Speaking of freedom to speak being expanded in certain circumstances, the soldier and I attended a dinner party on the 4th of July weekend when we visited the desert. I was privileged to witness something I’ve not yet been able to put into written word but the upshot was, the soldier spoke freely.

He sat at this table… there were 12 of us and he spoke freely about war. The people were rivited, he had every single one of them by their hearts, their minds and their crotches. I can say for sure no one in that room had ever met a man like him in their life, never mind have him share a very personal story. And it was not a story easy to hear. Especially when he got to the part where he copped to wondering if he should not have killed “every man, woman or child,” in a certain circumstance.

You could have heard a pin drop when these words rolled over his tongue but no one said a word. Not a word was said because he’d already engaged them as parents who love their children. He had already established himself as a person no different from anyone else at that table and when we left that night, we were hugged and thanked profusely by one and all.

Two days later I tried to relay the story to his son who is still trying to function on the fact his dad got on a plane never mind he allowed people to hug him. And I realized that part of the reason he was able to tell that story was because I was sitting next to him.

Fact is he’d have never been at the party had I not gone with him but from the other side… from the viewpoint of the people at the party all of whom the soldier would have called “lefties”, I humanize the soldier. If I am with him, he can’t be that far from their world, see?

I wish y’all could have been there, everyone who was got touched by God.

*The astrology… my Libra (politeness and pleasant presentation) fills in his Mars, Mercury, Saturn T-square - Voila!