Submitted by: Edward Piane

Category: Stories

Through the 80’s and 90’s we went back to work at better jobs and careers. We got married and raised families. Some of us were better at this than others. The ones that left less of their souls behind did better. Some of us didn’t do as well and didn’t understand why. We struggled to find balance. Our relationships suffered and so did our children. We needed to be alone so our demons couldn’t hurt our families. They didn’t understand why dad couldn’t be around anymore. We became wanderers, roamers never forgiving ourselves for our actions and still not understanding why. We got older, but not any wiser. We worked harder and harder. Life threw us curveballs and kicked us in the teeth, but we kept on trying and working - never getting ahead. We tried other relationships, and were happy for a while, then the demons showed up again and the wandering and depression took over again. So, we ran again but couldn’t get away from ourselves. Some crawled onto a bottle and never came out. Some turned to drugs and never returned. Family and friends wanted to help, but no one could. They didn’t know how.
The year 2000 came around and our sons and daughters came of age. Again, the call to arms was answered now by our children. They enlisted to serve their country to fight the oppressive powers that threaten the oppressed. The world changed forever in 2001 and our sons and daughters signed up to avenge the lives of our own countrymen and women murdered by terrorists. We were scared. We knew what war was and did not want to hear that our beloved son or cherished daughter had fallen. We were afraid for our children who did not hear the call to serve, because the world changed forever.

About the author:

Edward Piane Marine is a Vietnam vet., son of a WWII soldier and father of a Marine on active duty.