My buddy who took this picture in Iraq a few years ago died in Afghanistan earlier this week. He and I worked together for years during a different phase of my career and we were part of the same social group that would go camping on the Mogollon Rim every year.While I am saddened by this my mind takes me back to fun working together and the annual camping trips.
We all spend a lot of time on the stock market and investing and while it is a passion of mine it is not more important than things like health and family or in my case going to fight the occasional wildfire. After six and half years of blogging and taking in comments on those posts it is clear that some folks put their portfolios a little higher up on the list. Hopefully that doesn't lead to regret for them later.
8 comments:
Boy, that's a tough one, Roger. I'm sorry for the loss of your friend.
Roger, I share your pain & loss. As I write this my is son is on his 3rd deployment to the Middle East. It has been truly horrifying for my wife and I. It is a war we cannot win. We need to bring our kids home. My best to you.
Max
Roger,
Sometimes we all need to step back, take a deep breath and look at the bigger picture.
It's too easy to get caught up with finances and money and fail to realize that there are more important things in life.
please, not a pity party for me but an opportunity for everyone to take personal stock of their priorities.
What is saddest of all is my friend had a wife and kids. On a relative basis, it is fortunate that his children are old enough that they will always remember their dad.
Max, I can't begin to walk in your shoes other that to hope he comes back with a few stories and no other "baggage."
Sorry about your Bud, Roger. I'm retired Army - 21 years. Afghanistan, is like our Federal deficit; there's only a few options - all of them difficult. As Alexander the Great remarked centuries ago, Afghanistan is the graveyard of Empires. Maybe our deficit will bury us as well......the only satisfaction I got out of any deployment was bringing my team mates home safely....sorry he didn't make it back....
H
I am sorry to hear about your loss, Roger. It is hard to lose a friend at such a young age.
I don't think people really understand the sacrifices our military makes for us - most of all the politicians.
I hope that his family can find some solace in knowing that we truly appreciate his sacrifice.
I feel obliged to comment.
I work in the ME, training the local Armed Forces (Army, Air Force, Navy, Military Police) which helps them to work/cooperate with the Allied Forces.
They are all, to a man, very grateful to have military assistance of any kind, especially from the US and UK. Many of them have recently seen combat in this region, and some were guests of Saddam just twenty years ago.
Only once you or your family have been on the receiving end of a despot could you appreciate that, even giving mistakes are sometimes made, military force is a necessary means to an end. War is a messy, ugly, nasty, brutal business like no other and can bring out the very worst in a small percentage of people. But let's not allow that fact to hide the overwhelming truth that the majority who go out to fight do so for the honour of serving their country and protecting the soldier by their side.
I feel obliged to comment.
I work in the ME, training the local Armed Forces (Army, Air Force, Navy, Military Police) which helps them to work/cooperate with the Allied Forces.
They are all, to a man, very grateful to have military assistance of any kind, especially from the US and UK. Many of them have recently seen combat in this region, and some were guests of Saddam just twenty years ago.
Only once you or your family have been on the receiving end of a despot could you appreciate that, even giving mistakes are sometimes made, military force is a necessary means to an end. War is a messy, ugly, nasty, brutal business like no other and can bring out the very worst in a small percentage of people. But let's not allow that fact to hide the overwhelming truth that the majority who go out to fight do so for the honour of serving their country and protecting the soldier by their side.
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