“Morning Paper and A Cup Of Coffee” Part 1 Chapter 79

He was in his study as he does every morning, sitting in his favorite brown leather wing back chair. The chair has been his companion for many years, broken in perfectly around his body. The leather was worn down from all the years, but he would never trade it in. He takes this time to catch up on the news with the morning paper and a cup of coffee every day before work. This time, though, will bring news he was not prepared for. The sky, with the sun shining in from the window, suddenly went gray as his heart sank as he read the obituary section.

“David DuBois passed away and ascended to be with God as a result of a long battle with ALS. David’s last words to his wife, Laura, were: 'My bucket is full because of you. I’ll be waiting for you, but take your time. I love you.' David is survived by his wife Laura and their four children Gabriel, Corina, Chantelle and Dominique."

He sat back in his chair and suddenly remembered his first day in the Army at Fort McClellan, AL. It was early morning and still dark when The Bus came to a screeching stop. Before he even had time to open his eyes, lights in the bus came on and the Drill Sergeants started yelling at the bus load of Soldiers: “WHAT ARE YOU DOING SITTING ON THE BUS? GET OFF THE BUS."  Scared and confused, he got out and lined up as he was told, looking straight ahead as still as he could be. He could see Drill Sergeants walking up and down the line yelling at the other Soldiers near him as he tried not to do anything to draw attention on himself. Back then he was skinny and stood at 5'9," so he made every attempt he could to just blend in.

It seemed like only seconds when a stocky looking Drill Sergeant with a mean look on his face was standing directly in front of him. “Private ,where are you from?" the Drill Sergeant asked NEW YORK,“ he screamed in his best military voice. He remembered watching “Full Metal Jacket” and that’s what the Marines did. ‘NEW YORK WHAT’ the Drill Sergeant said. “NEW YORK, SIR.” Just as he finished the word “sir” he saw the Drill Sergeant turn a color red he never saw a person turn before and felt a sharp pain on his forehead from the Drill Sergeant hat hitting him. "SIR? SIR, WHO DO YOU THINK I AM? I’M NOT A SIR, I WORK FOR A LIVING. WHAT’S YOUR NAME PRIVATE?" The Drill Sergeant asked. Without even thinking he yelled out “DARIUS, DRILL SERGEANT.” The Drill Sergeant looked at him and said “OH! NOW WE ARE ON A FIRST NAME BASIS. YOU THINK WE ARE BUDDIES NOW? GET DOWN ON YOUR FACE AND PUSH.” The last thing he remembered hearing Drill Sergeant DuBois say as he walked away was, “Drill Sergeant Borrelli this Private won’t last two weeks, he’s all yours.”

Over the next 16 weeks, Darius would see Drill Sergeant DuBois turning boys into Soldiers. Drill Sergeant DuBois wasn’t his Drill Sergeant, so it wasn’t often they would truly interact. Even so, Darius remembered the last comment Drill Sergeant DuBois said as he walked away, “He won’t last two weeks.” To Darius, it was a challenge he wasn't planning to fail. It was about a month later when the company conducted Basic Riflery Marksmanship training. After the training was completed, Drill Sergeant DuBois was walking the line shaking the hands of the Soldiers who shot Expert. As he approached, Darius put out his hand and Drill Sergeant DuBois stopped and looked at Darius and said “You didn’t shoot Expert Private.” Darius looked at him and said “Nope, but I am still here Drill Sergeant.”  Every few weeks Darius would find a reason to go up to Drill Sergeant DuBois and tell him he was still there.

A few years after graduation, Darius was now a Sergeant reporting to a new duty station. Darius was married with two children and moving into a row house on the Army base. There were four connected homes in his section, and his was on the end. On Army bases the houses used to have the family's last name by the front door. As Darius was moving in, he noticed a familiar name on the house connected to his, "DuBois."

The next the day the moving company arrived early, just as Darius was about to sit down with the morning paper and a cup of coffee. A few hours later the movers were taking a break for lunch as Darius and his wife were unpacking when they heard a knock on the door. It was a woman with her husband holding pizza and drinks. Just then, Darius recognized it was Drill Sergeant DuBois, but this time he was wearing civilian clothes. The couple introduced themselves as David and Laura and welcomed them to the neighborhood. They chatted for a bit and then left so they were not in the way.

Shortly after they met, Darius and David were talking over a cold beer and Darius asked David if he remembered him. David looked at him for a minute then said, “Nope, I sure don’t.” Darius then told him that story about his first day of training and how Drill Sergeant DuBois said he wouldn’t last two weeks. He went on to tell David how much it pissed him off and he was going to prove him wrong. David sat back in his chair and laughed before saying, “Good, I guess it worked.” He told Darius, “Don’t take it personally. I picked one Private from each rotation and told them the same thing before walking away.” You were the only one to keep reminding me of it.” Then David winked at Darius and raised his beer, saluting him.

Over the next three years they all became great friends. David was a Military Policeman (MP) and would often host block parties. Since they lived in a cul-de-sac, he would block off the road and invite all the neighbors. He would also invite the MP’s who were working to get some food as well. Doing this, the neighbors didn’t complain about the party and the MP’s would leave the road closed. They spent many days fishing, going to the gym, and hanging out. Darius remembered in training how Drill Sergeant DuBois would sing cadence while running and seeing his pecs bouncing up and down as if they were dancing to the song. Darius looked up to David as a mentor and David was proud to help.

In the Army, there is one guarantee - you will never stay in the same place for long. You will either move to another duty station or get out of the military, and Darius was getting out. He was moving back to NY where he wanted to be a Police Officer with the NYPD, and had already spoken with a recruiter. Before the movers were done packing Darius' things, David asked him to come over. When Darius stepped into the living room, he saw a beautiful brown leather wing back chair. David looked at Darius and said, “I know you love to read the paper with a cup of coffee in the morning, so I got this chair for you to enjoy them.”

The next day Darius and his family waved out their windows as they drove away, wondering if they would see each other again…

>> Editor's Note: It has certainly been a gift to see David blossom as a writer for the last 79 weeks of blog posts, but more importantly, how he's truly embraced his role as a Story Teller. When he started sharing his words with me for editing before he published them in his blog, I saw his posts as informative for his family and friends, other PALS and family members, and the general public. Without a cure and so little public awareness about ALS, I was happy to help David continue to serve by sharing his experiences, in hopes that his readers would also feel called to action in some way. Over time, though, David's posts transitioned from Informative (always with a healthy dose of Dave DuBois' humor, of course!), to an absolute pleasure to read and support. He's grown so much as a writer by leaning in on the consistency and process, that I was thrilled to hear that he took advantage of a writing class to even further his skills and budding interests! Later, when he personified "Darius" (the voice of his iPad and assistive technology) so clearly in a blog post, I challenged him to explore the back story of digital voice that says "I Love You" to Laura and his kids these days... And to share it with all of us! Please note that this post and the next one are works of fiction, straight from the creative mind of our good friend David, as he LIVES with ALS and embraces opportunities for community, humor, and service. Thanks! - KK