I know I haven’t written much lately. There’s just so much going these days, ya know? Not just with me, but in the world in general. School bus crashes, disappearing club kids, and drive-by shootings…There’s a guy who’ll miss his college graduation next week ’cause they just fished him out of a stream. There’s a kid who’ll never graduate high school because he had the misfortune of living in a dangerous school district. As much as I’d love to join the discussion of cuisine and review bad import movies, I didn’t feel I could write until I had something meaningful to say. All of this makes me think about life, and about people who’re actually doing something with theirs.
Lately, my thoughts have been with Shelly’s cousin, Chris. You see, Chris is about to ship out for training before being deployed to Iraq. He is about to fight for his country and, say what you will about the president or the war, you cannot deny the meaning of this gesture. We tend to worry about little things, such as “I hope the customers today aren’t assholes”, while people are off, risking their lives in strange, foreign locales so that we can enjoy unnecessary luxuries.
Now, my patriotism goes about as far as “G.I.Joe”, but this really hits close to home. Chris is a great guy, just like many of the others serving abroad. I wouldn’t wish this assignment on my worst enemy (Eunice, anybody?) , so i especially don’t want him over there. But I have to keep telling myself that he’s going to be OK. That’s all any of us can do right now. Normally, I’m Captain Loophole, looking for a way out of things, but my Zach Morris powers are failing me right now. I don’t see a con out of this situation, which makes me even more anxious. His girlfriend, jokingly, had the idea of slightly hitting him with her car; not enough to seriously hurt him, but enough to render him ineffective for combat. As funny as it sounded at first, it really doesn’t sound that far-fetched at the moment…
I can’t imagine what must be going through his head, but I know he’s probably worried, as I’m worried for him. I was apprehensive about writing this because I didn’t really know how to best convey my thoughts. When I think of the risk he’s about to take…I’m speechless.Not only because of the gesture, but also because he is about to do something that I could not do. I am not brave enough to do this, as ashamed as I am to admit that. What am I doing with MY life? Nothing that compares to this.
So, all I can do is think positively, keep him in my prayers, and be thankful. Thank you, Chris. Thank you and everyone else fighting, for doing what I could not do. Thank you for your bravery and sacrifice, and just know that we are all keeping you in our thoughts.
