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Colorado Kool-Aid
Lion in the Mirror Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Thanks for reading Lion in the Mirror Substack! This post is public so feel free to share it.
After I rang the bell that ended a dream, the remainder of my day consisted of medical checks, HR, and career guidance. I packed all my gear and moved to another barracks closer to the Hotel Del Coronado. The quitter’s barracks.
Other quitters walked me through what we would do for the guys who quit during Hell Week of my former class, BUD/s class 200. We were to lead them from the vehicle to the cots inside a classroom where all the quitters would sleep. We would watch over them and help however we could – blankets, water, coffee, medical.
When the workday ended on the day I rang the bell, I went alone – for the first time in a while – to a convenience store on base. I saw the beer in the cooler when I went for the Gatorade. Gold Label winked at me and sang a siren’s song.
I was not 21, and I didn’t consider walking Gold Label down the aisle to the checkout counter. That evening, one of my roommates in the quitter’s barracks explained that base convenience stores sold beer to active-duty members, regardless of their age.
I didn’t know if I believed him, but my next trip to the store, I tested it. Gold Label called to me again. This time I answered, and we strolled down the long aisle toward the cash register together.
All were in observance: Little Debbies, Nerds, Runts, Starbursts, and KitKats. Even red licorice attended. I think I saw peanuts and sunflower seeds – the salty kind that swell your tongue – in the balcony.
A momentous day indeed.
The clerk said: “Six-pack of the Colorado Kool-Aid, two cheap-ass bottles of water. Those fuckers won’t stand up after you open them. I’m just saying. Watch the fuck out. That’s it?”
“Yeap.”
The total, the cash, the change, the ding on the door when I exited into the real world – expectations, concerns, heavy-fucking-shit waiting out there for me and my Gold Label – and two shitty bottles of water.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit onedayalion.substack.com
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By Lion in the MirrorLion in the Mirror Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Thanks for reading Lion in the Mirror Substack! This post is public so feel free to share it.
After I rang the bell that ended a dream, the remainder of my day consisted of medical checks, HR, and career guidance. I packed all my gear and moved to another barracks closer to the Hotel Del Coronado. The quitter’s barracks.
Other quitters walked me through what we would do for the guys who quit during Hell Week of my former class, BUD/s class 200. We were to lead them from the vehicle to the cots inside a classroom where all the quitters would sleep. We would watch over them and help however we could – blankets, water, coffee, medical.
When the workday ended on the day I rang the bell, I went alone – for the first time in a while – to a convenience store on base. I saw the beer in the cooler when I went for the Gatorade. Gold Label winked at me and sang a siren’s song.
I was not 21, and I didn’t consider walking Gold Label down the aisle to the checkout counter. That evening, one of my roommates in the quitter’s barracks explained that base convenience stores sold beer to active-duty members, regardless of their age.
I didn’t know if I believed him, but my next trip to the store, I tested it. Gold Label called to me again. This time I answered, and we strolled down the long aisle toward the cash register together.
All were in observance: Little Debbies, Nerds, Runts, Starbursts, and KitKats. Even red licorice attended. I think I saw peanuts and sunflower seeds – the salty kind that swell your tongue – in the balcony.
A momentous day indeed.
The clerk said: “Six-pack of the Colorado Kool-Aid, two cheap-ass bottles of water. Those fuckers won’t stand up after you open them. I’m just saying. Watch the fuck out. That’s it?”
“Yeap.”
The total, the cash, the change, the ding on the door when I exited into the real world – expectations, concerns, heavy-fucking-shit waiting out there for me and my Gold Label – and two shitty bottles of water.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit onedayalion.substack.com