What were the chancesBottoms up gentleman that his uncles Ed Ben Fritz Ray Chester Joe
all fought in World War II and came homeAnother round bartender
they didnt talk about their experiences
maybe among themselves but he wouldnt have
been privy to that
they let him sit at their knees
before the coffee table if he was quiet while they watched professional football
or hockey on the black and white console as they talked smoked drank beer
sipped whiskey
that was his communion with them
and when the game was over and
their cluster was breaking up they would make a point of walking over to him roughly
rub his crewcut and tell him hed been a good boy
he was welcome among the men of
his family
as long as he remained quiet
as a teenager he wasnt
Boy you got a mouth on you
Refute me
Vietnam then was their point
of contention
I
deliver the newspaper every dayI read them inside out I watch the television reports There isnt a damn thing right about the
warIts a war even if Congress hasnt declared itLooks like a duck Walks Sounds Its a duck I see profiteering the engines of capitalism
well-oiled slickly greased and them not giving a goddamn about the boys dying the
boys who butter their loaves of bread
You should leave the room
boy You havent a clue about what youre talking
aboutwhat war is
Then refute me I can listen to reason Refute me
they glared
they picked up their sweating cans
of beer the bottle of whiskey the shotglasses and
left
they knew men who diedsaw men die
those were men in a just war an
existential war
Vietnam wasnt
not Korea
every war or action since wasnt
it was domination
subjugation
Wall Streeters had trouble
walking home for their trouser pockets stuffed with paper money
Vietnam was war by Americans
against Americans fought in a foreign country proxy
1436. Monday -- Memorial
Day – also JFKs 100th birthday, 29 5. 17
