cheer up

I just polished the chair that I bought ... that I gave Jason stake money for to bid on at an antique auction. Jason and I - non-professional movers for sure - packed and moved an antique store that, by the number of trips we drove in route, must have receded back decade by decade to 1900. (Was that clear? After moving all the big furniture first, all these little pieces kept showing up like we were moving back in time of this antique store and not the heritage of those exact pieces.)

My chair is dated and plated. Behind me, a bronze plate reads SAMUEL WHITMAN | IN APPRECIATION FOR YOUR VALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS | AS A DEAN OF THE | CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE | 1967-1980

Below me is a white paint stamp. BOONE IND., INC. | BOONE, NC | HANDCRAFTED | BY Steve Cante 80

This isn't even the chair I sat in when on the first day I asked if we could take a break. Two weeks into January, reclining with my gloves off, "So Jason, what are your goals for 2012?" His response: "Goals?" He's a little bit older than me. Is 27 now, will be 28 this year. He said he would la-ove to go to Baghdad with someone he knew. He said he would probably marry Jen this year.

Because I brought it up, I knew where I was going with the conversation. I wanted to say something like, "Wow, this is kind of news to me that you would consider enlisting if you could go with someone ... someone in addition to Jen. But don't hold it against me if I just go and don't ask you."

On January 1st, before or after the deciding emails with Dave, I sat across from Dawn who had just sat down and was interested in my situation. It was one of those big meals a little after lunchtime to stuff yourself enough for the next mealtime. That morning, somehow I thought about walking into (I remember this story) a Marine recruiter's office, asking some questions, closing me eyes and signing the line. I told her and she could barely respond. Her eyes started to water and I could almost feel her feet start to march out of place. She looked at me and I asked if I said something wrong and she answered by saying something like, for her two sons she would give her life and the same for her grand babies. She'd do it without a second thought. She never said it, but, I understood I should give the idea a second thought.