My rocking chair creeks as my old tatter shoes hit the wooden floor that had also been aged as well with me being here. My hands, that was once young, now old and bone. The slender finger tips graze over the aging envelope that he had sent when we were lovers before he went off to war. I would sometimes chuckle—though I was scare of how enthusiastic he was about it. Always telling me about what was going on from what he had heard about, since America wasn't in war yet. Then saying how he could wish to join it, only if America was going into the war, though a lot of young man was being drafted into the war. Anyways, I was scared for him that he wouldn't come back, but I reassured myself he would come back safe. But, that fear came true. Any woman (or in my case man) would feel rather not like themselves as if all the light in your world had left you.
Fifty years it had been since America had entered the war. Time surely flies by when the whole world was at war. It was around 1941, around where the naval base Pearl Harbor was bombed. Everyone was shocked, clearly I myself was too when President Roosevelt came onto to the radio to tell the United States of America the terrible tragedy. "Yesterday, December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy-the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." I believe that everyone was sitting around their radios to hear about it. Then as if the whole country knew it, the United States of America was at war. In my household my dad didn't really seemed to care since he would always say that he was expecting it, if America was continuing to be neutral like they tried to be in the First World War. I never knew much about it since I was born in the year that it ended. Next day newspaper stands were flooding with the headlines; "Pearl Harbor Bombed", "America Enters the War".
I was heading outside, buttoning up my winter coat to the best of my ability to help my father shovel the driveway from the snow from last night, but more will be coming soon anyway. I could see Alfred running in the distance as if he had some good news –though it will never be good news. I just gave a glance to my father and a simple nod was just returned, meaning that I could talk to him for a short while. He waited till I was by the shed to put the shovel away—well more act like I was going to.
Our interactions were very limited in the public since homosexuals were most likely to be frowning upon during that time. So, we simply just acted as friends. Alfred just looked at me as I simply waited for him to speak. "I'm joining the war."