The March Back

They're back, intact! The class of 2012, "For More Than Ourselves."

Today won the prize for the biggest surprise.

I was in MoreMart, on the phone in consult with C about which shoes to get BB3 for his birthday. After the shoe business was concluded, C asked me if we would hear from M today. We have been warned repeatedly that the cadoodles will be busy, busy, busy moving in, standing in line, and generally getting *squared away* for school to start on Thursday, so I told her we should not expect to hear anything until the weekend. And then I hung up.

And immediately the phone rang again. It was M!!!!! Back from Buckner, all in one piece and happy. Tired, exhausted, with a whole crop of new blisters which fortunately did not appear until the very end, but definitely happy. Proud. And accomplished.

When I got home I immediately signed in with Plebe Net to check for new Waldo sightings. "Where's Waldo" has slowed down to almost non-existent the last few weeks, due not to any lack of interest on my part, but rather to the fact that I have studiously inspected every picture on the internet and there are no more Waldos to be found. Now with the passing of the March Back and with the advent of A Day, I expect to be back on full-time duty with the Waldo hunters again soon. I have only had a glance through the new crop of pictures posted so far, and alas, no Waldo has been revealed, but the game is young, and there are many more pictures to come.

One remarkable thing I noticed, though: Among the 100's and 100's of cadoodles coming home to West Point, there are big smiles on many, many, many of the faces. What a striking difference from R Day, when there was only fear and apprehension on every face, including those of the parents and other spectators. What a wondrous change West Point has wrought. In *only* seven weeks of Beast Barracks, a bunch of mostly scared, uncertain new cadets was transformed into a band of confident survivors, and I stand, once again, in total admiration.

So 2008 CBT joins the legends of West Point, and now on to the next challenge.

That officer lady, back in that other reality of R Day, was right: They have what it takes.