Wax. Who would have thought something as simple as "Wax" would unload such memories. Nor would I have ever guessed that washing and waxing our floors would take me two days...and tire me out. That is due to age...I think. But now that my floors shine enough even for an IG inspection - it is time to share some memories.

I stayed in Barracks that predated WW II for both Basic and AIT. With twenty or so bunk beds lined up (on a gig line, as straight as any Carpenters Chalk Line) with a long corridor down the middle. We would polish that floor to a high gloss every day. And it would shine.
Everybody wore socks only in the Bay. That helped a little, but those DI's were looking for any little demerit they could lay their white gloves on. So we polished those floors to rival any spit shine on any Dress Shoes in the Battalion. But we were kids. Most of us were eighteen years old. A few, not many, were as old as almost twenty three- those were Draftees. And a few, again a very few, were just sixteen and quitting school to join the Army. So we played.
We would wax the floor and then have contests to see who could slide the farthest. Some of the guys could glide like Ice Skaters. Those guys would slide, not just for distance, but for style points.
Oh, yeah, they would do double spins, or single leg pivots. The Moon Walk hadn't been invented yet, but a rough facsimile was performed by young men in wool socks. The Temptations were huge back then.
So imagine a BoomBox (yeah, I said I was old.). Now picture that BoomBox sounding out: My Girl, or Just my Imagination...then picture five guys lip synching while making smooth moves in imitation of those fluid moves they saw on TV.
Sometimes, the whole Platoon would do the "Stroll" on the sides near the bunks, and then one by one, each Soldier would promenade down the middle, just stylin and profilin, to the songs pouring out there mellow beats.
Of course, the DI's would let us "play" for a bit, some I am certain, watched us without being seen. I bet they wanted to join in for a bit. But then they would come in the Bay, call us to attention and then say something like:
"Alright maggots, play time is over. Since you have so much energy, All of you give me twenty and then it is lights out. "
But then, when the lights were out, you could look out the window to the Day Room, and there would be the DI's, boots off, sliding on the Day Room floor. And if the window was open, you heard the faint sounds of: "Just my imagination."