I took this on the first anniversary of 9/11 in Afghanisan. When I was younger I was kind of a screw-up. Not a bad kid, just no sense of direction, etc. I'd dropped out of college, ammassed a decent sized credit card debt and was just looking for silly ways to sabotage myself in life, in love, etc...

I frequently wonder how many people shock themselves with the realization that they're a grown up. I might've even mentioned it here before. There are times when I look down at the ground, and am kinda surprised how high up I am, like just an instant before I was only six years old and half my height. People at work frequently look to me to explain the way things work, either in the I.T. field, or business in general. Wow, I've actually done alot of weird jobs in my day and picked up alot of general knowledge about manufacturing, inventory control and the related accounting processes. Not an expert by any means, but I can walk someone through the concepts and show them how we can help them streamline things.

This day was one of those moments. I couldn't believe where I was, what I was doing and all the events that had changed the world and led up to this event. Terrible, terrible sadness and anger tempered with self-pride that I had been called to serve and had answered.