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[pct-l] Dog Tags and Why I Hike



One can serve their fellow man in many ways; military service is only one way.  I agree with Chance; the military is not right for everyone, and not everyone is right for the military.  

Here's a thought for you:  had you joined or been drafted, where your "head was at" at the time would have colored your experience in ways that perhaps would not have been positive.  I see this example with my son and his fellow soldiers; Tom was ready to change his life and embrace the great lessons the Army offers, and is excelling.  Those of his fellow soldiers that had come in unwillingly, perhaps by ultimadums from parents, or a lack of choices or opportunities in life, are not doing well.  A full third of his class from basic did not graduate, some for medical reasons, many for mental.  Those who managed to pass, but have bad attitudes, are miserable. 

Don't set up an artifical measurement or standard for how you measure yourself, especially one from the past that is impossible to go back and change.  If you make this the filter you view yourself with, you're doomed to forever feeling inadequate.  Set yourself free.  If you want to be of service and don't think you've done enough already, find a way to be of service today.  There's plenty of need out there.

IMHO Wayne, without a doubt your life has been of value to others, and you have been a positive contributor to society as a whole.  Don't hang on to the shoulda, woulda, coulda.  To coin a favorite phrase of mine from the 60s, BE HERE NOW.  It's all we've got. 

L-Rod

-----Original Message-----
>From: Wayne Kraft <wayneskraft@comcast.net>
>Sent: Jan 26, 2006 8:02 PM
>To: pctl pctl <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
>Subject: [pct-l] Dog Tags and Why I Hike
>
>Quite unexpectedly the list's discussion of dog tags and military  
>experiences has caused me a bit of a personal epiphany.  I have never  
>served in the military and during the Vietnam War, when I was of an  
>age to do it, I didn't volunteer.  In fact, I was pretty vocal in my  
>opposition to that war.  At first I applied for a student deferment.   
>Later, when the draft lottery was implemented, I drew a number so  
>high I was guaranteed never to be drafted.  I was blind in one eye  
>and, although I didn't know it yet, already beginning to lose my  
>hearing.  Had I volunteered, I don't know if I would have been taken  
>and, if taken, if I would have been thrown into combat.  I was about  
>as far from fighting that war as you could get.
>
>Since then I've discovered a lot of what I "knew" at 20 was just  
>plain wrong.  I let others fight for me and I abandoned them when  
>they needed me most.  If this was because I believed lies that were  
>told to me, then I am at fault for being so gullible.  Although it  
>was not something I spent a lot of time thinking about, over the  
>years I found myself trying to make up for this personal failing.  I  
>picked hard tasks and set audacious goals.  Law school.  A high  
>pressure career.  Running marathons. Cooking up outlandish  
>challenges.  To some degree, I've volunteered for all these things  
>because I didn't step up when it really counted.
>
>When I told my dad one day that I wanted to hike the Pacific Crest  
>Trail from Mexico to Canada some day, he asked me "Son, why don't you  
>set some easier goals?''   I deflected the question with some  
>humorous remark I no longer recall.  I wonder what he would have said  
>if I had responded, "Because I didn't go, dad.  Because I didn't  
>go."  If I ever I do get to hike this trail, I guess I'll be  
>motivated in some way by all of you who did go and to whom I am  
>forever and irrevocably indebted.
>
>So, if they find my mangled corpse some day and someone kneels down  
>to read my dog tags.  And someone says to him, "Well, who is he?"   
>And the man with my dog tags responds, "Well, I don't know who this  
>is, but he walked from Mexico to Canada."  Well, if that were to  
>happen, I guess it would be OK with me.
>
>Wayne Kraft
>
>
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