Ready but not armed

When I finished high school, I enquired about joining the army. My memory's hazy on the details, but either my dad drove me to the recruitment office or he dropped in there on my behalf. It wasn't that I desperately wanted to fight or to play with big boys' toys or even out of national pride (mine hadn't yet kicked in). It was simply that I was 17, had no plans in life, and the idea of an instant career was appealing. Also, some guys I knew through karate were in the army reserve and made it sound very much like getting paid for mucking about. The army declined the offer of my services on the grounds of eyesight (I'd suspected this might be the case). My dad asked if there were any positions - eg. behind a computer screen - where my level of vision would be acceptable, but it was a blanket rule. Looking back, I'm kinda glad I wasn't allowed to join as, although physically fit, I wasn't mentally prepared for the training - let alone the social side of things. But clearly I'm still a little miffed :-)