Thanks a Lot, God
When his first true love sends 19-year-old Hollis Olmstead a shocking "Dear John" letter while he is serving in the Army, he questions why God has abandoned him. Upon his discharge, he returns with a vengeance to establish an independent life, settling on Omaha, Nebraska, as his adopted hometown. The reader follows him on his journey into manhood and his experiences with God. Sometimes funny, sometimes touching and sometimes painful, Hollis's varied experiences teach him important life lessons.
When his first true love sends 19-year-old Hollis Olmstead a shocking "Dear John" letter while he is serving in the Army, he questions why God has abandoned him. Upon his discharge, he returns with a vengeance to establish an independent life, settling on Omaha, Nebraska, as his adopted hometown. The reader follows him on his journey into manhood and his experiences with God. Sometimes funny, sometimes touching and sometimes painful, Hollis's varied experiences teach him important life lessons.
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
<strong>Thanks</strong> a <strong>Lot</strong>, <strong>God</strong>!<br />
all into the bag. No one asked what size you were or if you<br />
liked boxers or briefs. We were given four of everything.<br />
Shirts, pants, T-shirts, boxers and pairs of socks. We were<br />
measured for shoes and boots, one pair of each. Overcoat,<br />
gloves and liners, helmet and liner and woolen muffler.<br />
All this wealth was then taken back to the barracks, and<br />
we were marched to lunch. I expected at some point to be<br />
marched to the latrine but some things we were expected<br />
to do ourselves.<br />
The next morning, we fell out for roll call. We were<br />
missing two people. We learned later they had decided to<br />
walk into Louisville and take the train home. It was wise<br />
to leave in the dark but not wise to take the wrong road<br />
and end up at the tank training ground. I don't know what<br />
happened to them, but they did not rejoin us.<br />
We were marched to breakfast and then to a long<br />
building where we got medical exams and shots. We then<br />
filed into another building where we were seated and<br />
lectured on what was expected of us during our training.<br />
We were shown a film about the terrors of VD. There was<br />
no training program on how to prevent it, and I wondered<br />
why we were shown this now. For the next six weeks, we<br />
were not allowed off the base, so this must have been<br />
classed as entertainment.<br />
The basic training routine was a mixture of new fun<br />
things like learning the workings of the M-1 Garand rifle,<br />
and new agonizing things like the ten-mile hike with full<br />
pack and the wonderful rifle. In between, we learned how<br />
21
Change language