It took all the energy I had to flee the hospital and run the entire way home. Once inside, I made certain to bolt the door lock to ensure privacy. I’m so riddled with emotion I could explode.
The doctors said all along my ‘problem’ is emotional. Serving in Grenada, Panama (during the roundup of Gen. Noriega), Gulf War, Somalia, and finally Kosovo was too much for me, according to them. But stress of combat didn’t cause me to stop talking. It was the ‘other thing’ which I can’t write down that triggered my muteness.
I’ve fought to speak since my military discharge, without success. But today, something more frightening is happening. Something I’m ashamed to admit to anyone, including Gloria, my only real friend in Dalton Springs. I was able to blurt my first spoken words in several years, but only cursing came. Even now, I’m swearing like a drunken sailor. One foul word after another….which can only mean….
I hope I don’t have Tourette’s Syndrome.
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