What’s a Dollar Worth?
What’s a Dollar Worth? By Howie Barber I’m not my grandfather. At least, that’s what I’ve always told myself. But as I’m writing that, I realize I am a grandfather now, which means I’m probably closer to him than I’d like to admit. Maybe not in the same ways, but definitely in how I think […]
Hurry Up and Wait
An old Vietnam veteran was sitting across from me in the VA waiting room. Like so many of us, he had arrived early and was patiently waiting his turn. Some habits never leave you. The military teaches you to hurry up and wait, and that lesson cuts across every branch and every generation. He leaned […]
The Unbreakable Thread of Brotherhood
We were barely adults when the United States Navy got hold of us. Looking back on it, we were really still just kids. Different accents, different hometowns, different reasons for ending up there but suddenly standing the same watches, staring at the same horizon, and learning very quickly that privacy was no longer a thing. […]