The Long and Storied Life of Jose Montoya

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The Long and Storied Life of Jose Montoya 18different day in America, and he was unaware of it. Jose's next, immediate thought was that if this wasan American Dia de Los Muertos, then maybe his beloved La Catrina would be nearby. His heartraced. He could not take the chance of missing her. Turning south past the Customs House, he headeddown the road towards the gunfire.Ahead Jose could see a group of buildings partially screened by twisted groups of Madrone andmesquite trees. As he approached the buildings, he stopped short. Across the road was a barricade, andnext to the barricade was a sign welcoming visitors to the United States Army's Camp Furlong. It wasthe army camp that Jose had seen in his dream in El Paso, the same dream in which he had chased LaCatrina to this very location. His heart began to race even faster. Was she here? A sentry was standingguard at the barricade, and informed Jose with a laugh that the only way in was to enlist. Jose turnedand started walking back towards the Customs House. The sound of rifles continued to float to himover the sand and creosotebush, in and out among the mesquite. It was a sound now that made himthink perhaps it was the sound of La Catrina's teeth chattering in her skull, and that she was calling outto him directly.On the morning of March 2 nd , 1916 Jose caught the first train from Columbus to El Paso,gathered up his papers and his sugared skulls, and took the next train back to Columbus. By dinnertime Jose was officially Private Joe Montoya of the United States Army, accepted for training with the13 th Cavalry Regiment, Camp Furlong, New Mexico.The first week of his new life as a recruit in the cavalry did not leave him much time fordaydreaming, although he did manage to fit some in. At 4:30 in the morning he woke up, shoveled outthe horse stalls, fed the horses, and then ran two laps around the perimeter of the camp. After washingup it was time for breakfast, followed by basic military drills where he learned to march and to stand atease, to stand at parade rest, and to stand at attention. Jose had never known before that there were somany different kinds of standing, each done in their own certain way with their own certain rules. His
The Long and Storied Life of Jose Montoya 19natural, everyday stance was an almost-slouch, so standing at attention, in particular, always gave him aslight pain between the shoulder blades.After lunch was what he thought of as schoolwork, time spent studying manuals and regulationsand pictures and more things than he had ever before considered would be necessary to run an army.Sometimes a corporal would make Jose stand at attention while he tried to recite things he had learnedthat day; then both his back and his brain would hurt. Those were Jose's least favorite times. His mostfavorite times were when he was marched to the armory and given his rifle. Then he would practicedrill, or crawling with it, or working the bolt, or cleaning it. One of the sergeants instructing him in itsuse would even make Jose hold it up in firing position while the sergeant balanced a nickel on themuzzle. Then Jose would have to squeeze the trigger without the nickel falling off, to teach him to be asteady aim and to not jerk the rifle when he pulled the trigger.He was always issued the same rifle. It bore the serial number 1021062, and he had itmemorized within seconds of receiving the rifle on his first trip to the armory. In his mind, he hadanother name for the rifle: El Flaco, the Thin One. He thought this was appropriate. Not only did itdescribe the rifle, but La Flaca was another name for his beloved, La Catrina. Throughout the day,until he had to reluctantly hand it back to the armorer every evening, he cherished every minute with it.He never let it hit the ground, never left it lying around. To Jose, the rifle was a tangible symbol of hislove.March 8 th came, and Jose's first week as a soldier was almost complete. Most of his fellowtroopers were given a pass and left the camp to do what good soldiers everywhere do: Drink. Otherthan cleaning out the stables, Jose was also given the day off. He had not been in the troop longenough to be given a pass out to the town, but otherwise the day was his own. He cleaned his boots.Twice he started a letter to his family, and two times the paper ended up as crumpled balls tossed intothe trash. He brushed his uniforms off carefully, followed by the good civilian suit that he had received
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