Paths Not Taken

Under the heading of "paths not taken", I'd like to go back to the Spring of 1972. I was just about finished with my BA, but not sure where I wanted to go from there. A sorority sister of mine, Donna Chesus, whom I considered to be a fairly intelligent woman, proclaimed that she was going to join the Navy and find a red blooded American man, as she was sick and tired of all these draft dodging college boys. It sounded like a great idea - meet new people, travel new places, have new experiences. I went home and ran it by my parents (I was a very well behaved child) and my Father, an ex-Marine, informed me that only whores and lesbians went into the service. Since I did not qualify for either of those labels, I crossed military service off my list of things to do. I have often wished I'd ignored my Father's narrow minded advice. Ideally, I'd have loved it, grown from it, and found a similarly minded man to marry in it. My life would have been significantly different. But wait, you say. If you had married a different man you wouldn't have your children! And to that I say, "Maybe I would have had better ones!" and conversely, maybe my children would have had better parents! Only the shadow knows! (and regarding Donna Chesus, she is today a Rear Admiral in the US Navy, stationed in Hawaii.) Paths not taken.............