So it's been 40 years almost to the day since I registered for the draft. The fact that I kept this piece of paper -- heavily freighted with history and emotion -- is proof that I didn't burn it. And why would I? Young men received this document upon turning 18. While it was just a piece of paper, it was as powerful as a sorcerer's potion. It meant that you might be snatched out of your comfortable suburban existence and transported to an Asian rice paddy where your life might be on the line. But it was also instantaneous proof that you were 18 and therefore it gave you the magical ability to be served in bars where the drinking age was 18. I love that it has my weight -- 140 pounds. In the 40 years since I received the card, I gained 15 pounds, almost two inches and a ton of wisdom.
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