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In case you have just rejoined this narrative, we are in Annapolis to witness and share in the induction of Jody's nephew Kevin in the United States Naval Academy. Kevin wants to be an astronaut, and becoming a naval aviator is one of the best ways to fly in the U.S. space program. The Naval Academy is appropriately surrounded by water on 3 sides. Located in the historic town of Annapolis, it is a beautiful campus, spacious, with imposing granite buildings set back from tree-lined roadways. We all took a guided tour of the campus, which began with the aquatic center, below. As you may imagine, all USNA students must become expert swimmers. In addition, all midshipmen must jump off the highest platform below wearing some or all of their gear. Also, they have to swim 1/2 mile in all of their gear in under 40 minutes. Failure to comply with these or other of the many physical requirements is cause for ejection from The Academy -- but they do get as many tries as they need, so it is not quite as bad as it sounds.
Below Amira and Kevin listen to our guide describe the building featured in the following 2 photographs. The large glass arch you see in the background was formerly an opening through which ships passed in order to be loaded with ammunition. Now a multi-purpose room used by the students, it used to be a waterfront armory.
The student lounge area, where students may entertain parents or guests, who are not allowed into the student's dorm rooms.
The is Bancroft Hall, which houses all 4,000 plus midshipmen, which is the rank that all USNA students hold until they graduate. This shot looks a bit odd since it is a composite of 4 shots, giving you a nearly 180 degree view of this magnificent building. For those of you with either high bandwidth or patience, you can click on the small image below and get the full 1.5MB version, which gives you a proper sense of how large this edifice really is.
This is the Memorial Room at the rear of Bancroft Hall, where special events are sometimes held. It is a meditation room of sorts (as can be seen by the expression on Kevin's face).
And this is the on-campus chapel. Midshipmen are "encouraged" (whatever that means) to attend some religious service each week. As it turns out, Kevin joined the church choir this summer within his first week, partly to get away from his squad leader for a while, and partly because they serve pizza. How is that for a Higher Calling? Midshipmen are forbidden from marrying while students. While on the tour we learned that, on the first Saturday following graduation day (called Commissioning Day), the chapel is booked solid all day for a series of weddings -- every 30 minutes!
After the tour, we were allowed to shop in the Midshipman's Store (open to friends and family only once or twice per year). Below we all proudly model our purchases. Joya has a T-shirt that says "United States Naval Academy" in gold lettering. Kevin is wearing a new watch (required gear). Michael's hat says USNA. Jordan's T-shirt says Navy and is exactly like the P.E. T-shirts worn by Plebes (first year midshipmen -- "lowest of the low"). I am holding a bottle of sparkling grape juice with a USNA label. Amira is holding a USNA T-shirt which has the names of the entire class of 2005 on the back. Kenny's USNA hat has the ever-popular "BEAT ARMY" expression, which we heard or say several times a day while in Annapolis. For those of you from other planets or ignorant of college sports, this refers to the legendary rivalry between the Army and Navy. Since the early 1900s they have played a much-contested football game each year.
This is one of the main historic streets in the city of Annapolis. Note the brick street, gas lamps and architecture. This is really a quaint, lovely little town.
After the Elgans deposited their son on "I-Day" (induction day), we all waited around on campus, hoping to catch a glimpse of Kevin's transformation into a Plebe. We did see him through a window in one building, being issued some sneakers and carrying a duffel bag of his gear, sporting his new hair cut, but these pictures did not come out well. Joya caught Kevin loading his 60-pound bag of gear onto the truck on their way to the dorm room.
We did not see him again until all 1000 plus new Plebes were inducted during the Induction Ceremony. Kevin was a little shell-shocked and starving, and we only had a half hour before he was sucked back into the vortex. He ate nearly the whole time we were with him -- anything we could find to give him.
At 1900 hours (7 PM for you landlubbers) Kevin had to say goodbye. There were sad and hopeful tears all around. Kevin kept it together lots better than we all did. His parents would not hear from him, except by letter, for 3 weeks or so, when he is granted his first 3-minuted phone call. Welcome to the Navy.
Besides the Elgans and the Thomases, 2 sets of Mulroys were also in attendance, although we lamely failed to get a picture of them. Mike and Judy Mulroy were present, up from Georgia, and Mickey and Mary Beth Mulroy and family were down from Washington D.C. We all went out to dinner that night and got a good visit in, and then headed off in our separate directions. It was a sobering reminder that our children were going to go away at some point, too, and Jody and I realized that we were really not looking forward to our turn. July 1 to July 5 - Decompression
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