Before the date of the first lottery I had already been in Air Force ROTC for four years. After graduating in 1969 I was slated to be commissioned in the Air Force. However, on the morning of my signing up I decided I actually did not want to be commissioned as a pilot candidate in the Air Force. By then I was married with an infant daughter. I didn’t want to be away from them and the prospect of dropping bombs on the enemy was not very compelling.
My plan to enter law school in the Fall was put on hold for a year. In the meantime my student deferment ended and I was reclassified as I-A. Looking around for alternatives and having already passed my physical, I learned that the draft board offered occupational deferments for school teachers. So I signed up to teach high school in west-middle Georgia, and taught school there during the 1969-1970 school year. On my way out the door and on my way to law school my principal told me I would never be a good teacher. I thought "thank God".