Roswell

I wasn't planning on meeting people or learning anything in Roswell; it was just a stopping point between Austin and Tucson, not one of my real destinations. But that's the beauty of life; the unexpected things are sometimes the best. I got here around 4pm and checked into a Best Western on Main St, nothing special just for the night. I asked the front desk clerk what she recommended I do in town for my one night and she said, "Well of course the alien stuff." So I drove down the street to the UFO Museum and gift shops which all closed at 5pm. For me, thirty minutes of alien "stuff" was plenty. My hotel is across the street from a restaurant/bar called Farley's and across the street to the left is the New Mexico Military Institute. I sat at the bar, ordered a drink and studied the menu. The bartender was friendly, long blonde ponytail, soul patch, spacers in each ear and talkative. He made sure no one messed with me, not that there was anyone there to give me trouble, it wasn't that kind of place but still the thought was sweet.

I chatted on the phone with a dear friend who I miss so much and I ordered some food. After dinner, I met some people outside having a cigarette. We ended up sitting together and talking for the rest of the night. One of the men is a Staff Sergent and is now in the reserves. He's been to Iraq three times and he never wants to go back. He told me that he trains new soldiers, young kids 17, 18, 19 years old and some of them are so excited to go over there and fight. He tells them that they don't know what they are saying when they ask him when they will go. He tells me about his friends that he lost. One of the women with us talks about her brother who is over there again and has been in the military for 19 years. She's so proud of him but she is so scared that one day two men in uniform will come to the house and tell her that he's not coming home. Her eyes stare off into a far away place and her face darkens as she says this. I can't help but look at her even though it feels like a private moment for her and I should look away.

So I ask the question to the group, "Why do it then? I have some friends who say that they'd rather fight over there than in their backyards; that if they don't do it who will; and they do it so their children won't have to."
Those are very noble reasons but I wanted to know what these people thought. The Staff Sergent looked at me and said "We all have choices to make in life and we have to be prepared for the consequences. I believe that not making a choice and acting on it is worse than making the wrong choice because by taking that step you've done something and you're not just stuck." I thought about my friend who just came back from a year over there, fourth deployment and my dear friend who is going in March for a year on his third deployment and a few tears escaped. I brushed them away quickly and looked up and the Staff Sergent said, "it's ok to be scared but know that we make these choices and we know the consequences before we go so you don't need to cry for us." I hugged him and thanked him and the group and said good night.

That statement hit so close to home I was stunned. Part of my problem is that I've been too afraid to make some choices so I've let them sit in limbo. So maybe a leap of faith is what I need to take right now and if I fall then I fall but at least I will have made a choice...........

Moving on to Tucson, AZ.......