The war in Iraq was ugly, but the country was not. I’ve never seen a more perfect sunset than when I was in the turret of a gun truck. The horizon Continue Reading
Veterans
The Weight We Carry — and Why We Carry It
I was born into chaos. My earliest memories aren’t of playgrounds or cartoons — they’re of explosions, shouting, and fear. My family escaped civil Continue Reading
When a Beagle Taught America How to Remember
by Cristóbal S. Berry-Cabán The Peanuts gang are lounging together beneath the shade of a large tree, enjoying the crisp November air. Linus, Continue Reading
The Sculpture
I heard a voice close to my back say, “That is one ugly person”. I turned and got a glimpse of the speaker. Trying to determine their point of Continue Reading
A Gift Given That I Never Wanted Back
by Tab Taber It is interesting how we attach value to certain things. I’m not necessarily talking about financial value but Continue Reading
When You Don’t Believe Forgiveness Applies to You
by Joe DeCree This first appeared in Britta Reque-Dragicevic's blog, "Life After War" and is republished with permission. I just spoke to a Continue Reading
The Mementos of a Warrior
It’s a cold, drizzly, Southern Oregon night, as I sit inside, perusing the old photo album. I flip through page after page of men clad in camouflage Continue Reading
Community, Not Push-Ups, Keeps Veterans Alive
If you’ve been around veterans long enough, you’ve heard someone mention the veteran suicide phenomenon plaguing our community. The statistics range Continue Reading
Trick the Angry Old Man
As decades compound, nearly everyone is justified in being bitter, callous, jaded to allWe’ve seen muchEven with plenty of good, the bad still haunts, Continue Reading
Storytelling Isn’t Just for Children
Early in my career, I was placed in charge of the “Man and Woman of the Year” honors at our local Chamber of Commerce. Part of my Continue Reading
A Human Shield Taught Me How to Live
The convoy stalled somewhere just north of Baghdad. The mechanized beasts we controlled lurched to a halt in a fractured herringbone formation. Daniel Continue Reading
Carpe Diem or Die Trying
When I was twenty-one years old, I wrote my own will. Although I had no assets and nearly no earthly possessions, I still had to divvy up what little Continue Reading