Curiosity Killed The Cat * Satisfaction Brought It Back

So, after returning from a one year tour in Iraq with the United States Army Infantry and being an exceptionally poor correspondent (especially to myself), I am cozy-warm in my mother's home once again, the Christmas buzz dissipating like a morning fog to reveal the end of a decade and, for me, the end of an era. The space between the kid who just couldn't help himself and had to touch the butterfly's wings and the man who could serenade a cocoon has seen a boom in construction.

The idea of modern warfare (in terms of the technology employed and the agenda's pursued) never sat well with me. Long before I actually enlisted, it made my stomach churn to even indulge in fleeting glimpses of myself as a soldier in today's military. But I managed to fortify my will against my better judgment and in a flash impetuous self-destruction I hoisted a rag of Army colors that was frayed only at the fringes with threads of "duty, honor, loyalty" etc. and flailed lifeless in the wake of my desperate escape. Now, having come dangerously close myself to becoming what is so wrong with the military, I feel a deep sense of gratitude to have come out on the other side unscathed (at least physically) and to have another shot at an authentic and conscientious existence.

So, after being blessed by a reunion at home with my loving loved ones and, consequently, a reunion with my own soul, in the spirit of true freedom I'm raising the colors of a new year, a new decade, a new era, and I think most importantly, a new day.