Welcome Home John

 Every duty is a charge,
 but the charge of oneself is the root of all others.

 - Mencius

I often keep weird hours, getting to sleep late, or up at 3:30 in the morning to start an early shift.  It sometimes makes for some good writing time.  Sometimes, it just means staring at a computer screen willing my brain to wake up.

But in those odd hours, there is always the surprise of an IM from Afghanistan. My friend  John S.

John has been over there for a year, not his first rodeo in the sandbox either.  This time he went as an officer, but that didn't mean that removed the risk and he has been in my prayers as he served.

I'm not sure exactly when I met John, but we had mutual friends and somewhere around here there is a picture  one of them gave me one day of people who look like John and Tam and her friend J. running around the woods with big knives looking very, very young. He's provided an ocassional ear when I had a broken heart, and I tried to be here if he needed to chat in return. 

But he became one of those friends  I could trust and we touch base a couple times a month, snippets of life here and abroad funny airplane stories, and why traveling "Space A"  in Afghanistan is a little different than when I was trying to hitch rides in planes..

John shared that being in military involves lots of waiting followed by a few minutes of things that MUST be done immediately, usually followed by more waiting. 

But then you get a pass to go, with your high tech ticket.

There was time for a little R and R, but those times are always very few and far between, and the food may or may not be what you expect, as my friends who travel have found.

 

But the stories are always good. 

 I'd send  Jerky and John Ringo books (except lately where the USPS seems to have lost about $600 worth of goodies going to the sandbox to John and a couple other folks I send things to, all in separate packages).  In return, through emails and his blog, he's tried to keep us informed of his well being.

Last night, I checked the computer for a weather update for travel this morning, and the IM came in at, well, a NORMAL time.  What's up with that?

John is back stateside,. or soon on his way.  I ran into the kitchen to share the good news with friends and a toast was raised.

Welcome home John.  We are all very proud of you.

Now go enjoy a cigar.