Yesterday I met Infantryman Private Black of the United States Army.

On that day the remodel for our family owned AMPM, had just passed the Health Inspection and we were in the process of moving back in the merchandise.  I was helping out, and the store was only open for those that wanted to buy gas.

Along comes Private Black (dressed in standard issue camo - patches and all) with his brother.  I wasn’t really dressed as an employee at the time but I did tell him that the store wasn’t going to be open for another 20 minutes, casually leaving out the only for gas part (as some people might get angry), hoping he’d go somewhere else.  I didn’t really know what was with his brother, but the borther just walked off.  Private Black however said he could wait all day, he proceeded to sit on the curb just outside the store and eat what looked to be a pretty good burrito.  I offered him a soda in the meantime until the store opened.

I have to admit that when I first started to talk with Private Black I wasn’t quite sure about his mental stability, but he was dressed in standard issue ‘digi’ camo fatigues (usually you don’t see those types walking the streets of my town) and I later learned that he was already halfway through his training at Fort Benning, Georgia.  So, if the Army could deal with him I’m sure I could.

As we talked I learned that Private Black had come from Escondido and signed up to join the army from here.  His brother, who had walked off, had a very short temper and got angry pretty quickly, Black explained.  Black said that the army had taught him patience and how to deal with anger if it were to arise (how such teaching manages to negate those that go on shooting rampages in war zones, I don’t know).  Black was a particularly intelligent young man for somebody who had a slight studder and couldn’t quite understand that Baghdad was not a different war zone then Iraq but in fact the capitol of Iraq, and in the same theater of combat.

He seemed to be a person that had his whole life planned out ahead of him.  Stay in the army for 20 years, do his country proud, and make money as he stated.

I on the other hand was quite confused as to what my future held.  Currently I am going through some changes in my life that will affect what I do for the rest of my life.  Apart from some medical scares I’ve had in the past few months and my house almost burning down, I’ve come to discover the current major I am pursuing at the University isn’t right for me.  And here was a fellow who had his life on a straight and true heading.  In the back of my mind I thought to myself, “this fellow probably couldn’t locate Fort Benning on a map yet I could actually learn something from him?”

His philosophies about life were pretty simple and there might be some things in there that everybody should live by, but I’ve never heard anybody express it so passionatly (minus the studder) as Private Black. 

If hit, defend yourself but let your opponent run. 

If given respect give back the same, if shown none allow the other time to show. 

If one comes across another who makes money and he preaches money is no object, then he who has such and preaches such things deserves no money.

I hope he does well in which ever direction his path may take him.

The last I saw of him he was offered (and took) a ride with a gentleman who had yelled “Marine!” halfway across the gas station pumps.  I casually blurted outed “He’s in the army.”   The gentleman, who was white and rather large driving a rather ‘big for the road’ SUV, looked at me pretty disgruntled that I a brown Indian had had more wits then him.  - But I would be remised if I didn’t say it made me feel good inside that not only had I one upped this clearly racist fellow, but that Private Black would get a ride from this gentleman to wherever he needed to go.