“Man,” Dobro said, holding his draft notice in one hand and the envelope in the other. “I don’t want to go to war”. He looked different from before he saw the notice. A feeling of loss passed over his face, and the others could sense the loss.
“You don’t have to go,” Al said. “We’ll run you up to Canada, like we talked about”.
“Yeah. Maybe,” Dobro replied. His brain was suddenly in a fog.
“When do you have to go”? Ethan asked.
Dobro looked at the Induction Notice. “Two weeks”.
“Harsh,” Al replied.
“Yeah,” Ethan agreed.
That night, the singing and practising didn’t go on for long. Everyone, especially Dobro lacked the energy to get into it.
“We don’t want you to go, Dobro,” Lisa said, sitting crossed legged on the floor. They were smoking a big fatty, and she took a puff and passed it to Kelly who was vigorously nodding her head in agreement.
“Seems I might have to,” Dobro replied.
“Now look here,” Al said. “We can get you into Canada. I know some folks up there who will help out.
“Thanks Al,” Dobro replied. “I don’t know what to think about all this just yet. Every part of me is against killing my brother. I don’t want to fight anyone. On the other hand, I think of my parents. They’d say we all have a debt to the country, and when the country calls, you go”.
“How did the draft board find you?” Al asked. “I thought we’re dropped out here”.
“My parents forward my mail to me,” Dobro answered. “I gave them this address”.
Al looked down and cursed.
“Dobro,” Ethan said. “I want to tell you what I remember about the Vietnam War from my studies. I know you’re going into it at the time the United States loses the most soldiers. Next year, 17,000 US soldiers will be killed in combat. Your draft notice places you right on this time line. You’ll be serving at a time when more US soldiers are killed than any other during the entire war”.
“It’s true,” Al, who had already served, added. “Nam’s a nasty place. I was with two of my best friends when they were killed. I was standing right next to one when he was shot in the head. We were in mid-conversation too”.
“What!” Dobro said, retracting from Al.
“It’s true,” Al said.
“Well”, Ethan said. “If you decide you don’t want to go, I’m sure we can help you. Very few people end up going to jail for resisting this particular war. It’s your decision. If you want, we can talk about your options once you’ve had a chance to think things over. Just remember, we’re here for you”.
“Yeah Dobro,” Kelly and Lisa said in unison.
Dobro ended up going to war, eventually. What happened was, he decided not to report for duty, and just hung out at Erwin’s. Life went on as usual for the longest time. Everyone forgot they were harboring a draft dodger and then one day a couple of military guys showed up at the door and took Dobro away. They found Dobro through his parents. He was never seen again until he came back from the war.
“I wonder how old Dobro’s doing?” Al wondered one night. They were all sitting around in the living room. Dobro had been gone for a few weeks now. The last time they had heard from him was shortly after he was taken away. He called to let them know he was in the army, having convinced authorities he never received the notice and wasn’t resisting.
“He must have finished basic training by now,” Ethan said.
“Why don’t we send him a letter?” Priya suggested. “Let him know we’re thinking about him. I’m sure he’d like to hear from us”.
“Yeah, let’s do that,” Ethan agreed, and right there, they composed their own letter telling Dobro what was going on.
Al’s portion of the letter sounded like the ramblings of a mad man:
“Dear Dobro.
Remember that kid Johnny?
We used to watch him on his bike, throwing crab apples at cars. Well, he’s worse now. The other night, we were all hanging out and the doorbell rings. We’re talking, and I get up to answer the door, and what do you think? There’s a paper bag on fire sitting there on the step. Well, I go to stomping it out, and guess what? The bag’s full of dog shit, and there’s me dancing on it with my bare feet! Then, just when I realized what was going on and started cursing, I hear something and see that little Johnny laughing at me from behind a tree. Well, I took off after him, I’ll tell you what!
PS.
I didn’t catch him though”.
Ethan and Crystal, Priya and Erwin, and Lisa and Kelly, sent their own letters. Overall, it was a good letter. Lots of X’s & O’s from Lisa and Kelly. All of them mentioned the bag of shit incident, but mostly wrote about how Al went to answer the door and came back huffing and puffing from chasing a kid, and also how he had burnt his feet on a bag of shit and tracked it through the house.
They sent the letter through the US. Army, hoping it would somehow find its way to Dobro. Thereafter, they sent Dobro a letter faithfully every week.