Decisions are made with the information at hand, weighing probabilities. To an outsider, and in hindsight, they often seem simple. Yet, even in the Continue Reading
The Wars of Others
The wars of others douse gasoline on the fire hardly controllable. The urge to fight shared in the neurotic texts and conversations with the others. Continue Reading
Warrior’s Guilt
By adolescence, I viewed death as a rapidly approaching inevitability. I viewed my life’s value in its destruction. I sought only an honorable end, Continue Reading
Barracks Life
Flipping through the photos, my mind went back to a different time and place. I could smell the open breezeways of the barracks. I could see every Continue Reading
She Fumbled and Stumbled
She fumbled and stumbled. I watched as the intoxicating liquids took hold, their effects inevitable. I observed the entire process, knowing exactly Continue Reading
What’s It Like to Take Human Life?
Words like these often flow from a place without fore- or afterthought. They exist only at the moment they flow from my brain to my fingers or Continue Reading
The Man I Refuse to Become
One does not exist without the other. The future cannot be without the past. Good without evil. Son without father. The physiological similarities Continue Reading
Confronting Tall Poppy Syndrome
Every breath becomes labored under the pressure. There appears to be no beginning or end of this vast desert. Every step is labored under the Continue Reading
Insomnia: Demon of Destruction and Peace
Night after night I lay awake, long after the light of day has settled beyond the horizon. The struggle that ensues is one all too familiar. It has Continue Reading
You Ain’t Got to Lie to Kick It
My old field training officer (FTO), now friend and former Marine, once looked at a guy and said, “you ain’t got to lie to kick it.” This man was a Continue Reading
Weaponizing a System That Thrives on Anonymity
The once sanctuary, the seemingly last vestige of honest relief, tainted from within. To be denied the right of comedic relief from the horrific Continue Reading
Certainty in the Sand
The hardest part of being on the right side of history is time. Each falling grain brings trials and tribulations without certainty. It hinges on the Continue Reading