Make A Lake

It was this game we played on Parris Island. The drill instructor called us up to the quarterdeck in groups of five or so and thrashed us real good - I mean he'd wear us out to muscle failure, and then call up the next group. Round and round it went, sometimes for hours at a time. I like to think it prepared me for something - like not giving up when that's all you really want to do. In the beginning it damn near killed all of us, but by the end you'd go up there on your own to help a buddy who looked like he was going to buckle by suffering with him - you transfused your motivation, your savage chi - and you pulled each other through, smiling covertly as we simulated the breast stroke in two inches of sweat. Doing it alone is harder.