I'm 28 days older than Steven, my neighbor growing up and best friend and enemy throughout grade school. He was an average, perhaps slightly above average athlete, and I was a non-participant and I always felt a little kinship because of that. We found different social groups in junior high and high school. I never asked, and assumed he found a group in which he felt he fit in. That created a small bit of envy on my part.

I don't know of anyone from that early period in our lives besides us that spent significant time in the military. I believe his brother spent a couple years in the Air Force. I spent 9 1/2 years in the Navy, and Steve is getting ready to retire.

Steve left a note in January of 2006 on this blog and we've been trading several Emails a year. It was he who told me this September that our neighbor Ricky had passed away. Ironic, seeing as he is currently stationed in Afghanistan. Funny I forgot to ask what his rank is. We used to be a little competitive, and I was the first in the military, then he went in as an enlisted musician. That really impressed me as I admired artists (which I thought I was not), and then he went to chaplain school and is now looking towards retirement. I googled and found an article, and in 2007 he was a Major. Wow! I'm looking forward to seeing him when he is back in the area. As I work on a piece for Solo Performance I am going back to that world and he was a big and positive part of it.

Now, he is in Afghanistan. I pray for my chaplain friend. I don't know his politics. I don't know what type of religion he practices. I assume his choices are well considered, intelligent, and compassionate. I remember that of him and how he and his mother instilled some of that in me. At least, I hope they succeeded.

That said, I don't care a whit about his politics. I hope and pray for his safety, something I don't do often, as I have a contrary nature and only pray for things which are important to me, but for the benefit of others. I may not be much of a christian, but I am very spiritual and am okay with praying to something I don't understand. My spirituality serves to humble myself and challenge my preconceptions, which is perhaps my reason for feeling driven out of most churches. I have an perverse intolerance of intolerance which I have yet to overcome.

I haven't seen Steve in nearly half a life time, and find myself admiring him.