Good Doc/Bad Doc

I was sitting on a bus in downtown hometown USA.  The bus was purring at idle.  The destination plaque announced OAKLAND INDUCTION CENTER. 19 year old boys were drifting in one by one.

A couple of weeks before I came through the door from my seasonal construction job.  Sally called out to me, “You got another letter from the draft board.  What now?”

I knew what.  A month after I graduated from college I lost my 2S middle class, white boy, student deferment. And now I knew I was being drafted. It was 1971 and Vietnam was still hoppin.  I opened the letter, “Yeah, I am ordered to report September 26 to the Oakland Induction Center for a draft physical.”

“Oh, so what do we do if you get drafted?” Sally was worried I know but rarely showed it.

“I don’t know.  Let’s see what happens.”  Sal did not like the sound of that. I tried to be calm, not freak out Sally. And normally I tended to freak Sally out.  Couldn’t do it.  I FREAKED! We spent the night going over options.  Canada?  Maybe.  Guatemala?  Better, since we had little money.  Go into the ARMY.  FUCK NO!  Then we came up with a PLAN.

I applied for conscientious objector status when I was a freshman.  Nothing happened.  I had a severe handicap.  I was raised Catholic, a particular war like religion. The Crusades, the Black Ships, and, the perennial favorite, The Inquisition.  ROMAN CATHOLIC didn’t look good on a CO application.  My app was probably filed under “War Monger.” Continue reading “Round Trip Chapter 2” →