Hey Space Cadets! Today I want to step away from the SciFi goodness that normally inhabits this page. Instead, I wanted to talk about the elephant in the room. Many of you live in the United States, just like I do. I’m not stalking you, but I can see the meta data from behind the digital curtains. For us Americans it’s Memorial Day. It is a solemn day where we remember those who died for our freedom, mourn their deaths, while celebrating their lives. This day has always been a special time for me, but I’m a military brat from a long line of veterans. I was told war stories about my forefathers from an early age, but they never quite felt real. Sure, they were great adventures, but they were never tangible for me. Sadly, that all changed for me after my second tour in Iraq. After that, those stories weren’t just strange adventure tales. Nope, they were my stories now. My ghosts. So, yeah, now I’ll unashamedly weep for the fallen because those stories became about my friends. These names that we celebrate are no longer abstract and esoteric, they’re people I served with. I knew them, heard stories of their lives and saw pictures of their families. I even met their significant others; wives, girlfriends, husbands, boyfriends. I held their kids at unit functions and argued with them over bad calls on mandatory fun sporting events. Continue reading