There had been a time when Charlie was younger, just hitting his teens, when his growth spurt seemed like it wasn’t going to end. He had been talking about football a lot, and when he hit Hereford High and got picked for JV football, he was still growing. Then his spurt came to an end, as they all do, and Charlie peaked at 5’10" and 195, all solid muscle. Charlie was a linebacker. When I asked him once what his qualifications for the job were, he laughed and said, “Coach says I’m fast enough to catch them and big enough to eat them!” For a normal guy, he was on the large side, and certainly in excellent shape. For a football player, he wouldn’t even make it to Division III ball. College and professional football was now nothing but the Land of the Giants. He wasn’t going to college on a football scholarship, or with his grades, any other type of scholarship. Not that we needed one, but it would be nice to see him get an education.
He had hemmed and hawed at all of these ideas, so I put it to him differently. “So where do you plan to work?”
“Huh?”
“Charlie, you need to figure out what you are doing with your life. If you think you can just live here, think again. Once you are out of high school, the free ride is over. We’ll put you through college, but you need to get a job and start paying room and board. If all you have is a high school degree, the only jobs you are going to get will involve your saying the words ‘Would you like fries with that?’ Or do you plan on going pro with the motocross racing?” Charlie had decided to drop from Scouting several years ago and had concentrated on football and motocross. For the last year, since he had turned sixteen, he had gotten his pro ticket from the AMA. Going pro, however, would necessitate a lot of travel and expense.
Charlie got a little more animated at that. “I’ve been thinking about that. I talked to Bucky and Uncle Tusker, and they are interested in sponsoring me, but Bucky is still in college. He won’t be much help.”
“Well, then, you’d better decide on the Army or the Navy, because you ain’t hanging around here for the rest of your life.”
At that our son nodded and stood up, and headed towards his room.
Marilyn was sitting in the living room at the house when we had this conversation, and had remained silent throughout. After Charlie took off, she told me, “We are not charging our son room and board.”
I smiled at her. “I know that and you know that, but he doesn’t know that. He needs a swift kick in the ass at times.”
She glanced towards the hall where the bedrooms are, and then looked back at me and smiled. “Very true.”
That conversation had been during the fall, and I just couldn’t get him to commit to anything. Now, with his grandmother asking, he shrugged and said, “I think I’m going into the service.”
I sighed and nodded at the answer, since it seemed to me that Charlie was doing this just because he couldn’t come up with any better idea. Marilyn pursed her lips and looked unhappy, but didn’t argue with him. That task was immediately taken up by the entire remainder of Marilyn’s family. They were still as big a bunch of draft dodgers as they had been when I started dating Marilyn. The difference now was that when they met me, I was already committed to serve. Charlie was still talking about it, and wasn’t signed up yet.
Harriet had the general gist of the family’s argument. “Have you lost your mind? Why in the world would you want to do something that stupid?!” I kept my mouth shut but gave her a rather dry look at that. They even offered him a job after he graduated, working for Lefleur Homes.
Charlie jumbled out a bunch of reasons before Marilyn had the decency to shut her family down. Afterwards, I tapped him on the shoulder and led him into the den. “So, what’s going on? Why are you doing this? I know it’s not the money. Your mom will never actually let me throw you out into the snow, you know.”
He laughed at that. “Mom told me that. I didn’t think you actually would. I just don’t want to keep going to school. I think I’ll go crazy if I have to keep doing that!”
“Yeah, well let me tell you, you join up, you’ll still be going to school. Don’t you dare think otherwise! This isn’t the days when they handed you a musket and lined you up and told you to bang away at each other! The training is constant, and some of the fields are more technical than anything you will find at a community college,” I told him. (You want technical training? Join the Navy!)
He nodded, but replied, “Even so, it’d still be different.”
“Then let me tell you something else. This is still something more than just avoiding school. I don’t care whether you join the Army or the Navy, or even the Coast Guard, but you damn well better have a reason more than not having anything better to do.”
“So why did you join up?” he returned. “I’ve read your bios. You had other scholarships, and you had a lot of money, even then. You didn’t need to join the Army to go to school, did you?”
“We’re not talking about me. We’re talking about you!”
“Are we? I’ve talked to Aunt Suzie, too.”
That stopped me. “What does my sister have to do with this?”
“She told me about the family history. She told me that she got the photos from your father that were in their house before they sold it. The photos of you and your father and grandfather in uniform. And I’ve seen that picture of you getting your medal. Mom’s real proud of that one. She says you’re her own personal hero.”
I gaped at that and sat down heavily in an armchair. “Oh, Charlie, those are the worst possible reasons! If you think you need to join because of some family destiny, you are so very, very wrong. And believe me, I’m no hero.”
“But the medal…”
I looked at him sadly. “Charlie, that medal and two bucks buys you a cup of coffee. Men died that day. I’d rather just have the cup of coffee, and I don’t drink coffee.” I looked out the window, not really seeing the view. “You want a medal, Charlie? Hell, I’ll give you the damn thing!”
“Dad, you told Mom once that it was your turn to do your duty. That’s what she told me once, anyway. Maybe it’s my turn now.”
“Shit!” I muttered to myself. Then I looked at him. “Do me a favor and get an office job. If anything happens to you, your mother will never forgive me. The Army is always looking for truck drivers and clerks.”
My son laughed at that and left the room. Moments later Marilyn came in, to find me still sitting there and staring out the window. She came over and sat down on my lap. “I heard what you told him. He’s simply too much like you.”
“I had been hoping for something better,” I told her.
She put her arms around my neck, and I put mine around her waist. “You’re always too hard on yourself. He’s a good boy, and some day he’ll be a good man, like his father.”
“Just remember, I tried to talk him out of it.”
She hugged me and answered, “I know. I heard it all. You’re still my hero, no matter what you say.”
“You could have done so much better than me.”
“Nonsense!” Marilyn kissed me. “Enough of this.” She stood up and led me back to the rest of the family.
Later that day I told Charlie that he needed our approval to do this. None of the services would even touch him until he graduated from high school, and until he turned 18, he needed our signatures. He was to bring the recruiting sergeant to the house some night after we got home.