It's pretty clear that my record of Senior Survival was written after the fact. I began my journal account of Senior Survival with a dramatic introduction pictured above. I would have to have already returned from Senior Survival to begin my account this way. Here's the transcription:
Never had the tortures been greater nor the privation worse than on that event known as Senior Survival. The only showers to be a had were the rains at night and the frigid lake by day. Flush toilets were unheard of. Plastic sheets were the only building material available and everything from shacks to mansions were made of it. And these primitive conditions were made doubly worse by rainfall at night and bitterly cold temperatures during the day.
Could an entire senior class survive these squalid conditions for four days? They could and they did. In fact, they flourished. In the following pages, this memorable event will be described for all posterity.
Next up, was my first official journal entry of Senior Survival. The date was Sunday, November 3, 1991:
The beginning of our four day ordeal began with foreboding hints of things to come. The sky dawned gray and overcast. The forecast was rain followed by dropping temperatures. But these ominous factors meant nothing to those who were taking us out there. The possibility of war with Reams group was also strong in our minds as we prepared to go that morning.
I got up this morning about 7:10 or so, took the last shower I was to have for the next three days and got dressed. J and Rees spent the night of course and we hurriedly loaded up our gear as I had SAT's to take at 8 o' clock. We arrive at the school minutes before 8 and I cruised into the classroom in jungle boots, camo pants, and an Army cap with a knife at my side. I was ready to go. . .
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| Me, looking less than enthused in my Vietnam era military garb, most of which I picked up at an army surplus store. To the left are Jon Terryn in the red cap and Jason Connell in his famous Colts cap. |
After the test Greg and I grabbed some lunch at Taco Bell and then hit the road. The rest of our class had left around 11 and we were shipped out with the other SAT students later.
The drive over was short, about 45 minutes. We arrived at camp around 1 or so. 2 o'clock Survival Time."
I have to chuckle at this image of myself all decked out like some sort of soldier of fortune, arriving to take my SATs. I thought I was so cool! I had also forgotten that they had us on "Survival Time", an hour a head of the rest of the world. I guess that gave us more daylight? I'm not sure what the rationale was. My journal continues with a description of the trials of setting up camp:
The afternoon was spent setting up camp. The Turkeys chose an excellent spot, far away and excellent for defense, located on a hill surrounded by palmetto bushes with only two hidden entrances. It turned out that our camp, instead of the Indians', whose location was unknown. Sometimes even to us.
Our only material for making a tent was duct tape, rope, and 3 pieces of 10 by 12 plastic. Most of the tents turned out all right, with P-Roy's and Jason & Dale's probably being the best. Rees, mine and J's was very uncool. It was probably the ugliest tent in camp, probably in all Senior Survival. It was a lopsided, misshapen thing but it served us decently and at least I didn't get too wet.
Around four we went down to the Orientation and after that was supper.
Tonight we set up a few booby traps, trip wires, and holes etc, just in case. The program was interesting. They had Reams team dress up like Indians and do a little song and dance for us. It was really funny. After the meeting, J, Rees, Ty Walker, and some others of us went exploring in the woods. It was pretty cool. When we got back to camp we chilled by the fire and listened to Eugene tell about being lost and Dale be profound. All in all a fairly good first day. . .It doesn't appear that the natives are too restless tonight.
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| A sketch of our campsite layout |
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| The shelter J, Rees, and me built, affectionately known as The Dump. I stayed dry because I was in the middle. |
Two members were especially key to Wild Turkey camp life: Eugene Armstead was the chef of our camp. As I recall we had to make all our own food, and Eugene had brought a wok, which he used to make all our meals--everything from broccoli to eggs could be cooked up Gene's magical Wok. We called him the Master of the Wok or the WokMan.
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| Greg Wedel and Our Master of the Wok, Eugene Armstead |
The other young man crucial to the Turkeys was our guru, Dale Robertson. We called him "the god of smoke" because campfire smoke used to follow him wherever he went. I may have been the appointed leader of the team, but Dale was the Turkey's soul. Dale was a wild man, a crazy city kid from New Jersey that kept us in stitches throughout our time in the woods. He would say the most insane things, but somehow they ended up profound. We all adopted his favorite catchphrases such as "That's uncool bro" and "Oh yes!" and "All living things must burn" and of course the ultimate Turkey dis: "Step off!" Long before he entered into service for our country, Dale had a warriors heart and the spirit of a true iconoclast. Even when we weren't quite sure what he was going on about, we loved Dale.
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| Dale Robertson, the man who put the "Wild" in the Wild Turkeys. Before he was AIRBORNE, he was the god of smoke, the profound one, OH YES! |
Despite the bad weather and the constant threat of Indian attacks, camp life was a highlight of Senior Survival.
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