I have no memory of the lottery drawing, but I guess I watched the event with my dorm mates. I was raised in a pacifist Protestant denomination and had no difficulty achieving conscientious objector (CO) status. COs with the I-O classification were required to perform two years of alternative service, that is, work in a civilian job “contributing to the maintenance of health, safety and national interests.” And, as I recall, work had to be some distance from home Thanks to my low number, the summer after graduation was spent lining up an alternative service gig. I ended up working as an electronics technician in a hospital at the University of Chicago. As it turned out, this job influenced the course of my whole career. I’ve lived with an awareness that I’d been quite fortunate; I had not made the least sacrifice when so many others had suffered physical and/or psychological injury or death in a distant, ill-conceived war.