Friday, March 02, 2007

I've got a Major Pain


The leaf, originally uploaded by Monkey loves Kitten.

Cap'n Kitten is no longer. We now have a Major Pain living here. Brandon was promoted March 1. There was a five minute ceremony at the Marines' offices here. The second in command performed the ceremony as the number one guy was out of town. I think we got the better one of the two having heard the Colonel speak in public before. Awkward fellow. Anyway, there were about eight in attendance and I got to enjoy that uneasy feeling of being the only one in the room not standing at attention. Never sure how to handle that one. The senior Marine in Brandon's squadron, Flipper, and I had the honor of removing the captain's bars and replacing them with the golden oak leaves. I failed to understand the instruction to "place the stem parallel to the deck" but the promotion stuck anyhow. Afterwards Flipper commented that he missed a moment of the ceremony when Amelia, in her car carrier atop a desk, let one rip. That's our girl. She wanted to participate. Can you blame her? We had a family lunch out in town (fancy!). We then came home where I cermoniously chucked the pair of bars I had taken off earlier right into the trash. Brandon changed into his flight suit, switched to a new name badge bearing the proper title and headed off to work to try to remember to answer the phone with his new moniker. I tested him later - he passed. I think he'll do just fine.

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:22 PM

    Hey, congrats! Any truth to the rumor that promotion always leads to relocation?

    Copperkist

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  2. Not this time. We'll be here for two more years at least. Then it'll probably be back to the east coast. Southern-style east coast, that is. The kid's got his eye set on the silver oak leaf next so now we have to start playing the game. And apparently I'll have to start behaving myself. Dang. :)

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  3. Don't tell me...drunk mommies who like to dance at the PX with panties on their head are frowned upon? Whatever. The military is soooo uptight.

    Also, I keep singing that XTC song "Generals and majors uh huh, they're never too far from battlefields so glorious."

    Congrats!

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  4. Anonymous7:14 AM

    next time please save me the golden oak leaf instead of throwing it away
    I want it

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  5. Congrats Doggie! Guess you won't be taking headers into bushes anymore. Gotta be 'spectful an 'awl.

    In the immortal words of Hee Haw...
    Salllluute!

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