Posted on 10/30/2005 7:56:46 PM PST by The Mayor
Thanks, Dubya.
The date, The Marine Corps Birthday, of course, is as much a part of us as our own birthday.
Right after that is the date when we as individuals entered the hallowed 'halls of Montezuma'..:)
Know you'll laugh at this one, but today I was looking for something in my Bible, and among the 'treasures' tucked in it, is a sheet 53 years old (June 1952) with my Marine Corps GCT (General Classification Tests) Scores on it.
With a Perfect Score established at 161, there were 4 sections - Reading & Vocabulary, Arithmetic Computation, Arithmetic Reasoning, and Pattern Analysis.
There were 73 women in my Platoon, spread along rows of desks placed end to end, with half a dozen men handing out the tests and watching to be sure we did not look at our neighbors' answers. Each one was timed, and promptly collected.
The Average Score for a person was 100.
The fellow on my row was, well - flirty - and 'reassured me' when he placed each part in front of me to just take my time.
That was especially true with the last one - surely Pattern Analysis was a Man's Domain, and I was to take my time and not worry about finishing the 100 of them in the 5 minutes allowed.
HA! I smiled sweetly and thanked him - child's play for the daughter of an engineer who surveyed our land (he holding the rod, and me working the transit) at age 11, and was the first girl at Melbourne High (Florida) to take Mechanical Drawing.
Required to do 6 assignments every 6 weeks, I did them at home on my drafting board, and in class visited with my boyfriend when he came in from football/baseball practice, in the hall, with the teacher's blessing. He taught shop to 7th grade boys at the same time as the 5 in our class, and didn't care.
I zipped through the Pattern Analysis well before the time was up, put down my pencil, and he noticed, and had a shocked expression on his face...a worse one when he graded it and out of 161, I had a 151 - truly a Never Underestimate The Power of A Woman Moment..:))
It wasn't for me a Man/Woman thing or "competition" of any kind - I just loved learning and doing things well.
That was balanced with all the normal Southern Lady things a girl had to conquor that my mother (had been a school teacher) taught me.
My parents were far ahead of their time in thinking a child should be what they wanted to be, regardless of gender, and simply do as well as they could.
((((hugs)))) Lady!! Another one of your wonderful stories....and what a smart Marine you were. Perfect score! Not many people could boast of that, I'll bet!
"It wasn't for me a Man/Woman thing or "competition" of any kind - I just loved learning and doing things well."
I have always been like that, never a man/woman thing... always love to learn and doing things well, like you :-) And we learn something new everyday. Will always be like that. Though, I do have a bit of competitiveness when it comes to sports, I do like to win :-) Must be something I learned from my brother's.
Hope you and yours are doing well.
Oh, yes - when I was stationed at Parris Island and went to the outdoor pool to swim, invariably fellows would dare me to race them.
A Florida girl who grew up near the ocean and pools?! While I was not at all a Big Person or especially strong swimmer, I knew from competitive teen years to dive in and instantly swim as hard as I could.
Oh - did I mention I always made the bets for ACROSS the pool rather than the LENGTH of it?!!
Noooooo - not cheating at all; just a guarantee I was never beaten. LOL
LOL, good for you Maggie! When we were young ones, in the summer we would play Clue, Monopoly, Scrabble, etc. And, we use to have Chess and Backgammon tournaments at my neighbors house. Guess I have a little bit of 'geek' in me :-) I love to play tennis with my sister, though we haven't played in a while. We both have that 'I want to win' attitude and we are at the same level
I was the last of three daughters, with NO brothers.
I therefore chopped kindling and later wood for the fireplace, and was The Yard Person, from age 11.
Mind you, mowing was with a push reel mower in tough Florida grass, and I used a hand swing to lower the growth in the citrus grove next to the house.
Really was ecstatic when at 15 we acquired a power mower! Loved outdoor and indoor work...it all made life easy as I roamed the States with all kinds of 'challenges.'
I miss the farm.
I'm buying the stamps for sure! Thanks for the post. LOL.
GIRL POWER!
You always find the neatest gifs!
Thats for sure. Way to go Maggie Marine.
P.S. Loved your Scary Kerry graphic :-)
(Going to watch it now...)
Good evening.
Hiya Darks. So how did it go?
Heh heh heh.
Fairly good.
And.. I was asked to draw a beagle.
No shooting or fireworks?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.