Then We Scurried Away
Thomas Grundy writes entertainingly in his email newsletter about a stint in the CFF (“the Combined Cadet Force,” he explains, “otherwise known as the youth Army, Navy and Air Force here in the UK.”)
Despite the CFF’s popularity among other kids his age, Thomas did not have a good time. “I spent dusky evenings crawling on my hands and knees through sodden, muddy fields,” he writes, “ate sloppy food from metal tins, marched relentlessly through the quad until blisters were peeling from our feet, and the accommodation was like something out of a horror film (think Saw meets Cabin in the Woods). I could even see the lights of a nearby Hilton [Hotel] twinkling through the fir trees.”
So he made like Saint Houdini himself and escaped:
on a deeper level I knew the CCF just wasn’t for me. So when I was back at school, I grabbed a friend who was equally unconvinced … and we strode over to the kit-room, dumped our kit on the floor, looked up at the growling kit-man and sheepishly announced “We’re quitting.”
Then we scurried away.
It was a huge relief. And I was delighted.
It was an early example about how quitting can be a positive, intentional action rather than a shameful or guilt-ridden decision.
Hooray! Thomas writes in other email instalments of Matters Escapological too. You can read or join his mailing list here.
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About Robert Wringham
Robert Wringham is the editor of New Escapologist. He also writes books and articles. Read more at wringham.co.uk