I have been thinking about events that take place in a short amount of time but affect the rest of our lives. I think that’s because I have a granddaughter who will be married next month, and the current novel will have a wedding in it. My first marriage was in a time that is much different than today. The pill had not yet been invented, so premarital sex didn’t happen that often. If you went to the drugstore and bought condoms, you might have to tell the pharmacist you were married. One thing that really surprised me was I could go to bed with her – not for sex – and wake up with her beside me. I remember how good that felt. Couples today might not experience that.
Another short ceremony I remember was being sworn into the Army. In that short time, you became a soldier and not a civilian. You didn’t know what it meant yet. You got a taste of it in basic training when you got your first weapon. You were told the purpose of that weapon was “to kill and maim human beings.” You got your first chance to use a live grenade. The force of the explosion startled me. I think everyone else was just as surprised. Then I found myself in Vietnam. It wasn’t anything like the movies. I remember when six of my friends died. They had been alive, and we trained together and drank together, then they no longer did either.
Events have a way of changing our lives. Do you have a memory of an event that changed your life?
