THE
P eace On lh e Brain
?
Margi Curtis
Penodieally a formidable pile of ransacked mail
becomes stranded on my kitchen counter. Not a
pretty sight, these ripped envelopes whose contents
lie randomly discarded; perused and forgotten
catalogues; unopened requests lor money. 1 take a
deep breath and begin to read and sort in order to
reclaim my workspace.
I sil t through the wreckage ol junk mailings and
Christmas cards. In the pile, amidst holiday
messages of ‘Peace’, appears a nondescript w hite
postcard with very small green type. Save or throw,
1 have to read it to decide. The name at the top is my
oldest son’s. The title reads ‘Selective Sen ice
Division’. Just a few seconds pass belore 1 realize
that 1 am reading the remaining portion ol what, in
my youth, was termed a “dralt card’. 1 sit down.
My oldest child is now ollicially registered with the
Federal Draft Board.
My next thought is ol Eighth grade, when a tew ol
us brazenly wore black arm bands, painted antiwar
signs in the school artroom and marched around the
track singing “Give Peace a Chance ". We had older
brothers. Never since those y ears has the w ord
‘Lottery’ had a pleasant connotation to me.
Next to his name are the numbers 4-10-78. That
was the day heaven opened up to me, and shone in
the endless brown eyes of my child. Here was the
culmination of nine months’ discomfort and 18 hours
of mind-numbing pain. This little being was alive
next to me on that extraordinary day of birth.
4-10-78 are now the numbers w hich prove this
man-child is 18, old enough to go to war tor his
country. Old enough to kill or be killed.
I have cultiv ated a v ision of myself, cloaked in a
dark cape, my sons’ hands in mine, leading them to
Canada in the night. Blast this “civilization” , its
world wars, police actions, foreign contlicts,
mutually assured destruction. This v iolence to attain
peace, despite those Christian words; “He who lives
by the sword shall die by the sword.
1 have seen their tragic faces, the mothers who
stand at the military funeral, next to the casket. Their
eyes are drained of life, their expressions are of
deadpan resolve as they take the three-comered flag.
The government thanks you for the use of your
child. As my Vietnam Vet friend says, “It’s a sick
world.” He watched those 18 and 19 year old guys
die, under his command.
For now, I am lucky. T here isn t, currently, a
major war in progress. In 5 years my next male
child will be on the list. 1 pray, hope and beg lor
peace - much more than a word on a Christmas
card.
Cannon Beach
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