News from Jared

Hi to all of Jared's friends..this is Jared's Mom. We got a letter from him on Friday, and he asked us to post it. We are guessing he means on his blog, since he sent his password! Anyway, this is pretty much his letter to us verbatim. Again, I know he would really enjoy letters from anyone who would care to write--just please don't send any food, photos larger than wallet size, colored envelopes or anything else that would get him into trouble. Thanks from us, and from Jared, for all your prayers and support. And now, in Jared's own words:

Saturday, 8/26/06 Happy b-day Mom!

Hey family,

To start out with, I’m doing fine. No need to worry. (I wasn’t told to say that) So far nothing’s been a huge shock. And they say the two worst days are over, so I’m feeling confident. To begin with, I got window seats on both planes, so I was happy about that. Then when we got to San Diego airport, we waited for the buses (Jared Bushman had already gotten there so we’re in different platoons, and I haven’t seen him since). We all waited in line for about an hour. I’ve never stood for so long. Three people passed out right there. Finally we got to the camp and it was like they all say. You’re told to get on the footprints, and you get yelled at. I wasn’t real scared, I was shivering a little but I really think it was just cold. (It was.) We all eventually filed in and got our heads shaved. Then we stayed up until about 11 pm the next day. We got four hours of sleep, we’ve been processing until yesterday. Lots of waiting, and learning basic military rules. We got everything issued too, but I think that will be about it for waiting around. Black Friday was yesterday. The drill instructors…introduced themselves. Again, I kept in mind it was a head game, and eventually we got through it unphased. I know not to screw up now or else, but I’m not afraid of everything. Today we’ve not been doing much. I’m writing this now ‘cause the senior DI is taking care of other people, paperwork and such. I’m a little sore today; yesterday we had an initial strength test. I did 10 pull-ups, 66 sit ups in two minutes, and 1 ½ miles in 10:50. That’s only the second time I’ve run that far. Let’s see, random stuff about here. We are by an airport, and planes go by, (not overhead) about every 5 minutes. So close you can’t hear anything. We have to sit cross-legged everywhere we sit down (‘cept for chow), but even at chow, we have to sit forward so the only back support I ever have is at night. I miss you guys a lot and I’ll be thinking of you, Mom on your bday today. It’s slowly sinking in that this is more than summer camp. It’s a lifestyle. I have mixed feelings about that, but generally I’m fine with it. It’ll be different outside boot camp. Meals here last about 10 minutes, but the way we file in a recruit only has about 5 minutes to eat. That’s ok. I like eating fast anyway. Sorry, I know this letter isn’t very collected, but maybe you can understand that things are still a blur. I’m sure future letters will be better. (I’m periodically to answer the DI’s questions too.) If one of you has the time, could you post this letter or info in the letter? I don’t know when I can send this. A few days ago I tried to call you guys on a pay phone collect, but I guess I screwed something up and it wouldn’t let me. I think that’s been my lowest point so far. I was pretty frustrated, but other than that I’m doing well. Yesterday and the 21^st were supposed to be the hardest, so I think I’m set. It’s still a stressful surrounding, but I don’t think I’ll flip out at all. I’ll write you more when I get to gather my thoughts, and I’ll send you the address as soon as I can. In the meantime, check with the recruiters. I love you guys.

Letter 2

Hey guys. Sorry it’s taken so long for me to write, but this is the first official time I’ve gotten. I don’t know what the date is. I know it’s Monday, but not the date. At any rate, I hope you had a good bday Mom, and happy bday Rachel and Dad. I was sorry to miss your bdays, and I was thinking of you, Mom a lot on the 26^th. Anyway, yesterday we went to church, and the service was a Pentecostal mix. It was surprisingly one of the best services I have ever been to. They sang all my favorite songs. Then afterwards, I went to a sort of Bible study thing. I’m surprised to find out that boot camp has a lot of religious times. There’s even time set aside to pray every night with others. Anyway, Sunday was probably the best day here. Let’s see, about my life. I know I’ve said some stuff in the other note, but I’ll try and think of some more. Hygiene – shower for maybe 7 minutes, 3 guys to a head. And we are told when to go pee. That’s about 1 minute, three guys to a head. Schedule – We get up (now) around 5am and go to bed at about 11 pm. Or later. We have no idea (now) what will happen in 2 minutes from now. We aren’t told any schedules. They say it’s part of the disorientation and mounting of stress. Right now we’re in our beds at about 11:30pm. We’re unofficially allowed to write now, but that could change. Depends on the DI. Eventually, we’ll have daytime free time, but no one knows when. So for now, I have no idea when I’ll write again. And I don’t know when I’ll receive any letters that get sent to me. I haven’t made any friends really. No time. And I never see Jared B. But still most guys can be pretty friendly. Oh yeah, of course you want to know about the hair. Yeah, it’s short. I’d run my fingers through it 24/7 if I didn’t get yelled at for it. And yes, I have gotten yelled at. The DIs like to spit when they yell at your face, so it’s not too pleasant. It’s a lot like the stories. But you kinda just deal with it. Although 12 weeks of it…I try not to dwell on that. Well, if you guys decide you want to write me after all, you can. Things I might appreciate getting is letters, a fam picture, stamps, and if you could make a special effort to get me A’s new address and give her mine, that’d be good. I’m going to try and get a letter to her through you. It’d probably be faster. So if you can do that for me, I’d appreciate it. Mail me more questions, and I’ll try to answer them.

Love you all,

Jared (I mean, "This Recruit") J

p.s. if you guys are thinking about spending time up here, you should. I can see some San Diego houses on a hill, some skyscrapers, and always blue skies and palm trees so far. Who knows,,, under the right circumstances, it could be real nice. Love you.