I thought Iraq didn't have any WMD

[vienna]

And here's where I jump ship. I consider myself a coward. I don't think I was in any danger of getting drafted, but I didn't know that at the time, and I "volunteered" for the Navy because I didn't want to get drafted into the Army. That I ended up in a combat zone doing fire support for the Marines was through no fault of my own. I came home firmly against that war.

You ended up in a combat zone, but you didn't shirk your obligation: no coward, in my opinion. A lot of guys came home firmly against that war. It's kind of like that old Packard Motors ad, "Ask the Man Who Owns One". At least you didn't join the Air national guard and spend your time making "champagne flights" around the South USA...

I like the way you put "volunteered" in quotes; For a lot of 1-A's, the Navy and the Air force were seen as safer options. Sometimes they weren't. In San Francisco, there was another danger: getting "drafted" into the Marines. A fellow classmate of mine told me that after the group of draftees he was in finished taking the oath and the step, a door opened in the room, out came a couple of Marine Officers and NCOs. They went up and down the ranks of draftees, selecting those who were of better than average physical condition. My clasmate, being of sleder build, was bypassed, much to his relief. I have heard similar stories of "instant Marines" from other people over the years. To be absolutley fair, the new Marines still had to pass boot camp just like the enlistees. I have not been able to find out what happened to those whoe failed the Corps' boot camp. Were they discharged or transferred back to Army units?...

Sorry about the non-attendance at your gig. Are you going to post clips, if any? I was not going to be able to watch the live stream anyway, but things took a sharp turn for me last Friday; I wound up in an ER due to a severe violent illness. The tests run on me pointed to a viral infection; they also pointed out a couple of potentially serious conditions I wasn't aware of even being suffering. All in all not a great day...

BTW, if you have to go to an ER in Los Angeles, have them take you to Cedars Sinai Hospital. The staff there is really top notch and very attentive. They have the nicest, most well organized ER operation I have ever seen. It's almost worth getting ill just to go there...

(I said "almost"... )

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