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FICTION | DOUBLE DRABBLE | RANDOMW WORD CHALLENGE

You’re in the Army Now

RWDouble Drabble 2.0.118 | Shadow

4 min readApr 30, 2025

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In the Army Now — Screenshot of Pauly Shore, SFC Nicholson, & Me — Adapted with PowerPoint Designs

The random word for today is shadow, and we must base our story on the setting, ‘Just one pull…’

Please scroll and read to the bottom or hit the listen icon — Thank you!

In high school, I was 5’7” and 126 pounds. I joined the US Army while still in school, along with four friends, under the “Buddy System.” I only saw one of them while I was in the Army… 15 years later.

I didn’t understand that the cadence we sang was meant to keep us in step. I just thought it was for motivation. Drill Sergeant Middleton gave me a four-foot log to carry on my left shoulder. He said it was my shadow. “If I see you, I better see your shadow over your left shoulder.”

“I wanna be an Airborne Ranger. I wanna live a life of danger.”

Well, I figured it out, gained 30 pounds, and went on to Airborne (parachutist) training. The cadence then was:

“Stand up, hook up, shuffle to the door. Jump right out and count to four.”

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Fiction Shorts
Fiction Shorts

Published in Fiction Shorts

Where you’ll discover short fiction that makes you smile, laugh out loud, get a little choked up, or become inspired.

Stephen Dalton
Stephen Dalton

Written by Stephen Dalton

Stephen Dalton is a retired US Army First Sergeant with a degree in journalism from the University of Maryland. Top Writer in Investing, Business, & Bitcoin!

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