When I called Dad to tell him how well things were going, he said, “I never got to go to school. There’s nothing to brag about, boy. You’ve had it easy. Is that all you called about?” He hung up. Sam joined the army the day he graduated from high school, right after Dad gave him the same speech about being on his own at twelve. I drove Sam to the bus station, and we hugged for a long time, not knowing when we would see each other again. He was still fearless and reckless. As I watched him board for Fort Dix, I couldn’t imagine how he’d survive in the military. Lonnie had transferred to the
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