A Death in the Family (Circle of Life, Part One)

5 September 1977 - 15 July 2012

Friends, followers, fellow readers and writers...

I know I haven't been very active online for the last couple of weeks, but my commitments in the real world have taken me away from the virtual world of blog posts, Tweets, Facebook posting, etc...

As you may or may not know, I recently returned from Indonesia to take over as the Executive Officer at a Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron in Beaufort, SC - the Number Two man in a unit mustering 600-plus Marines... Still single after all these years, my family is my squadron; my Marines are my sons and daughters, my brothers and sisters in arms.

Sadly, only a couple of weeks after I arrived, every officer's worst nightmare happened - we lost one of our Marines in a senseless, tragic accident. It happened on a lovely Sunday afternoon just after I'd sat down to do some writing - and since then, I've done a lot of writing, all the sadly necessary paperwork to document this tragic event and ensure that our fallen brother's relatives get all the support that they are due.

This event saddened me personally, and also gave me a renewed appreciation for how much life is, in the end, so much sound and fury. As important as you may think you are, if tomorrow you are no more, the world will still keep turning. So stay safe. Keep yourself healthy. Say "I love you" to the people that you care about. Hug your kids, your significant other. Do something nice for yourself that you've been putting off.

That's all for now... I'll get back to blogging about happy topics in the days and weeks to come, about new writing projects and great novels I've read, but for now, I'd just like to dedicate this one to the memory of Staff Sergeant Jerome H. Carter, USMC. You were well-loved by your community, you made a daily difference in your squadron, and you will be missed. Semper Fi, brother. See you on the other side.

Dedicated to the Memory of Staff Sergeant Jerome H. Carter, USMC