http://www.johnsenclan.com/wordpress/2006/11/02/fear/ Ooooh, Aaah. That comes first. Then later there's running and screaming. Tue, 06 Jan 2009 15:41:21 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 http://www.johnsenclan.com/wordpress/2006/11/02/fear/comment-page-1/#comment-60 Nana J Fri, 03 Nov 2006 06:25:42 +0000 http://www.johnsenclan.com/wordpress/2006/11/02/fear/#comment-60 I am in my fifties and I remember practicing climbing under my desk at school in case there was an air raid. This was during the cold war. People in our area were building bomb shelters in their yards. I also remember asking my mother what would happen if we were hurt and couldn't get to a doctor. She told me she would sew me up with a needle and black thread she kept in the basement. This may be a small child's interpretation of what she said, but that is how I remember it. I remember being terrified that I would die from a bomb, and this was well after the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I may be lambasted for these comments, but the way I interpreted Kerry's comment was that if you don't study and get a good job, you will end up in the military and be fighting wars (instead of back in the states planning the wars, maybe??). The reality is that many joined the service during the Viet Nam era because it was a job and a source of income. Surviving the war was a chance you took. Right or wrong, back then many joined the military because there was nothing else to do with your life. Also, for a time, if you didn't have a school deferment, the chances were greater that you would be drafted. I am in my fifties and I remember practicing climbing under my desk at school in case there was an air raid. This was during the cold war. People in our area were building bomb shelters in their yards. I also remember asking my mother what would happen if we were hurt and couldn’t get to a doctor. She told me she would sew me up with a needle and black thread she kept in the basement. This may be a small child’s interpretation of what she said, but that is how I remember it. I remember being terrified that I would die from a bomb, and this was well after the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
I may be lambasted for these comments, but the way I interpreted Kerry’s comment was that if you don’t study and get a good job, you will end up in the military and be fighting wars (instead of back in the states planning the wars, maybe??). The reality is that many joined the service during the Viet Nam era because it was a job and a source of income. Surviving the war was a chance you took. Right or wrong, back then many joined the military because there was nothing else to do with your life. Also, for a time, if you didn’t have a school deferment, the chances were greater that you would be drafted.

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