In 1981, an overweight, bum-kneed, 25-year-old former missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints decided to enlist in the United States Marine Corps. The author was only 35 hours short of completing his college B.A. degree when he tied the next four years of his life to the Marines. This story recalls his boot camp odyssey and some of the reasons for his challenging decision to try to be on of the few and proud.
In a second story, the author offers a profile of his sister, and a tribute to her, following her death, at age 63, in June 2021, from a culmination of multiple medical conditions and a virus.