I’ve never been to Dodge City, but I did dodge
going into the service by getting a high lottery number
way back when.
And looking back, I was very fortunate in one respect
as I’ve always had an aversion to authority,
often feeling resentful, angry, and vindictive.
Then again, it might have been a positive experience
in that I could have become better able to deal with difficult
situations and difficult people, which could have helped me
navigate through life more fluidly.
It could have also made me a more responsible person,
better able to work with others as a team member.
Hard to know, but given that my lottery number was during
the Vietnam war—and given that I was against the war—
if I had been forced to fight I might not have survived
to write this, nor would I have taught for 32 years,
eventually gotten married, and done a whole bunch
of other things—some of which were very satisfying,
while others were dreadful and almost broke me along the way…
Jeffrey Zable is a teacher, conga drummer/percussionist who plays for dance classes and rumbas around the San Francisco Bay Area, and a writer of poetry, flash-fiction, and non-fiction. His most recent book, (his selected poetry), “When I’m Dead and Feeling Blue,” is available from Amazon or directly from Androgyne Books.
