When the Dentist Spoke at the Anti-War Rally

We had a dentist speak at the anti-war rally we organized, we young men home from college in the summer of ’68

trying to legitimize ourselves in the eyes of our parents, even as we turned activist.

We held a car wash to raise funds. When I wrote articles about the war, I quoted businessmen, as though they were the only real gauge of decent humanity.

I grew my hair a little, and for a few months once had a stubble beard, until my cousin spat

venom at me in the hospital waiting room just before Grandpa died, with the words “You look like a fairy!”

Mother said that summer, “I don’t care what you do, as long as you don’t look like what you are!”

I still wonder what she meant.