A Life of Stories

My older brother is 11 years older than me, my sister 6 years. I was actually not a planned child, but that's neither here nor there. I grew up in the shadow of my siblings living their adult lives and doing things I could only dream of.

My brother joined the Marine Corps reserves right out of high school, which meant he went to recruit training, but then came back and went to college. College was not a fit for him, that's ok though. Instead he'd regal my father and me with stories of the weekend training he'd do at his unit, a Marine reconnaissance unit. Hanging from helicopters and patrolling through the woods in the dark. It was exciting to say the least. We'd go to this old coffee shop in San Antonio, off of Broadway. Earl Abel's. They had coffee and pie. I remember one night sitting and listening to stories about his adventures and I, 8 or 9 years old remember thinking, "I hope my life is this exciting when I'm an adult."

My sister on the other hand went to college. She was a phenomenal student, on the surface at least. I don't know all the ins and outs of her life, and the same can be said for my brothers as well. What in her was different from what I saw in my brother, but equally good. She was dedicated and talented as a singer. Incredibly smart, as most in my family were. In her stories I heard of dedication and commitment, excellence in a particular field.

I listened to both, my sister not as intently as my brother, as I felt much closer to him. After all, we were extremely similar. We both loved football, we both ended up joining the Marines, we both liked to chase girls...there was a comradery there before the Marine Corps bond.

But I grew to love stories. I fell in love with reading and researching. Understanding people and ideas from the past, so as to model my life well. I wanted to be disciplined like both my brother and sister. I wanted to live a life of adventure and risk. It was a kinesthetic intelligence that I saw in my brother, and a cerebral intelligence demonstrated by my sister in the stories they'd tell. I wanted that.

Stories have a way of shaping us. Molding us. Fables like those of Aesop and epics like the Iliad intrigued me. I wanted to be like the Greek heroes of old, except without their fatal flaws. As the old saying goes "the more things change, the more they stay the same," I was eager to learn from the past and earn stories for the future. As I grew older, I started to expand my love of stories. I read all sorts of genres, from all sorts of cultures. I had deep late night conversations with my interpreter's, two Iraqi citizen we called "Harry" and "Pete" for their safety. We would talk at length about how the whole reason I was there was ridiculous. Muslims, Jews, and Christians should be each others keepers, we were all sons of Abraham/Ibrahim, this violence between us all seemed so, unnecessary.

Then I came home. The stories and experiences I'd had shaped me, molded me into a man who sought peace. Not recklessly questing for such at all costs, but rather understanding that we...humanity were our own worst enemy. I became mildly embittered. Why couldn't we all see that? Why did we choose to fight? Why were we so horrible to one another. But then, another stage of my life came. Love and heartbreak.

I'll spare the details as there was plenty of blame to go around. I'd just come back to a world I didn't fully comprehend after losing some of the best friends I could have ever asked for. Mentors, brothers, family...more loss had happened to me in 4 years than many experience in 70. I was hurting, I was confused why people hated each other and I was angry. It was the downfall of many relationships. But as always a new chapter comes, whether we like it or not.

The next few chapters were that of college and athletics, it felt good to be a part of a team again. Then firefighting and swift water rescue training. In these experiences and the multitude of stories I have from that time, I saw compassion and selflessness once again. I watched, almost like an out of body experience as I and many others risked our reputations or lives for people we didn't know, and for no pay.

Our lives whether we like it or not, are wonderful, unique stories that have so much to teach us. Every obstacle, every joy, every experience has a lesson, told in story form that we can learn, grow and develop from. I will promise you all this as you read my content, I will be as forthcoming and honest as humanly possible. I can't promise that you won't be offended, I can't promise that you'll love everything I have to say. I can promise that I will earnestly relate my life of stories to you all in hopes that tomorrow will be a brighter future for us all.