Only A Game?
Guideposts|May 2019

Find out what swinging a golf club has to do with helping vets with PTSD.

Arlinda Mitchell
Only A Game?

I STARED DOWN AT THE GOLF BALL atop its tee. My hands tightened around the grip of my club. I tried to recall the coach’s advice on how to actually hit this thing.

I swung my arms downward as fast as I dared. Thud! The club bit into the grass just shy of the tee. A total miss. I could feel the eyes of the seven other female veterans on me. “What am I doing here?” I muttered.

It was the same thought I’d had 20 years earlier when my unit landed in Saudi Arabia.

I’d joined the Army Reserve on a whim, looking to inject a little excitement into my life. The training exercises were one weekend a month. I was 35. Single. A phlebotomist at a hospital. I knew Reserve forces were the first to get the call if the U.S. were ever in a full-on war. But what was the chance of that? It was 1987. There hadn’t been any major military conflict since Vietnam. Besides, I imagined there’d be some kind of exemption for an older woman like me.

I made it through basic. My unit was the 350th Evacuation Hospital in Canton, Ohio. My job in radio communications was to deliver messages from combat units to hospital staffers. Our weekend exercises were only drills. Still, it felt good knowing my superiors put that kind of trust in me. I loved the challenge and the camaraderie with the other men and women in my unit.

Two years after I signed up, I met a guy I really liked. He thought it was cool that I was in the military, and we soon got married.

In August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, not that I paid much attention. Seemed like those Middle Eastern countries were always fighting.

Just before Thanksgiving, I got a call at work. I had two days to report for duty. My hand was shaking so badly, I could barely hang up the phone.

“I’ve just been called up for active duty,” I told my husband. “Like for a real war.”

Bu hikaye Guideposts dergisinin May 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye Guideposts dergisinin May 2019 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

GUIDEPOSTS DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
In the Everyday
Guideposts

In the Everyday

Cooking, cleaning, breaking up the kids’ fights... If only I had a few minutes for myself!

time-read
3 dak  |
June/July 2024
Worst-Case Scenario?
Guideposts

Worst-Case Scenario?

I’d had nagging injuries before and always recovered. Why wasn’t I confident that I would get better this time?

time-read
6 dak  |
June/July 2024
Honor Thy Son
Guideposts

Honor Thy Son

I was a Marine officer, a lifer—or so I thought. Then came Patrick

time-read
7 dak  |
June/July 2024
Keeping It Real
Guideposts

Keeping It Real

In an age of social media, we're experiencing an epidemic of loneliness. Two friends who met online tell you how to grow an authentic connection

time-read
6 dak  |
June/July 2024
What You Wish For
Guideposts

What You Wish For

She never wanted to see her abusive father again

time-read
7 dak  |
June/July 2024
God's Pillow
Guideposts

God's Pillow

In 2016, the Soberanes Fire in Northern California was the costliest ever in the United States. It almost cost me my life, despite the promise I made to my wife

time-read
7 dak  |
June/July 2024
"I Heard You Praying"
Guideposts

"I Heard You Praying"

As a hospital chaplain, I had seen hopeless cases. But never one more seemingly hopeless than this

time-read
5 dak  |
June/July 2024
"I Love You, Dad!"
Guideposts

"I Love You, Dad!"

Some of your favorite GUIDEPOSTS writers share what they learned from their fathers

time-read
6 dak  |
June/July 2024
Harold and Me
Guideposts

Harold and Me

They’re nearly all gone now, the generation we call The Greatest.” This woman’s mission was to honor one of them

time-read
7 dak  |
June/July 2024
The Race Before Her
Guideposts

The Race Before Her

For this Olympic champion, success bred her greatest fear. How five verses set her free

time-read
9 dak  |
June/July 2024