One of the soldiers from our little town died in Iraq.
Even though the young man (and his family) was not known by me- nor very well thought of by DS (suffice it to say- he'd been one of those cliche-type jocks that liked to rough up the small and the weak)... it's still just a DAMN SHAME that one of "our" boys got skanked. Yeah- I know he's not the first. And, he won't be the last.
And... my kid is rethinking his plans of signing with the Navy and going in Marines.
All this has just served to make me do a lot of introspection.
For one- I love my kid. I can pick up the phone and call him just about any time I want. AND.. he doesn't mind. He just talks and carries on with whatever it was I interrupted- and just rattles on or listens to me. Landon's mama will never have that chance again. I'm really sad for her.
Two-- I'm nearing my 43 birthday. yes. Kim and I had to calculate that figure as we both are turning and neither of us remember these tiny details (like how OLD we are) since we passed the big 3-9. Why bother? It wastes too many precious brain cells trying to remember that inconsequential detail. But--- that figure of 43 is like MIDDLE AGE.... which relates back to those lyrics. Which means-- yikes. You know- I'm really probably WAY past middle age- cuz I don't expect to be one of those that lives to the ripe old age of a hundred. And, no- I don't mean that whiney-like. I mean, let's face it- folks with blood issues and living on blood thinners just don't usually make it to centenarian status.
So.... all that having been realized- I look at the death of that young man at 19 (and my own 18 year-old's hopes and aspirations) and think-- the quantity of days given to each individual is such an unknown-- don't waste it.
The article in the paper- describes all the travels this young man had already had- to Australia, to Thailand, Korea, the Philippines and Bali- I realize that in a "worldy" sense- he'd not wasted his life. And, in the patriotic sense- he's given the greatest of all gifts-self. He had experiences that a great many of us middle-agers will never have. And, in only 19 years.
in memorial of Landon Giles • 1985-2005
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