Regardless of warnings of having my kidney sold to the black market...(Byrne Notes VII)

Regardless of the warnings about Korean prostitutes inviting me into dark armpit rooms to get knocked unconscious to wake up in the morning in a bathtub full of blood with “call emergency we took your kidney” scribed on the ceiling; and the one about catching Black Syphilis and being forced to never leave Korea, I was in an area coined “Hooker Hill” in downtown Youngson going into bars and drinking Soju. Soju was like good ole’ creeper weed. You’d smoke and smoke and not feel anything. Then in a couple hours you are stumbling, slobbering everywhere, with juicy girls commanding “buy me drinkie” fondling more and more. Damn, went through about a hundred dollars in two hours. Lucky, I was to find a cab driver who had pity on me and gave me a ride back to base for free.

At first I was stationed in the Youngson Morgue. I remember seeing the remains of a mother and child who were killed by their lover and father, a US soldier. My superiors thought I couldn’t handle working in the morgue. They’d ask me if I could handle it and I told them to judge me by my actions. Therefore, I was sent to Waegwan Korea (Camp Carroll). Being the only Mortuary Affairs on the base, people weren’t dying in the area I was responsible, and my antisocial behavior, I went to Taegu (Camp Henry) Korea. Didn’t want to see myself AT FAULT for anything. It was always everyone and everything against me.  

My boss Staff Sergeant Toro looked out for me. He had me stationed with him in Taegu Korea. Took me under his wing. Would take me down town with him. He was very remarkable. He was one of two soldiers left in the army who had fought in the Vietnam War. He was a Mortar man. He came back into the army in his mid thirties and had done Mortuary Affairs in the Gulf War (1990’s). 

I worked in an office. Toro tasked me to create a curriculum to teach the US Army and the Republic of Korean Army (R.O.K.) Mortuary Affairs operations. I earned a prestigious award from my work.

I frequently drank Soju. Toro made me wise to the momasitas and the juicy girls. Told me how they would fondle the soldier as he buys her “more drinkie” she drinks out of an alcoholic bottle filled with tea. There were beautiful Russian prostitutes, courtesy of the Russian Moffia, and of course, Korean prostitutes.

The morning after one of my escapades I had a sharp pain in my lower right abdomen. It was appendicitis. I remember asking the Koreans in scrubs, “Ya’ll gonna kill me?” They laughed and I woke up. Walked in the bathroom and swear there was a red tiny ball shaped thing in the sink. Always thought it was my appendix.

I sent friends and family neat souvenirs like neat statues and mink blankets. My childhood friend David died. I got a note from his uncle, “…killed instantly from a strike of lightning…he gave his life to God weeks before…” This stained me into thinking that if I go with God I might die too. Remember going home during Christmas to watch my grandmother (Dad’s mother) die. Started to realize something was changing in my world-Son Of’ah Bitch Everything’s Real (sober).

Made it through Korea. Around May 2000 I was stationed in the home of the Quartermaster Corp and home of Mortuary Affairs, Fort Lee Virginia.

I made many good friends in Korea. Notably, one was Crowse. He was a Satanist. I would see him again years later during September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

In Korea, I also bought a Kramer electric guitar, which short circuited out within twenty minutes of playing it. Didn’t learn how to play it, nor did I get it fixed, until 2006, when I lived in Clarksdale Mississippi. In Clarksdale, I took Blues Guitar lessons in the Blues Museum. Also I performed in the world renown Blues bar Ground Zero.