Helen’s black pump heels clicked across the tile floor as she cleared the table after dinner. Caroline sauntered in and took plates out of her mother’s hands.
“I e-mailed my application to Penn State today,” Caroline stated, smiling.
“That’s great, sweetie. Do you have to send them a hard copy too, or is the e-mail the only thing they need?”
“Just the e-mail.”
“Wow, that’s different. I never imagined we’d be sending everything over the internet. Next we’ll be making cell phone payments over the internet,” Helen said sarcastically.
Caroline looked at her, confused and smiled wryly.
“Mom, you can already do that.”
Car headlights beamed through the window of the house as the two finished the dishes.
********************************
Helen stepped out of her VW Bug and onto the concrete sidewalk of Valley Hill High School. She waved at two girls across the parking lot. A Beatles song blared from a Mustang across the lot. Let it be, let it be. She stepped into the brightly lit hallway of the school and into her classroom.
“Are you coming to the rally at Penn State today?” A blonde girl next to Helen asked.
“Of course!” she replied. “I got another letter from James yesterday, he’s even encouraging me to rally. Ever since he got drafted and went over there, he’s been sending me letters about how he can’t wait to come home. He says it’s worse over there than we think.”
“I can’t even imagine,” the blonde replied.
The bell rang as Helen took out her notebook and wrote the date on the top of her paper – “September 15, 1970.”
“I’ll see you at 5,” the blonde whispered, as the teacher started that day’s lecture.
**********************************
Helen and James stayed up to watch the news after the girls had gone to sleep. Same old, same old, Helen thought. Clinton and Lewinsky. Lame.
“So our girl’s going to Penn State,” James exclaimed proudly, pulling Helen away from the obviously boring newscast. “Your alma mater.”
“We don’t know that yet. Don’t jinx it.”
“She’ll get in. As long as they don’t find out her mother was one of the protestors on the campus all the time when I was in Vietnam.” James said, laughing.
“Very funny,” Helen replied sarcastically.
*********************************
At 4:45, Helen pulled up to the campus of Penn State and grabbed her “No war. Know peace” sign from the back of her tiny car. A rather large group of students were already assembled by the steps of the main auditorium, alongside about ten armed policemen and a couple men in uniforms who looked like National Guardsmen. As Helen approached the steps of the building with her sign, she spotted the blonde haired girl from English.
“Hey Helen!” she exclaimed. “Join in!”
They two held their signs up and began chanting along with the other young protestors.
“Tell us what we’re fighting for!” a student yelled.
“Bring home my father,” another student shouted, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Helen remembered the letter she had gotten from James the day before, and she swelled with emotion: anger, righteousness, and utter sadness.
***********************************
“Turn it back to MTV,” Brittney said, grabbing the remote out of her older sister’s hand.
The latest NSYNC video appeared on the giant screen.
“Don’t you two get tired of all the boy bands?” Helen commented, walking into the den.
“Oh mom, you just don’t understand. We only watch them because they’re hot,” Brittney explained.
Helen sat down and took the remote, changing it to the local 6:00 news.
“MOM!” Caroline whined.
“You two really need to learn to care about something other than hot boys and cars. When I was in high school, all we watched was the news because we actually cared what was going on in the world.”
“Yeah and you guys didn’t even have MTV,” Brittney replied sarcastically.
“We care, mom. Really, we do.”
Both girls sauntered out of the den and into their rooms.
**************************************
Helen got home after the rally and got out a pen and a piece of paper.
James, thank you so much for your letters. I miss you so much. I hope you are
doing okay over there. I think about you every day. I just got back from a
protest at Penn State, so I had to write you and tell you about it. It was
empowering. For the first time in a long time I feel like I’m actually doing
something with my life. Hundreds of people showed up. Every protest that I go to
reminds me of you. I’m protesting for you but I’m also protesting for me and for
my right as a person to know why we’re in this war. I just don’t understand it.
I don’t get why we’re even in Vietnam. I don’t get why there was a draft. I
don’t understand violence and I don’t understand war. I hope they send you home
soon. I miss you more and more every day and pray that you come home soon. Love, Helen
James walked through the giant oak front door of the house. Brittney and Caroline were glued to the television once again.
“Hi, Dad,” they both said monotonously.
“Hi girls. Geez, do you two ever do homework?” James said.
“Did it,” Caroline replied, her gaze never shifting from the T.V.
“Don’t have any,” Brittney said, equally as zombie-like as her sister.
“What about the newspaper? Do you read that ever?”
“Only for the movie listings,” Caroline shot back. “Why read the newspaper when you can get on the internet?”
“Right. I always forget about that.”
“Did you know that our President just got impeached?”
“Dad, be quiet, I can’t hear the T.V.”
***************************************
Helen couldn’t sleep that night. Nightmares of James being in Vietnam kept replaying over and over again every time she closed her eyes. She sat up, as awake as ever and began writing in her diary.
I can’t stop thinking about James being drafted. I know how brave he is, but I
can’t help but worry anyway. Who knows what might happen to him over there. I
went to an anti-war protest today and it was amazing. I’m so glad that there is
so much activism from people my age. It’s almost like the entire outcome of our
country rests on us. I feel like we’re really making a difference, and I’m
excited to see the outcome.
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