Wars and Rumors of Wars

In 1967 I was attending Franklin High School (right) in Seattle. It was an old relic of a building but possessed a spirit of diversity and tolerance that was decades ahead of its time. The now famous Frank Raines of Fannie Mae fame was twice the student body president and, for the record, once my debate partner before he graduated to Harvard and onward and upward from there. During that same time NFL Terry Metcalf was tearing up the gridiron turf. Franklin had a large Jewish population and it was my first experience being up close and personal with the almost arrogant mantle worn generally by the Chosen People. It was an arrogance with which I was somewhat familiar being LDS and all, but no Mormon I knew wore it so comfortably. Perhaps it was somewhat shinier in September of 1967 for only three months earlier Israel had taken a mere 6 days defeat Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and Syria.


I remember seeing a poster with a photo of Moshe Dayan and a caption that read "Hire the Handicapped".


Recently, as missiles were being lobbed into Haifa, I clearly saw this current battle as a precursor to a long and more global effort what might well be that Armageddon that will usher in the Millennial Morn. I had these thoughts protected by my long teeth, knowing I would not be called up for duty but keenly aware that none of my sons are exempt because of their ages. I became intensely afraid for my sons and their sons and could find no solace in the promises of protection in the stakes of Zion. I wondered if any of my thoughts concerning the famous 6-day war had been worrisome for me.


In June of 1967 my only historically driven memory was the death of Jane Mansfield by beheading. In August I remember that Brian Epstein died of some mysterious disease. Now it is all too well known.



I remember that in 1967 Elvis married Pricilla and the first Super Bowl was played. I remember how stupid I thought the song "Somethin' Stupid" was while I was applauding the genius that created "Penny Lane". I even remember that Johnny Whitaker of "Family Affair" fame was a Mormon. But my memories are sanitized of facts from any of the various wars going on, to include the one that was very likely to affect me personally even more than it already had, Vietnam.


I remember clearly about Barbara Sheoken, the only Jewish girl I ever dated; Joe McKinney, my best friend on the Southside and the first person I knew personally, to commit suicide. I recall a fistfight I had had with Paul Abolafia and Dean Witter. I can recall with meticulous precision, my performance as a wrestler, a Judo player and a karate tournament contestant.
I remember a Sunday School teacher whose wife left for another man and Seminary teacher who forced me to read the Book of Mormon, Holly Irick, Emily Torkelson, Earl Dennis, Joe Meadows, Beezer and Lyman. I remember my mother's suicide attempt and institutionalization, fishing for wild steelhead, hiking the Olympic and skipping school to help search for a missing boy - who, by the way, was never found.


From 1970 to 1972 when the focus of my memory changes to reflect my mission experience and the journal I kept, there is nothing on record of my thoughts, fears or emotions concerning war and peace in the world, despite my memory today, of some terrible fears and worries. I wonder if I thought that if I didn't talk about it, everything would go away. Who knows...?


Today it's clearly different. My fears are greater because they are for my sons and daughters and my grandchildren. The reality of the world nearly paralyzes me because it was driven home so clearly that there is absolutely nothing I can do to change things. No president, no political party, no ideology, not even the Church and the gospel it bears, will change the course of the mortal human future.

The Lord tells us that the prepared shall not fear... Apparently, I am ill-prepared.