XPost: alt.politics.clinton, alt.rush-limbaugh, talk.politics   
   XPost: us.politics   
   From: dkat@hotmail.com   
      
   It was the best laugh I had this week.  DK   
   "Rocketman"  wrote in message   
   news:vQTXb.316870$I06.3195607@attbi_s01...   
   >   
   > "W_D_Great Divider"  wrote in message   
   > news:wMQXb.10359$cE3.16552223@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net...   
   > > OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR   
   > > My War   
   > > By LARRY DAVID   
   > >   
   > > Published: February 15, 2004   
   > >   
   > > LOS ANGELES   
   > > I couldn't be happier that President Bush has stood up for having served   
   > in   
   > > the National Guard, because I can finally put an end to all those who   
   > > questioned my motives for enlisting in the Army Reserve at the height of   
   > the   
   > > Vietnam War. I can't tell you how many people thought I had signed up   
   just   
   > > to avoid going to Vietnam. Nothing could be further from the truth. If   
   > > anything, I was itching to go over there. I was just out of college and,   
   > > let's face it, you can't buy that kind of adventure. More important, I   
   > > wanted to do my part in saving that tiny country from the scourge of   
   > > Communism. We had to draw the line somewhere, and if not me, then who?   
   > > But I also knew that our country was being torn asunder by opposition to   
   > the   
   > > war. Who would be here to defend the homeland against civil unrest? Or   
   > what   
   > > if some national emergency should arise? We needed well-trained men on   
   the   
   > > ready to deal with any situation. It began to dawn on me that perhaps my   
   > > country needed me more at home than overseas. Sure, being a reservist   
   > wasn't   
   > > as glamorous, but I was the one who had to look at myself in the mirror.   
   > > Even though the National Guard and Army Reserve see combat today, it   
   > rankles   
   > > me that people assume it was some kind of waltz in the park back then.   
   If   
   > > only. Once a month, for an entire weekend - I'm talking eight hours   
   > Saturday   
   > > and Sunday - we would meet in a dank, cold airplane hangar. The   
   > temperature   
   > > in that hangar would sometimes get down to 40 degrees, and very often I   
   > had   
   > > to put on long underwear, which was so restrictive I suffered from an   
   > acute   
   > > vascular disorder for days afterward. Our captain was a strict   
   > > disciplinarian who wouldn't think twice about not letting us wear   
   sneakers   
   > > or breaking up a poker game if he was in ill humor. Once, they took us   
   > into   
   > > the woods and dropped us off with nothing but compasses and our wits.   
   One   
   > > wrong move and I could've wound up on Queens Boulevard. Fortunately, I   
   had   
   > > the presence of mind to find my way out of there and back to the hangar.   
   > > Some of my buddies did not fare as well and had to call their parents to   
   > > come and get them.   
   > > Then in the summer we would go away to camp for two weeks. It felt more   
   > like   
   > > three. I wondered if I'd ever see my parakeet again. We slept on cots   
   and   
   > > ate in the International House of Pancakes. I learned the first night   
   that   
   > > IHOP's not the place to order fish. When the two weeks were up, I came   
   > home   
   > > a changed man. I would often burst into tears for no apparent reason and   
   > > suffered recurring nightmares about drowning in blueberry syrup. If I   
   > hadn't   
   > > been so strapped for cash, I would've sought the aid of a psychiatrist.   
   > > In those days, reserve duty lasted for six years, which, I might add,   
   was   
   > > three times as long as service in the regular army, although to be   
   > perfectly   
   > > honest, I was unable to fulfill my entire obligation because I was   
   taking   
   > > acting classes and they said I could skip my last year. I'll always be   
   > > eternally grateful to the Pentagon for allowing me to pursue my dreams.   
   > > Still, after all this time, whenever I've mentioned my service in the   
   > > Reserve during Vietnam, it's been met with sneers and derision. But now,   
   > > thanks to President Bush, I can stand up proudly alongside him and all   
   the   
   > > other guys who guarded the home front. Finally, we no longer have to be   
   > > embarrassed about our contribution during those very trying years.   
   > > Larry David, who served in the Army Reserve in the 1970's, appears in   
   the   
   > > HBO series "Curb Your Enthusiasm."   
   >   
   > That is beautiful, man.   
   >   
   > R   
   >   
   >   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)