“I had an uncle that was a Vietnam veteran. I think he really played it down. He wasn’t dodging bullets or anything. He worked in one of the supply houses. What he didn’t really talk about was when a rocket hit one of the buildings he was walking into, he got blown right out the front door. If I was five, I would’ve asked what happened next. Being somewhat more mature I knew to change the subject. He died eight years ago, my dad is convinced he died because of implications with agent orange, but he was a heavy smoker and drinker. You could smell it when you walked into his house. It’s funny how the government justifies not taking care of its soldiers at all.”
“I used to be a smoker but I quit. My parents smoked a lot while I was growing up – they still do- but I think that kept me away from drugs. I started smoking pot this year, but I don’t think I have an addictive personality. I had a headache yesterday and thought about smoking some weed but decided not to risk it. If I was addicted I don’t think I’d be able to do that.”
“I saw myself to be a military man. I was convinced I would be a soldier. Watching tv shows like Hannibal Lector, you think killers are sleek and glamorous. You never think the human mind is anything but ready to be what it is. Obviously in the military there would be people that I wouldn’t get along with and I would just deal with it, but it’s the people telling the military what to do that I can’t stand. I’d like to think I’m not in the military because of my issue with authority- that’s what’s gotten me fired most of the time, anyway.”
“I had a friend in the marines. He wasn’t really a friend, just a guy I knew. He was so intelligent it was scary. Like he was so serious, he had to go to therapy as a child just to learn how to have fun. He went to Iraq. One time I pretended to be surprised that he shot people and I think it made him uncomfortable and he asked to change the subject. I never really thought about the idea of having friends that were also killers. But they also dodge bullets.”
“We see all of these explosions on Looney Tunes and laugh because the human body hasn’t evolved to handle them. But we ignore that it’s happening somewhere. I’d like to think the country has become more aware of the stressors of the military in the last few years.”
“Political science? That seems like a disheartening subject to be studying right now. Do you study psychology? You speak like you do. You have an introspective personality, but you also got me to talk about myself- that doesn’t happen very often. It’s a part of the salon business to make a haircut more than just a grooming session, so I find it helps to tell an exciting or humorous story and it becomes more enjoyable. Most people don’t like going that deep down the rabbit hole. It’s not that it’s private, it’s just not what people are ready to hear from the guy cutting their hair.”