He could melt steel with his stare and ruin your weekend with three syllables—and I was the unlucky private caught in his crosshairs. But what he said next hit harder than a drill sergeant’s boot and stuck with me longer than a bad haircut in boot camp.
When I was a low ranking private in the army I had a tough as nails, could eat steel and spit bullets, sergeant. One late afternoon he pulled me aside. For a moment I thought my life was over. He could wear a look that would drill through twenty cubic feet of cement in ten seconds. That was the look he was giving me. I hoped at best I’d get a good ass chewing. At worse I thought I’d be on KP duty for eternity. I will not discuss the error of my ways (LOL) suffice it to say it brought me to this moment. He stared. I stood at attention. He continued to stare. My mind wondered how long he could stare at me without blinking. My heart beat was pumping harder then it did during the physical training we did earlier in the day. The he spoke, “You’re better than that.” He turned and walked away. I was left standing at attention. His words have remained with me throughout my life. They have helped me make a number of decisions that kept me moving forward in a positive direction. So, here’s to you Sergeant Carter. Thank you.
