One of my regulars came in today,
driving his white utility van
and wearing the mandatory gray Dickies.
Amidst the usual chatter that accompanies
the menial transaction of buying gas,
he notices that I wear a Clemson shirt
and mentions that he played football
with a guy from Clemson once,
when he was stationed in Ft. Benning, Georgia
with the United States Army.

Ft. Benning. Georgia.
The U.S. Army.
I look up at him, shocked.
I notice again the scar on his face.
Watching him sign the receipt,
I see that his hands, too,
are knarled and covered with scars.

But they don't shake.
And I doubt his blue eyes miss anything either.

Ft. Benning is home to the infamous
School of the Americas
where the U.S. government has trained
Latin and South American soldiers
in the arts of torture and murder.

And I serve someone who used to serve there.

He smiles and salutes me as he walks back to his van.

06/24/2003

Author's Note: The School of the Americas is now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, but still serves the same purpose. http://www.soaw.org/new/

Posted on 06/24/2003
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