I just got through reading our Uncle Bondee’s latest adventure about the time he left Athens on a bus to Birmingham for his “physical” to make sure he was fit for the U.S. Army. Well, that brought back a few memories for me, too.

I will never forget receiving that “greeting” from Uncle Sam in the mail advising me that I must show up at the Athens Bus Station on that upcoming Monday morning for a bus ride to the Army base in Montgomery. It said to expect to be gone for at least two days, maybe three or four.

For a country boy like me, a trip to Montgomery on a bus with a lot of strangers is not what I wanted to do. Of course, I knew my draft status was 1A, and at 19 years of age, I was more than likely headed to war in Vietnam sometime in the near future. That, too, was not where I wanted to be.

Well, I showed up that Monday morning, and sure enough, there were plenty of other young boys waiting to get on that bus. I didn’t know a soul. I was scared to death.

We soon left Athens. Along the way, some of the boys started to sing, just having a big time, and I thought to myself, this may not be that bad. But I was still scared to death.

It took us the better part of the day to get to Montgomery, and once we arrived at the Army base, we were herded off and assigned to our bunks. They told us we would eat later. They then advised for us to “get some sleep” because 5 a.m. comes early, and they had a big day planned for us. Little did we know what a day it was going to be.

The bell went off at 5 a.m. and we had just a few minutes to get ready and head to the “mess hall” for some powdered eggs and bacon. After that, it was time for our physical.

We all lined up, weighed and started to be examined. We were then put into categories. The tall “Slim Jims” were Navy boys, the “Heavy Stocks” were Marines, and the “Average Joes” were headed to the Army. Of course, I was Army.

It took the better part of the day to get some of this “examining” done. Then they informed us “tomorrow” they “may” finish with us. Boy, what a nightmare, I thought.

I made a buddy while there, and he told me he was tired of this “bull.” He said he was considering going back home now and asked me if I wanted to go, too. I’ll admit, I thought about it, but I advised him no. He decided to stay too.

The next day was a full day of taking orders, most of it coming while naked as a jaybird. I thought to myself back then that picking cotton wasn’t so bad after all. This wasn’t just my cup of tea.

The next day we loaded the bus, and headed back to Athens. We didn’t have cell phones back then so I had no way of calling to get someone to pick me up. So, I walked from one side of town to the other. It was late that night before I got home.

I don’t know how many on that bus ride actually were drafted, but I heard that all passed the physical exam. Other than that one boy, though, I still didn’t know a soul. I never heard from him again.