The Departure, A Day Later

Mike's in Fort Bragg right now. I'm guilty to say I feel relieved that the wait for him to go is over. I finally caught up on my sleep today. I plan to call Karen to see how she's doing tomorrow.

I wonder if she saw herself on the news. Just as Mike was saying goodbye to his wife and son for the last time, Rhode Island's Fox 10 news' cameraman, obviously possessing no zoom lens, was less than 6 inches away from their last embrace. As a occasional contributing journalist, even I wanted to smash this guy's face in as he caught Jonathan bawling in his mother's arms and found the perfect choice for the 6:00 segment.

Oddly enough, it was the 7 Blackhawk helicopters going up that seemed to cause him to go to sleep. Before that, his crying triggered the tears of the rest of his family and even strangers just standing around him. It's fitting, then, that his fatigue signalled my own. I felll asleep until she dropped me off at my car and headed home, feeling calmer than I have in months.

I'm avoiding Halloween this year. Even avoided a party where my grandmother was dressed as a gorilla in a tutu. That's right. My own grandmother outdid every costume idea I've ever had or worn, and she hadn't even a worn a costume in years. While I'm calm, I'm not in the greatest mood possible.

Thank God for Lynne on Saturday and writing outlets like this one. I should have another essay by midweek. The Bowlmor Writemore anthology should be coming out soon, according to Shanna.