I came of age in the tumultuous late ’60s to early ’70s. Against the fray in a small blue-collar town in Pennsylvania, my liberal physician father supported organizations that sent young men to Canada to dodge the draft. In my developing mind, the images of Kent State blurred with those of Watergate and the Khmer Rouge. We sent our fair share of young men from the Bethlehem steel mills to Vietnam, but if they did manage to survive and return to the Lehigh Valley, they didn’t always receive a warm welcome home.
I remember the anthems of the time, “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival and “Ohio” by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. The 1972 presidential election had me wishing I were old enough to vote for McGovern and his anti-war campaign against Nixon. Heavily influenced by my conscientious objector grandfather and left-wing dad, I sewed peace sign patches on my jeans and identified with the teenage angst of the time. Regardless of what was going on around me, though, I was far removed from the horrors of war and have been ever since.
Fast-forward about 35 years to 2010. Now middle-aged and mother to two children, we’ve lived in West Roxbury for 10 years. I survived college, thrived with a publishing career, met and married a great guy and built a wonderful family. So far it’s a life pretty well spent, and I still sport a peace sign on my car — not my jeans — but until this moment it never occurred to me to support a military cause. As shocking as that may be to some, it’s true and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Increasingly, I find myself haunted by images of death and injury via our “extended military action” in Afghanistan and Iraq. But those of us who have not shared the sacrifice have an opportunity to do so now.
I became aware of the Fisher House Foundation a few months ago when Brigid Boyle, the chair of the upcoming fundraiser, “Fisher House Boston Red Carpet Gala,” on Saturday, March 27, asked me if I could help. My first reaction was, “I’ve never even set foot on the grounds of the VA, what could I possibly contribute to the Fisher House?”
But it wasn’t long before I was sucked into the vortex of a wonderfully spirited volunteer community in the Parkway. Making it happen are longtime West Roxbury residents like Boyle, who first became involved as a volunteer van driver in the VA parking lot; Carol Boughter, who creates stunning graphics including the beautiful poster you’ve seen shining in storefront windows; and Mary Mulvey Jacobson, president of the West Roxbury Business and Professional Association. These are just a few of the countless volunteers who are spending precious free time hanging posters, fielding phone calls and making pleas for donations.
