewhere?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ziggy\ntold me they were sending him up to the stockade, but not if he could escape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He\nhad told Youngblood that he couldn\u2019t go while being watched, so the sergeant\nwent out the door and told him to make it quick. I knew Youngblood was a little slow, but I\ndidn\u2019t think he was totally na\u00efve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\ndid my brief chore in the men\u2019s room and left Ziggy hanging out the\nwindow. Youngblood asked me if Ziggy was\nstill in there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYep. He\u2019s still hanging around.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n I\nwent back to my bunk and never saw Ziggy again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We all have our best friends, but have you ever had a \u201cworst friend\u201d. I know it sounds like a paradox, but hear me out. I believe most people have experienced a worst friend. When I was stationed in Fort … Continue reading