While at Parris Island a few months ago to see my son graduate from boot camp, I saw my son look at something he called a sand pit.  He looked with loathing, and I had recalled that his letters to us discussed something he called being “pitted.”  Not knowing the full story, I thought I might take a picture of it and have it for a discussion topic later on.

I recall driving on to the Island and getting out of the car to have it searched.  As soon as we got out we were molested by something they lovingly call sand fleas.  My forearms were bloody when I finally got back into the car, and we found out that the molestation didn’t stop in the car.  Hundreds of sand fleas had made their way into the car while the doors were open.

Well, the sand fleas are especially bad in the sandy areas.  The picture below is a “sand pit,” and to be pitted means to go to the sand pits and do PTs (you know, running in place, crunches, pushups, etc.).  One especially bad day (his unit just couldn’t do anything right that day), the drill instructor took them away from “their” sand pit (which is the picture below), and to the sand pits belonging to the other units.

In all there are more than 60 sand pits on Parris Island.  That day Daniel’s unit started at their own sand pit, and ran to the next, and then to the next … you get the picture.  They went to and did PTs in 60+ sand pits on Parris Island that day.  The only one they didn’t get the privilege to PT in was the drill instructor’s sand pit.

That day the platoon spent the entire day in the pits doing PTs.  So one day in the future when you (i.e., civilians like me) think you have had an especially bad day, just think: Things could be worse.  I could have been pitted at Parris Island all day with the sand fleas sucking my blood.