I just found out that one of my two oldest friends has left for war in an undisclosed land (I can't tell you where, but I suspect there's a lot of sand).

Cpt. Rob Davis left Monday for training. By the middle of next year, he'll be sweating in a foreign land.

Rob, I can't say anything nearly as poignant as Scott wrote (for one thing, the words won't come right now; for another, they'd just be badly repeating what he's already so eloquently stated), but know that my feelings are exactly the same.

Keep your head down, your helmet on, and don't do anything stupid.


Come home as soon as they'll let you, but get back safely.


Go with God.


We'll all be praying.

P.S. For those of you worried, the mountain didn't kill me. I'll file my report on the adventures in Roanoke soon.

I promise.