The Boys of Schuyler County

During my second span of time in the small time of Macomb, I met and befriended a number of the local young men.

Now Macomb is a college town so it gives on a sort of exaggerated view of the nations condition or perhaps it is like the rest of society in fast forward. Most of the Major industry left the town over the last couple decades. There are a large number of college educated people in the town but a very small number of jobs requiring an education or paying a livable salary. Many of the employers don't hire for full time positions as there are always new college student ready an willing to take any job they can get to pay for booze and smokes. Wal - mart has made many deals with the local civil government and has yet to pay a cent in city taxes. Macomb is not a land of opportunity for many of the young men and women who grew up there.

Now these young people are smart. Their education system has many ties with the university so not only do they get some good teachers but there is a constant influx of student teachers, who while inexperienced are full of enthusiasm and fresh from their learning so brimming with knowledge. So there are many bright people who while they love their home town have little opportunities in it and must look elsewhere to advance themselves. Many joined the military.

So in Macomb I found a bunch of young men who had served the military faithfully and upon their discharge decided to return to their home towns (Macomb and the surrounding townships) and attend the local state university on the governments dime. The first couple year there were gulf war vets who had put in their six years or more and were taking their time finishing college (or perhaps having a hard time finishing) as it was their first real freedom. They went from being children to being soldiers with out the wild craziness that most of us go through in our late teens and early twenties so they needed to make up for it. These boys had a lot of fun. They went to the football games, were the last out of the bars and could always be heard a mile off.

Then as the gulf war boys started to graduate a different crew rotated through. These guys were closer to my age maybe a year or two younger but I quickly made friends with them. Every single one of em had a nick name like Taco or Grover or Ogre. If one was talking badly about someone or telling a story out of turn about their wayward Macomb youth then the phrase "the dirty" would prefix a name as in "The Dirty Ogre was hiding in the drainage ditch with the cooler of beer. Or the Dirty Grover held the video camera while Joe C ...."

These boys told me enough stories to fill three books. I would get off of work at the bar and by the time we had cleaned up and closed down it was four am. I would grab a six pack of beer and head over to one of the various college rentals these men had stayed in over the years and hang out with who ever was still going at that time of the night. We would tell lies and drink the last couple beers and watch the sun come up. If the college kids were in town then we would sit on a porch and watch the "walk of shame" as the boys and girls scrambled out beds with purse and shoes in hand and scramble home in the blinding morning light head hung low wondering what they done and why.

Now, at first, I was under the impression that these guys had cushy job here and there in the service and they rarely talked about their time in but as I spent a couple years hanging out with them I learned about what it meant to be stationed in Bosnia and Korea and Mogadishu. All of these young men had scars of sorts or memories they feel would be better left buried.

While I don't know where many of these guys are right now or what they are doing. (I'm very bad about keeping in touch with people). I care very deeply for them. They were like brothers to me and took me into their group. They always had time for me and for that I am grateful.

So a concern for me in the upcoming months is the idea of calling up these soldiers who are still in the IRR. They have served their country and moved on with their lives and while I know they may be the cheapest and best source of experienced soldiers (And both the Bush and Kerry camps admit we need more soldiers) I would rather not see them called back to duty.

This a completely selfish thing. I want to know that my friends will be all right. It is not the highest of moral standing grounds but when it comes down to it we all have our own very personal reasons for voting the way we do. These young men are the reason I'm going to vote for John Kerry in November and I hope other people will do the same.

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