So Far Away

There was a bag of apples in the downstairs lounge that had a sign that said �EAT US�. So I looked at them carefully to make sure they weren�t marked �poison�, because if you eat too much from something marked �poison�, it�s certain to disagree with you, sooner or later. Well, it wasn�t, so I had one and they were soo good. I love fall. I couldn�t live somewhere where there were no seasons or trees. John Hall feels the same way, but he�s in exile in L. A. right now for the cause of true love. Well, for true love I might live anywhere, but that�s the only way. I have two midterms in the next two days, but I also have a bunch of science fiction books I picked up in Columbus. We�ll see which one wins out.

I wrote a letter to my father today. It seems like he�s been gone for so long. I�ve stopped thinking about the possibility of him dying so much, but it�s always there in the back of my mind. And I know the odds are he�ll come back to us safe and sound, but I still worry. That�s what I don�t understand. Whenever a soldier dies, everyone always lauds him with �He died to keep our country safe�. But Jesus died for our sins, once and for all, so I don�t know why we have to keep dying. I used to be such a hawk, but now that I have something personal invested in it, I�m more likely to think of the cost in American lives. It�s very sad when a young man goes off to war, but what about a 42 year-old man with six kids? And Dad was always the center of our family, the one we all adored. Gee, I�m talking about him in the past tense already. Supposedly he�ll be out by February, but I don�t trust the army one bit. They can keep him as long as two years, since he�s in the Reserves, and I�m afraid they will.