When I was a boy part VI- In trouble

One of the very few nights that we spended over at the regiment (instead of crashing out in a tent), I asked for some extra leave. Maby because I had missed some r&r:s come to special training; my LT permissioned me and a comrade until the next morning.

We were both from the same home town, just an hour trainride from Kiruna. It was a Saturday, and of course we made the town. I drank beer untill I allmost fell over. But no worries! I had my alarm clock ready to bring me up in time!

At five o´clock the dredded alarm woke me up. I stumbled out of my bed. Put my uniform on and thankfully made it down the stairs from my studio apartment.

The railway station was just a five minute walk away, and I more or less did not walk in to the birch trees on my way over there.

Well there I saw my buddy (or should I say; my semi non vertebrae accuintance) laying in a heap by the tracks. After 15 minutes or so we realised that there was a serious shortcoming of trains.

Ahh! Sunday... There will not be any train going until 12!

Shit, shit, shit!!!

My buddy said that he would just call the CO and tell him that he would be late. I stole my girlfriends car and made a run for it. Doing some 200 km/h most of the way I made it there only 15 minutes late. (My buddy got there six hours later). But because I had not reported that I was going to be late; I was awarded with fifteen sacks of wood. NGhhh!

Every sack is a 200 liter burlap nightmare. Yes, there were an electric/hydralic wood cleaver at the premesis, but not to be used by us. Furthermore. I had to do the manual cleaving of the wood "on my spare time". Which meant somewhere between 01,00 and05,30am.

This was one of the rare times (the only I believe), that we spent more than two days in a row at the regiment. I had some three days to cleave 3000 liters of wood, only with an axe and only between 01.00 and 05,30. Now this was not something I... Hmmm, wanted to do.

The platoon storage facility concisted of corrugated aluminium profiles on a wooden frame, and every platoons storage was separated by chicken wire/net.

On the third day; when I was about to have to show my CO the results of my wood chopping, I got... Well a bit nervous- because I had'nt chopped a single bit of wood.

I was to be inspected at 10 PM. I made my way down to the storage, thinking of a way to talk myself out of this mess. When coming down to the storage, I find it empty, save for a set of bolt- cutters. I looked over at third platoons storage, filled with doussins of sacks with chopped wood, looked down on the cutter, and made a descision.

As smartly as I could, I cut through the chicken- wire, climbed over and tossed 15 sacks in to our platoon area. Then I tried to fasten up the wire- fence as good as I could. While I waited for the inspection, all nuber of thoughts raced through my mind "What if I get caught?", "Will he notice?".

15 minutes later, my PCO comes down to inspect my progress. He looks at every sack, takes a look in some of them. I'm sweating, standing to full attention. The PCO looks me right in the eye and says: "I would not have expected anything less from you." Bends over pick up the bolt cutter and in a low voice says: "This should'nt be here; I wonder who left it here. Wery well. Do not forget to place everything back. Goodnight"

That's the man I would follow in to.......?