PFC Daniel A. Hendrix

Today was the last day of our visit to see Daniel graduate. He graduated from 3^rd Battalion, 34^th Infantry, Bravo Company. Tomorrow (Sunday), he jumps in a bus and heads for Fort Lee, VA for his Quartermaster school for 10 weeks. We had a great two days here with him. We bowled, shopped, ate, and generally cut-up the whole time. Daniel always brought a “battle-buddy” along who was alone and without family. I’ve included some pictures on my flickr account of the graduation. You can look at them here. We were so busy, I forget to get any pictures of him. This picture to the left is taking at 8pm at night at his barracks and it’s our final moments with him before we leave. He looks very serious in the picture but it’s right before saying goodbye and he’s already had some emotional and tearful time with Mom saying goodbye. It was hard leaving him.

US Army BCT Family Day

We got to finally see PFC (Private First Class) Daniel today. He looked incredible in uniform. Today was Family Day where we watched him form up with his company. They released him at noon and we had him back at 1945 hours (7:45pm for you civilians). We went bowling and shopping but the main thing Daniel wanted to do was eat REAL food. We did Taco Bell, snacks, and finally Outback Steakhouse where he ordered the 20 ounce steak. Tomorrow is the actual graduation and we get to spend the day with him again until 1945 hours again. It’s been a full day and I’m exhausted. You can see some pictures here.

It’s time to see the third of our sons graduate from Basic Combat Training. Daniel graduates this Thursday and Friday at Fort Jackson, SC. He’s been there for the last 9 weeks and he’s really glad it’s almost over. Next, he goes to AIT at Fort Lee, VA. We leave tomorrow (Wednesday, October 29, 2008) and have Timothy (our youngest son) with us out of school. We both have our Canon cameras and will be updating flickr.com during the trip. Enjoy the trip with us.

Living in the country is great except for those county back roads where there’s only a few inches between the edge of the road and a three foot ditch! Daniel was driving with Mom next to him in the passenger seat when the gas light went off and Daniel looked down for a split second. When he looked up, it was too late. They slid down the ditch for about 200 feet until they stopped. Everyone’s fine, the car’s in the shop, and we’re just waiting to hear what the damage is. Thank goodness for insurance — except that $500 deductible.
(click image for larger picture)

Midnight in the Emergency Room! Well, here we sit as I look at my son sitting in a stretcher complaining of persistent side pain that won’t go away. Personally, I thought he just stretched something at his soccer game but Mom wants to make sure. Dads — we’re just mean ogres who won’t spend money. Oh, well. This is what happens when Mom talks to a nurse from church who says to have it checked real soon. She’s a Mom, too. It’s a conspiracy. Anyway, the nurse said it will be quite a while before the doctor gets here so I’ll do another update in a few hours.