In my dream I'm packing. It's reminiscent of my time in Boy Scouts packing for camping trips. Only I'm packing for war. I think it's Vietnam. That was the war when I was a little kid. That was what I thought was going to happen when I grew up. It's funny, we don't think about it that much anymore, but Vietnam changed our lives as sure as covid-19. Even my immediate family was indirectly created by that war. My wife's family fled from Laos when she was a small child. Many years later, we met and got married and had our son. But why do I still dream of that fate that never transpired? Why do I still dream about going to war? I suppose it could be that there is a war in the news all the time. Plus, there is a war in our streets as mass shootings have outnumbered the days of the year. There is a war in our government, in our politics, and an attempt to take over our democracy. There are the continued excuses about guns not killing people, that people are killing people. Meanwhile, children get shot in school and they have to have regular lockdown drills. So, is it any wonder that I dream about going to war? In my dream, there's no right or wrong. It's all very matter of fact, like when I signed up for the Selective Service.
The thoughts of a writer.
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