WAR!

That’s me in the combat helmet.

On my left, my fallen friend Scott...and his brother Brad with the white hat and Revolutionary War-era musket. We’re entrenched in a backyard fort that I still remember vividly...I’ve got it in mind-pictures taken from different angles.

Growing up, I was always gathering a team, plotting our next move, dividing and conquering.

I still do as an adult. Though I rarely wear an Army helmet.

Is it possible to meet an eleven year-old kid, hang out with him, and know exactly how he’ll be when he grows up? It must be. If you’d met me this day, you’d have known the Today Me.

There wasn’t an actual enemy attacking that day. I’m pretty sure we were just imagining the conflict. Playing our roles. Dying for the cause, while living to fight another day.

Not much has changed, has it?