August 1984ONE RESULT OF VIET Nam homecoming experiences was poor decision making. It was Bobby marrying Red; Ty getting involved with a fourteen-year-old; me not seeking help, losing Linda, Gina and Michelle. It was the inability to make overtly difficult decisions that might disappoint others and incur their rejection or wrath. And it was Watergate, Phnom Penh, El Salvador, Teheran, Beirut, Afghanistan, Iran-Contra.... The result hit more than individual returnees.
There is a system of cleansing that Bobby introduced us to. It’s not original; my brother John did it in Boy Scouts when he went for the Order of the Arrow. It’s much older than that, though. Native American lore contains accounts, as does the New Testament. Most famous of all is the Buddha’s long and extreme exercise. One ea
