If you did not know, a West Point cadet is not honor bound to snap your neck if you step onto the parade ground lawn unbidden. This was just one of the things I learned when I went to share in the graduation celebrations of West Point’s class of 2009 yesterday. My cousin is a member of this class and he took time out to help me and more of his family get acquainted with his life on base.
We saw train ups, boot camps, beast teams and salutations from many summer cadets. We took cookies from an event we weren’t invited to. We joked about snipers on the roofs and argued about whether the big chain that was once stretched across the Hudson was meant to keep the British out of Manhattan or keep them in. Six plaques dedicated to this chain could not grant us a winner.
Also, skipping rocks on an army lake is almost as easy as anywhere else, but skipping bark here is nearly impossible.
After reading The Lords of Discipline, I was surprised to learn that West Point upper-classmen are not allowed to put broomsticks behind your knees and make you squat until you pass out. They are allowed to make you paint many wrought iron things however.
The blocky, masculine buildings stand out in my mind as different from any I’ve seen before. This “West Point” of the Hudson River is indeed worth the hour and a half trip from NYC if you get a chance. And if you get a chance with your family and a West Point graduate, then you’re in for a real treat.
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