From: "Rush Miller" Rush46@aol.com
Date: Sat, 26 Aug 2000 20:29:59 EDT
Subject: 1969

My year on the hill was 1969. The first man on the moon and we missed it. Sent home so many things, a hooka for my sister, wood burnings from downtown, meerschaum pipes, semi-precious stones from GI Joe's.

Had jackets and shoes hand made. Never have had anything fit so well before
or since. Remember the puzzle rings, 4, 8, 12 pieces? How about those worry beads? Spent too much time in the EM Club. Who could resist 20 cent beer and quarter shots. Played those slot machines til I was out of change. Nothing like a wild cab ride down the hill after pulling your last mid but not wanting to waste your first day off. Ate in almost every restaurant in Sinop. Could not speak a work of Turkish so they would just lead us back to the kitchen and let us pick what we wanted. Only time I got sick was on that 'pizza' stuff they sold by the docks near the American Hotel.

The Russian Fort and the hippodrome. The birds that made first landfall on the top of the hill after their Black Sea crossing from Russia. The locals picked them up and put them in sacks for a once a year treat. Very eerie watching all those lanterns moving about the hill top that night. The landline 'radio'. Sometimes on a day off we'd buy a fresh round loaf of bread from the bakery, a big chunk of goats milk cheese and a bottle of Turkish wine and just relax near the water.
Sometimes we'd just meander through town taking pictures, but not of girls of course. Sometimes we'd get a haircut which always came with a complimentary cup of chai. I liked the cinnamon flavored. The Turkish men walking hand in hand and whispering to each other. The call to prayer from the minarets. The Roman cobblestone road. The Black Sea everywhere you looked. The Cyclops residing in the cliffside caves.

Oh, and don't forget the belly dances in the club. And what was the name of that band which was made up of four of the enlisted guys right from our midst? Was it meatloaf or something like that? Their advertising included the slogan, "You can't
beat the meat." We thought they were better than the Beatles and the Stones
put together. One by one they rotated and the band was no more. And of course that big donkey that was always excited about something.

All these thoughts came flooding back when my wife was straightening up her jewelry box today and came upon two loose 'alexandrite' stones I brought home with me over 30 years ago. Then I looked for those meerschaum pipes that never got smoked. All great memories now that I'm 30+ years removed. Sure would be nice to have a reunion of sorts and talk over those times.

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