Hurry up and Wait

When I first joined the Army in 1983 I remember in basic training the drill sergeants who would herd us all along like cattle from each activity to each activity. No time to waste...hurry hurry hurry gotta get somewhere fast and do something quick. Then we would get there....and WAIT. For along time...just stand there and wait. Hurry got to go to a class...hurry to the range...hurry to chow...hurry to more classes....blah blah blah. I kind of relived all that again when I went to the MEPS center to get my physical and to process into the Guard. "Here get in this line to get weighed....stand in this line to draw your blood....wait here for you hearing test... and wait here to see the Doctor". In 23 years, the Army still gets us to hurry up and wait. AHHHHHH! Oh well. If you can't beat them....join them. Which I did. Waiting is the worst thing. It makes you feel helpless. Thats kinda how I feel right now. Excited and helpless all at the same time. You see I am waiting. Waiting to see if I am going to be deployed to Iraq. I have volunteered to go and have the approval from my Unit Commander and our Colonial. It is working its way up the chain. The state mobilization office says this can take 4 to 6 weeks. So I am in line....waiting. It would be fine if I knew an exact date then I could do my planning. I have already begun that, but I really want a date to tell people. And the worst part is the thought that maybe they wont take me afterall. Thats my biggest fear right now. A friend asked me if I was scared about going to Iraq. I told him I was only afraid of not going. I guess I just need to take a breath and relax.

A cold day in the Theater beats a warm day at Work

Well I have not had my furnance working now for over a week. Last night and tonight it will get real cold. But I do have hot water and little space heaters, and Elvis (my yellow lab) to keep me warm. He has been sleeping next to me since the first time I brought him home from the shelter. He is the most loving goof ball I have ever known. He is also the most important thing in my life right now. How pathetic is that? LOL. Today is a long day for me because it is the tech rehearsal for Auntie Mame which I am directing. I have been doing community theater now for well over 9 years. In 1997, I was sitting around talking to my friend Warren and he asked me to read a play he had written that he was submitting to a New Play festival at Albany Civic Theater. Well I read it with much gusto and we both laughed. Lo and behold in the late summer of that year his play was excepted in the festival. He asked me to come to auditions. Well I had never done any formal theater before and was working a crappy job at the time and was tired all the time. So on the night of the auditions, I told him no I was just going to stay home. As soon as hung up I felt guilty. I was in a bad place. He was offering me an opportunity to get out of my funk and I just turned him down. So I called him back and told him to swing by and pick me up. I was going to go and support him. Well at the auditions I was surprized on how people reacted to my reading. I left there with not one but two parts. That day changed my life. I am in theater today because of Warren. Over the last 9 years I have acted, directed and produced dozens and dozens of times. I have lost count. I have been President of Albany Civic Theater and am currently President of the Classic Theater Guild. It has been some ride. The people who have come into my life these past 9 years have greatly enhanced my life. I love them all very much. I dont know where I'd be without them. At any rate, I gotta go be "creative". See ya later.

All American - and a Yankee fan 

Here I am...still a civilian.....lol 

Why?

Well many of my friends have been asking me that question? Why? There is much speculation as to why I have chosen to go back in to the Army. I have not heard all the speculation yet, but I can guess it. "Perhaps he's having a midlife crisis." Now most men my age who go through a "mid-life" crisis start dating younger people (much younger) and buy new expensive toys like corvettes or boats or something. This is not me. It is true that I have been experiencing alot of different emotions lately. Since my mother died in March of last year, I have been thinking alot about what I want to do with the rest of my life. Her death has brought back memories about my father (who died in 1991). In many ways, I think there are still many unresolved issues with his death. I also have two brothers who have died (my brother Walter who died in January of last year) and my brother Bob (who died in 2003) and I feel the same about their deaths. A good friend told me yesterday that he thought I was seeking "glory". Hmmmmm. I denied it, and yet I did tell him that I was proud of my brother Ron (who volunteered to go to Vietnam) and my Dad (who volunteered in WWII and Korea). So maybe he's closer to the real reason then I care to admit. See you tommorow.

A little bit about me

Hello one and all...Well its a cold February night in Albany, NY. I am a little tired but I wanted to start my blog tonight to reflect on what I have been up to the last few months. For those who know me, you will know some of this already. For those who dont know me, here is a little about me. My name is Glenn Read. I was born in August 1964 (which makes me 41 years old.) I was born in Texas and moved with my family (my father was in the military) to upstate NY in about 1966. There I grew up and graduated High School in 1982. Noone in my family ever went to college before me, so I was convinced that the only thing I should do out of school was to join the Army. After all, this is what my father did and two of my brothers. So in the summer of 1983 I joined the Army and did my Basic and Advance Individual Training in Ft. Jackson SC. After that I went to Ft Hood Texas to begin my 2 year stint. Duty was good there but I was young and missed home. So I applied for a State Side Swap (with a soldier who was stationed at Ft. Drum, NY near my home town (Watertown). I finished my active duty in August 1985. Right after I left active duty, I was assigned to the 479th Engineer Battalion (Army Reserves). For the next 10 years, I served in the Reserves and was promoted to E-6. My various jobs included Administrative Specialist, Legal Specialist, and finally, Retention/Reenlistment NCO. But for reasons I can't fully explain, I decided not to reenlist in the Reserves in 1995 after serving for over 12 years. I have always regretted this decision. Well as it turns out, I ended up going to college after all, with Army money and student loans. The Army money dried up quickly, but the student loans are still with me. I have a BA in Political Science and almost a MA as well. I am working on getting that taken care of as well. I have had many jobs (mostly non-profit) over the last 20 years. The last 7 I have been the Director of Community Centers for people with HIV/AIDS. I will be leaving that position in a few days. So anyway, back in October I get a call from SFC Bernardo a Recruiter for the NY Army National Guard. I had visited a web site to inquire about rejoining the Army and to finish what I had started 23 years ago. I told him that I was busy at the moment and ask him to call me back. He did (a month later). My first statement to him was "What will the Army want with a 41 year old, fat guy like me?" He laughed and told me to come see him. So I did. Well in that first meeting I told him I thought I was too fat. So he weighed me and as it turns out I was 33 pounds overweight! He was supportive though and told me that he would start working with me. This was mid-November. Because there was an over 10 year break in service I needed a full physical and to take the ASVAB again. I took that test and scored higher then I had ever done. But the problem was the weight. I had to get back to 176 (my max weight for my age and height). I was at 209. Realistically, I was looking at late spring/early summer before I could enlist. But, I was motivated and so I went to work. Each week, SFC Bernardo had me back to weigh me. Each week I lost about 4 pounds. I was dieting and exercising everyday. But its not easy losing weight when you have Thanksgiving, Holiday Parties, Christmas, New years, ect. But somehow...I did it. On January 12th, I had my physical and I weighed an even 176! One week later, I was sworn in. So after over 10 years, I am proud to say...I'm a soldier again!