For Love of Country: Military Policewoman www.silva.redigonda.ca

The next day I ran a mile and a half in fourteen minutes and five seconds. Was I dead! Our instructor told us that we would all pass the gym portion if it killed her. I think we all liked her. She made us laugh and treated us humanely. Wednesday was another rushed day with no time for myself. Thursday I had a haircut and was fingerprinted and photographs of me were taken. I felt good and wrote home. Friday I earned my pass to go out. Was I glad! I met a recruit by the name of Peter – not hard to look at. I had badly needed fun. We’d been so rushed all week, it was incredible to finally have a break. Saturday, I began the day by going to Canex, which is a store that military people use. It has everything one could need from groceries to stereo equipment. I went to get film developed. I had taken some pictures before leaving for the military and also when I arrived at the base. They turned out well. As I left the Canex, I paused at the barber shop. Many a young man would be sitting on the outside steps, crying after having his hair butchered. Young men with beautiful hair they would never see again; after the barber was finished, I couldn’t recognize them! I knew exactly how they felt and what their tears meant. I went to the bowling alley after that but couldn’t find Peter. I joined the bowling league and found I wasn’t doing badly. At home I considered bowling to be a bore and mainly for geeks. Here it was an excuse just to be out; we could almost be ourselves. I returned to the barracks at 8: 30 PM. It was becoming my home. I did the wash, ironed, and shined some shoes. I was glad to go to bed and sleep. It was Sunday the 27th of October. I went to church and saw Peter. I liked him. He was rubbing his knee against me, when he had the opportunity, which made me nervous, considering how everyone noticed everything. After that I didn’t get to sit next to him. Peter was confined to barracks (CB). He wasn’t allowed to go anywhere except church and to the mess for meals. Attending church seemed to upset me terribly. I felt like crying and wishing I could believe in God. I deduced the possibility that if there was a God, and I wanted to believe in one so much, then I should be able to, but since I could not believe, then God could not exist. Monday, I went to the Recreation (Rec) centre and saw Moose. We had started at the same time from Toronto. He was being released. I guess he couldn’t take it. He was with another recruit being released. I didn’t see Peter. That day I received a letter from home. My mom was worried about Granville. Granville would be our final testing ground. At drill, we were terrible. I saw Peter as I entered the class for first aid training. He was walking the opposite direction. I skipped PT (physical training) because my foot had swollen and proceeded to the hospital (MIR) to have it checked. A male recruit seated nearby kept staring at me and made the mistake of telling me how beautiful I was. I hadn’t felt beautiful since I was forced to cut my hair, and here in Cornwallis what they did to me would have caused my hairstylist to have an anxiety attack. I let the recruit know exactly what I thought of his comments. He did not speak to me again.

Excerpt From: Silva Redigonda. “For love of country : military policewoman.”