I had graduated college in May, 1969 and worked construction all summer in Chicago. I applied for both Navy and Air Force OCS to fly jets that summer, but did not get accepted. The local army recruiter said I could become a warrant officer flying choppers, but I knew those guys were easy targets close to the shooting. Mom wanted me out of the crowded house and spurred me on to sign up for teacher education in Evanston. I finished that on December 19 and got married the next day to my college sweetheart…with a baby on the way. The low number 94 threw me for a loop, but I had applied for a teaching deferment just in time and got it in March while in my first job…6th grade in Buffalo Grove. A good friend had died in Viet Nam and I suddenly didn’t want to go. My dad, a WW2 Air Force veteran didn’t want me to go into the army either. He thought Canada sounded better. Thanks, Mom, you saved my sorry ass.