Chapter 20: Trouble at Loc Ninh

      This impending responsibility was a sobering reality. Mac knew that he needed to start trying to readjust his thoughts toward that upcoming reality and leave Australia behind. Yet, Australia kept seeping back into his mind on the quiet flight back. To make matters worse, Mac could not help indulging in those thoughts throughout the entire flight. They were just too heavenly to resist. Surprisingly, like a drug, those pleasant thoughts grew stronger on the bus ride from the airport. Now, they were still in his head as he was approaching the orderly room to report to the duty officer. They were now becoming very disconcerting thoughts. Maybe they were even a little unhealthy. They were certainly distracting. Mac reminded himself repeatedly that they were just daydreams of a fantastic getaway, nothing more. It was definitely not the kind of thoughts that he now had the luxury of entertaining. Yet, he couldn't seem to shake them. As he drew closer and closer to the orderly room door, Australia continued unrelentingly to loom larger and larger in Mac's mind. Finally, Mac blurted out to himself, almost audibly, "That's it. Enough is enough. Dwelling on memories of my trip to Australia is a dangerous distraction. I will have no more of it. Yes, Australia was great, and yes, I am probably going to die, but not now. Now, I must put one foot in front of the other and regain my composure". With that determined decree, Mac tried one more time to flip that switch back to God, country, and duty, but it was to no avail. That switch was broken. These addictive thoughts were too tantalizing to be denied. Yet, Mac knew that these heavenly distractions had no place in this hellish business. Still, Mac couldn't shake them. Heck, to make matters worse, he not only couldn't quit thinking about his bar night, but tantalizing mental pictures of those gorgeous Australian girls were now dancing in his head. They were so open and inviting to a Yank like him. Mac's conscious mind was now completely consumed by these enticing memories. They flashed ever more seductively through his head, stubbornly refusing to leave, as he neared that orderly room door.

       Wouldn't you know it? It took something comical to snap him back to his present reality. It was something which only a grunt-turned sergeant could appreciate, and it caught his eye just as he happened to glance over his right shoulder. That something was two soldiers working on a detail in the distance. At the back of two wooden outdoor latrines, Mac watched as those two soldiers dragged cut-in-half 55-gallon drums from the latrines' rear trap doors. Gooey human excrement was slushing around inside those barrels, and some of it splashed on one of the soldiers as the bottom rim of his barrel dropped from the floor of the latrine to the ground. The man immediately let go of the drum and began hopping around on one foot while hollering out a string of cussing shouts that would have made any drill sergeant proud. Mac couldn't help but let a faint smile cross his face as he watched and listened to the man's miserable antics. Shaking his head, Mac mused to himself. "Things could be worse. He could be returning from R&R to be placed on a roster for a detail like these guys were pulling. As a newbie, he had caught that detail, and it had been the most disgusting and humiliating job of his life. However, the E-5 stripes he now wore on his sleeves assured him he would never have to do what these guys were doing again. No, coming home to Hell was not quite as bad as it could have been. With this amusing scene playing out before him, the alluring thoughts of his Australian adventure began to fade, only to reappear many times in the next fifty years. No thanks to Mac, that switch was flipped, and the timing was perfect because he was reaching out his hand and getting ready to open the orderly room door to report for duty......