GRUNT TALES

"The Goodie Box"

     Okay, we all know some officers aren't all there, but mine was family ( my father ) that

 messed me over somewhat.

     Now, as for most of us, when we got a letter asking us if we needed anything. We hoped

 that a package of "KOOL-AID" was in it, you know, to take away the nasty water taste.

 So, once when I wrote my dad, (he was a  officer still in reserves and Lt. Colonel ) I asked

 him to please send a package of "KOOL-AID" in his next letter. In his next letter, he

 asked my "WHY" when he wrote back . Why else, the water tasted worst than sewer

 water and we had to use an assortment of pills for Malaria and what not. So once again

 wrote back telling him so. So like John "JD" Schellers' story, when we were in an area

 where we could receive mail, here came what I thought was a package that I figured had

 the "Kool-Aid" in it that I could share with everyone.  But no, the officer that my father

 is, reared it's ugly head. You see, my father wasn't content sending me one or two

 packages of "Kool-Aid", he had to send just a bit more, so he wouldn't have to do it

 again. Yep, that's my dad. The "Goodie Box" contained enough "Kool-Aid" for the whole

 damn brigade, it was a case. Can you imagine humping that up and down the central

 highland mountains and through the bush. I guess he thought that would make me

 happy, little did he know, that stuff weighted. The good thing is, it had a great assortment

 of flavors. The bad thing was, it was "UNSWEETENED".  Where in gods name were we

 going to find enough sugar for this stuff. May be we could hump a 55 gal. drum of sugar

 with us. So, all I could do was open it and throw it away, being the good soldier not to

 leave to "bad guys" and being the good son, I never told my dad how he gave of us a good

 laugh. I always thought, how funny it was, thinking it was a goodie box and it was nothing

 more than a case of unsweetened KOOL-AID...........

                                    Ssgt. Lewis Bremer