Eric James Stone

I’ll be signing at the BX from 1-4pm.

Much of the important work our military is doing in Iraq is being done by those who serve in the National Guard. And the National Guard played a big part in responding to the recent hurricanes that struck various Southern states. The men and women who serve in the National Guard often suffer great personal inconvenience to do so, leaving behind their normal jobs when called to active duty — not to mention the dangers they face.

I appreciate their sacrifice, and to some extent I envy them for it.

Several months ago, I heard on the radio that the National Guard had raised their maximum age for enlistment from thirty-five to forty. This was significant to me because I’m thirty-eight: I switched from being too old to being young enough.

As a believer in our mission to help establish democracy in Iraq, I began considering whether joining the National Guard would be a good thing for me to do. After all, unlike many of those who are risking their lives every day, I don’t have a family to support.

But it wasn’t until the aftermath of Katrina that I decided to take any action to find out more about the possibility of enlisting. Seeing the important work the National Guard was doing, I went to the local Army National Guard recruitment office, at the University Mall in Orem. I had a good conversation there with SGT W. Lee Johnson, who was very helpful in answering my questions about Guard service.

In going over the qualifications for enlistment, SGT Johnson explained that my asthma would prevent me from joining. That was one of the things I had wondered about, and I must say it came as a bit of a blow. I had not made up my mind to enlist, but knowing that I couldn’t even if I decided I wanted to was disappointing.

So I’m still a civilian and will remain thus.

However, SGT Johnson did say there was a way I could serve, and that was by encouraging others to join the National Guard. So, if you are like me (but without the asthma) and believe in what we’re doing in Iraq, and appreciate the sacrifices made by the men and women of the National Guard in helping our nation recover from disasters, you might want to consider enlisting. Some of the necessary qualifications are listed here.

From 7pm on
Borders Books
132 E Winchester St.
Murray, UT

From 7pm on
Borders Books
4801 N University Ave Ste 910
Provo, UT

At last night’s book signing and reading, I sold out the bookstore’s inventory of WOTF XXI. I brought in four more copies from my car and sold three of them.

Now, lest you think I’m a book-selling machine, I must explain that the Barnes & Noble only had 7 copies in stock by the time I arrived for the signing. (Apparently people were actually buying the book before that without the incentive of getting my autograph.) Still, ten copies sold, three of them to people I didn’t know, made for a successful signing. The bookstore people were very pleased.

The reading also went well. I read three short pieces in half an hour. The audience particularly loved my finale, “Bird-Dropping and Sunday.”

So I owe a big thank-you to all my friends who showed up for the reading and signing.

Every Thursday evening, I normally attend a writers group at Barnes & Noble in Orem. On November 10, though, the store has asked that I do a reading/speaking/signing from 7-9pm.

Barnes & Noble
330 E. University Pkwy
Orem, UT