Do you really want to know?

[saffronhare]

Had to do some writing for the US Army today (long story), and ended up visiting West Point online for some research. If you want a glimpse into the first 20+ years of my life and corresponding worldview, have a look:

http://www.west-point.org/academy/malo-wa/inspirations/buglenotes.html

Background: The linked document covers a thing called Cadet Knowledge. Over the course of their entire first year at Woo Poo U, cadets are required to memorize this stuff and be able to "pop off" with it (that is, recite with great enthusiasm) on demand. I was a very good cadet.

It was some small comfort to realize that I didn't STILL have ALL of them memorized...and even greater comfort to notice that I was conducting debates with them in my head.

Comments

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

The three rules of thumb make sense for everyday life, really, but I don't get the bit about the cow.

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

I never really got it, either. Thankfully, very few upperclassmen ever asked me, "How's the Cow?" Because then I would have had to keep a straight face while I answered.

Part of its origin lies in the fact that, back in the Old Corps, nobody got to go home until they were second-class cadets (Juniors). They're called "cows" because they used to ride the old cattle trains back from NYC to West Point...and the "cows came home." Not all of them came back, so it was a big deal. It's also a nice, ridiculous break from reciting the Definition of Discipline all the time.