Here's a song/poem I riffed off of Ed Lewis' story in this edition.

Though I served in Vietnam
I didn't feel like a real man
It's amazing how my friends had been so cruel.
In my heart I knew who I am
I was working toward my plan
I wanted to teach pre-school.

I'm a man. Thank you ma'am.
I drink beer and curse and damn.
I'm a crack shot. I drive a truck.
I'll hike through muck as well as any man.

Though I hit a home run
Lifted weights just for fun
And journeyed down the Amazon by mule
In my heart I knew who I am
I was working toward my plan
I wanted to teach pre-school.

There was this special gal I'd see
But her dad was tough on me
He thought to teach… I was a fool
In my heart I knew who I am
I was working toward my plan
I wanted to teach pre-school.

So I sailed the Mediterranean
With a leathery Scandinavian
Then lived in a cave in rural Istanbul.
In my heart I knew who I am
I was working toward my plan
I wanted to teach pre-school.

So for all those many years
And for all those many beers
I wanted to do what I wanted to do
In my heart I knew who I am
I was working toward my plan
I wanted to teach pre-school.

So, now I'm getting old
My years are seven fold
But I'm happy as a band in Liverpool
In my heart I knew who I was
And I succeeded just because
I wanted to teach pre-school.

© Al Zagofsky 2021