My Blog Exchange Entry

I don't know how many of you got to read this at the beginning of the month, when I was involved with the Blog Exchange Project. The excercise for February was to write a post in the voice of someone famous, without making specific reference to said famous person.

I exchanged with Suzanne. I hope that you went to her site while she was visitiong me here. If not, please go and visit this funny and sometimes frenetic writer at her blog: CUSS and other rants. Please make sure you go and spread the love.

You know, when you get to be my age (65), you start to look back at your life and wonder how things might have different if you had made other choices. In my case, I have to tell you that my life has turned out rather well. I have been married to my high school sweetheart since 1964, and I have not only risen to high political office, I have also made a boatload of money along the way.

As I said, I have led a successful life… but there ARE a few things that I would change if I could: First, I would have done better in my studies at Yale… I was flunking out and almost lost one of my five draft deferments. That was scary, especially withy a war heating up!

As much of a war supporter as I have been throughout my political career, as well as in my private career… it's just that… well… I just had other priorities in the 60's, so I didn’t bother to serve… yeah, getting married before I even finished college was well-timed… they weren’t drafting married guys then, so it was cool.

So, there I was, in college, married, and safe from the draft… at least, until the laws changed and married men were eligible again. Shit! What now? Well, we decided to start a family, right there and then. They were taking married guys… but not married guys with kids! Well, that worked out well enough, and kept me out of uniform until 1967, when I turned 26 and was no longer eligible for the draft. Whew!

As I said… perhaps I should have done some things differently, I mean, now, military service is popular… especially with all of those useless great working class people. Maybe if I had served, people would quit calling me a “Chickenhawk” Maybe if I had served, people would be less likely to think that I am eager to send their sons and daughters to risk the safety of their asses while I never did anything even remotely risky (except for getting arrested for drunk driving… twice, years ago) . Too late for that now, though, especially since the Iraq insurgency is in its last throes.

Well, I guess I can’t dwell on things for too long. What’s done is done, they always say.

Geez, I am getting old. I am starting to get maudlin over the fact that my days of power are on the wane. In not too long, I’ll have to leave this great house on Massachusetts Avenue, and return to the private sector.

Maybe it’s time to do just that. Maybe then, nobody will get all bent out of shape just because I like to drink while hunting. You’d think I shot somebody in the face or something… oh.

You can find more info about the Blog Exchange and how to participate, as well as the January participants and entries, by clicking here