The Things They Carried

What were Tim’s options once he received his draft notice?

Draft notice

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Tim didn't have many options. The only thing open to him was to cross the border into Canada..... to dodge the draft.

There was no happy way out. The government had ended most graduate school deferments; the waiting lists for the National Guard and Reserves were impossibly long; my health was solid; I didn't qualify for CO status—no religious grounds, no history as a pacifist. Moreover, I could not claim to be opposed to war as a matter of general principle.

At some point in mid-July I began thinking seriously about Canada. The border lay a few hundred miles north, an eight-hour drive. Both my conscience and my instincts were telling me to make a break for it, just take off and run like hell and never stop.

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The Things They Carried