Stay Safe.

Jake enlisted with the National Guard about two weeks ago. He didn't tell anyone before he did, not even Dad. Talking to him earlier today, he told me, "I dunno, I just woke up one morning and didn't like how I was living. So I stopped by the recruiting office."

I don't know why this feels the way it does. Jake and I haven't been "super close" or anything pretty much since he entered high school. And I didn't sweat him going off to college two years ago. I mean sure, it was only in Reno and all, but still... I didn't really think too much about him not living at home anymore.

But when I met with him today, the last time for at least 6 months, it felt like the last time we'd meet ever. It felt so strangely surreal, much like the first time I wrestled in a high school match. The ref blew the whistle and stepped back. Before I even knew what was happening, I was grappling with some ripped senior from White Pine High School. It wasn't until later that I looked back and thought, "What? That was me?" And now I'm sitting here at the computer thinking "That was the last time you'll see him for 6 months, and the best thing you could think to say was 'stay safe?'"

I keep telling myself that this isn't as bad as I think. He's leaving on Monday for Fort Benning in Georgia for basic training, then somewhere else (I forget where) for AIT, or Advanced Individual Training. He's scheduled to be part of the communications corps, setting up and taking down satellite relays. After that, since he chose something called the 'College First' plan, they'll allot him two years to finish schooling before he's "fair game" (his words).

Fair game? This is Jake we're talking about.

I read in my government book last week about taxes. There's this tax the government implements (you'll have to excuse me for not remembering the specifics,) where they basically tax the assets of someone once they die. I thought that was bogus, and I was even more outraged when I read about how the Congressmen and Congresswomen gallantly patched up a loophole in the tax, so that even if someone gives all their stuff away before death, the government can STILL tax it.

And I sit here and think about how my brother will be "fair game" (for the same government that feels it necessary to tax the family of a recently deceased loved one) in about three years and get this sick feeling in my stomach. Will Jake be part of Pickett's Charge? Or co-pilot on the Enola Gay? Will he help take the flaming oil fields in the Middle East? Or will he just spend his days camping in the jungle, hoping that the Vietcong hasn't found his location?

The war over there is pointless anyway, so they won't deploy him, right?

Right? Bush? Hillary? Obama? McCain? You see how pointless this is, right? You see that this isn't just one concerned brother, but millions of us, right?




Keep him in your prayers.