Thursday, January 17, 2008

I'm out this piece! (non funny blog)

Greetings, my name is Joshua Hutcheson and I’m not a patriot.
As you may or may not know, I was a journalist in the army for over five years. In that time I went to Iraq twice, for a year each. In fact, I created Eighty-Four Glyde when I was in Iraq back in 2006.
I joined the army prior to 9/11 because I was homeless and wanted food, clothes, money, electricity and the ability to wash my smelly body. War was the last thought on my mind. Hey, we’re the last super-power in the world, who would mess with us?
I put Nostradamus to shame.
Upon my return from Iraq in the fall of 06, my time in active duty was over. I was free to become a civilian again, enjoying all the freedoms that come with that status. No more having to get up at ridiculous hours to work out. I could (and did) let my belly grow as big as Santa’s. No more having to pepper my conversations with the words sergeant, sir or ma’am. No more having to wear a dumb camouflaged outfit every day.
I was able to enjoy a little over a year of being a fat, lazy slob.
Last month, I got orders reactivating me as a soldier. I have to report to Ft. Jackson this weekend to be reintegrated into the military life. By this spring I’ll probably be back in the Middle East. Could be Afghanistan. Most likely Iraq. For my third time.
The army’s got to be pretty hard up if they need to reactivate journalists.
Anyway, I tell you that to tell you this, this is going to be the last Eighty-Four Glyde for a while. I’m not quitting completely, just putting the blog on hold until my life isn’t in such a state of flux. Plus, I’m really bummed out about the whole scene and don’t feel very funny.
This is all pretty damn depressing. I feel like an indentured servant. Or slave. I don’t get to have a life. I can’t make any plans for the future because I’m not free. That’s shitty. I want to be a normal person, but I can’t, because every time I think I’m out, they pull me back in! Imagine not being able to say for certain what you’ll be doing in a year. You can’t put down roots, you can’t make any plans because your life isn’t yours. It belongs to the government, to do with as they wish (and all they ever wish is to shit on you.)
Like I said in the first sentence, I’m not a patriot. I’m not a hero, noble or any of the other attributes you see in those dumb ass army commercials. I have no desire to go to another country and shoot people because our retarded president back in Washington thinks it would be neat. This war is a sham. It’s a joke. The war and our insipid government have cost us thousands of lives and billions of dollars, with no end in sight. I say this now because once I’m back in, I won’t be able to say these things. I will have to tow the company line and be a good little boy. So this is my last chance to say how much I hate the war.
I’m not looking for pity. I stupidly signed the contract to be a soldier when I was 20, (though it wasn’t until after I signed that they pointed out that I had just signed for five years, instead of the two years I was led to believe.) So it’s my own damn fault. But seriously, who would have guessed that they’d be calling journalists back up? It boggles the mind.
There’s a lot on my mind and a lot of things I want to say, but I don’t want to take up the space and it really won’t make a difference how much I whine and complain. I just have to suck it up and do it until I’m either dead from an IED or allowed to go free as a civilian once more (at which point I’m moving to another country, no joke.)
I instead will take this time to tell you (my one reader) that I really appreciate that you read the wacky stuff I write. Thank you. The people who read this blog really make it all worth it. I’m humbled that anybody outside of my immediate family would think highly enough of what I write to actually take the time to read it. I’m not a Myspace “Top Blogger” or even a blip on the Myspace blog radar. I like it that way. That way I get to write about the things I want, instead of trying to create a legion of sheep that’ll do anything I want. That’s lame. I don’t write drama blogs and I don’t write blogs badmouthing other people because they have opinions I don’t like, (or maybe I have, I dunno. I’ve written over 140 something entries and I don’t remember them all). People who do that are pathetic and stuck in a high school popularity mentality. I pity them.
So thanks to all of you who bother reading Eighty-Four Glyde. It makes me happy to know that people actually do care and enjoy reading my work. That’s why it’s going to be sad to have to put Eighty-Four Glyde on hiatus. I mean, what will you all do instead? Go outside? Play catch? Spend quality time with your families? That’s crazy talk!
Well, that’s all I’ve got, so thanks for reading and I’ll catch up with you later. Peace.
-Joshua

3 comments:

Frankfurt Freddie said...

Dude, don't stop.

That's all I have to say.

Remember the JungLuv tapes? I was at number 70 when I came back to DC in '05. Because work started ramping up and I was living at home (where I couldn't play my tapes as loudly as I wanted in the middle of the night) and I sort of fell out the groove of listening (and critiquing) music, writing poems and making beats...I fell off. My thinking was that I'd always come back to it. And here I am, nearly 3 years later and don't have the same desire. And I mean, Frankfurt has been the perfect chance to get back into it...but I don't have the same desire.

What I'm getting at is that when you put space between something you like doing--for the sake of "taking a break"--when (or if) you come back to it, it won't be the same...and not in a good way. Because you're going to associate doing that with a specific point in your life...one from which you will have no doubt changed, and or grown from.

I'm not saying that change/growth is bad. What I am saying is that you should allow the blog to grow with you...that way it will stay with you...and become a part of you.

I'm back in town in a little over 2 weeks. We'll talk then. Until then, get that beer belly in shape son!

--Friz

P.S. I truly have enjoyed reading your blog.

P.P.S. I still take better pictures than you.

Anonymous said...

:(

Anonymous said...

Enjoyed 84 Glyde, thought it might have been about an 84 Harley... Hope you make it back safely and intact again. Really enjoyed reading all your blogs. Look forward to reading your first book. Stay safe. RB