"Heightened Alert of Nuclear Deterrent Forces"
by Anthony Roberts
Children of the 80s remember War Games The Day After 99 Red Baloons Red Dawn reading Red Storm Rising Trust but Verify Steve Allen’s satire Sid and Marty Kroft’s puppetry our entertainment always under the shroud of the mushroom cloud -except for John Hughes films where the Cold War didn’t exist- Then one day it went away the wall came down democracy seemed to have the right of way there was talk of a Cold War Medal but how do you give an award for a war that wasn’t? silos became museum exhibits with guided tours and lovely little wars became more conventional more acceptable something you read about in the morning paper it was a time of lower case p peace Even our big wars were little wars once they no longer found their way here until now when I have to explain to my kids what a nuclear weapon is how it works what it does what heightened state of alert means Tonight while they sleep I will not be, thinking instead backward and ahead what’s old is new again I hear the ghost of Gavrilo Princip and he is laughing
Anthony Roberts is a veteran of Baltimore and Afghanistan. He currently lives in New Jersey in a home with beautiful views and interlocking fields of fire.
Listen to our Savage Wonder episode with him here.
He is the author of the Pushcart Prize-nominated Pigtown and The Clearing Barrel.
You can follow him here.
Learn more about the Veterans Repertory Theater here.