I had an interesting experience this morning while driving. A driver who didn’t want to merge, give way or simply be courteous nearly ran me off the road. So the story goes like this. I was merging onto the highway, I was ahead of this person but they sped up and got right next to me with their truck and continued to drive past me and quite literally was forcing me off the road. Well almost, I slowed down, in the breakdown lane and got behind the driver. While this was going on I thought about a few things.

-I’m going to just ram into this truck and make them realize that forcing people off the road is a bad thing.
-I am going to follow this person until they stop and drag their ass out of the truck and give them a good old’ country boy ass kicking.
-Yield, concede and just drive on.

I decided to just slow down and give the person the finger. They responded with the same reaction. I laughed it off and took my exit.

I know if this was a year ago, things would have been much different. It’s amazing how much my mindset has changed. I wasn’t even that mad about it afterward. I just thought the person was an asshole and drove on.

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This is a little off the genre of what is usually posted on this site but it sort of ties into freedom, honor, country, etc. There is a couple in Plainfield, NH that has been convicted of tax evasion. The story can be found here. They both have been sentenced up to 62 months in prison. The situation as of today is that they are hold up on their 110 acre property and are not going to go out without a fight. Their main argument is that the law does not clearly state that any citizens have to pay taxes. I’ve done some looking and this is what I found.

US Constitution, Article 1, Section Eight, combined with the 16th Amendment, as ratified BY THE STATE OF NH in 1913.

This has been getting a lot of attention in the New England area. The support is also growing, not sure why? New Hampshire’s state motto is Live Free or Die. This couple has written that motto on the front of their shields in this matter. I think they have distorted the motto and what their actual freedom entails.

The local police, U.S. Marshals and FBI have surrounded the couple’s property. They vow they will not go on their property. I am beginning to wonder why? I would hate to see any American harmed or killed for what they believed in. I just think they need to look beyond their personal belief and look at the big picture. Taxes pay for their security. Taxes pay for soldiers to defend our land. Taxes pay for the roads to be paved so they can go to Wal-Mart for a gallon of milk. To challenge the law and to attempt to make a mockery out of it is unacceptable.

I say we take the Browns and take their 110 acres and drop them off in the middle of Iraq. They don’t want to pay taxes then let them not enjoy what every other tax paying, law abiding American enjoys. Freedom! It really does come with a price. The problem that I have is when they goes to jail; I will be paying inadvertently through my taxes to house his ass in jail. Gotta love it!

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I sat in the terminal waiting for my flight to be called. My wife and I enjoying our last moments together. I remember them clearly and all the emotions involved. It was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Across from us was a couple the same age as us. Holding each others hands and enjoying the moment. For me it was getting ready to leave my life forever. For them it was an over due vacation. He had returned from the war earlier that year and he and his wife were going home to family. He asked me if I was coming or going? I told him I was going. A common phrase that is often shared when traveling. Sort of like the nod you get when you know someone else is a soldier. The quiet respectful gesture. We got to talking and it wasn’t very long before we started to share similar interests and commonalities. If I wasn’t leaving I would of befriended this couple. At one point he reached into his wallet and pulled out a four leaf clover. It was laminated but had a worn look to the exterior. He told me he got it from another soldier before he left for Iraq the year before. He wanted to give it to me and said that sometimes luck is all you’ll ever have. I gladly accepted and thanked him. The time was drawing to an end so my wife and I spent those precious moments by ourselves. When it was time to go I thanked him again and shook his hand. The rest of that story is for another time.

Fast forward to last week and I was sitting in the same airport, terminal and row of seats in fact. A soldier who had that fresh from Iraq tan came and sat down next to me. He was quiet and was just looking at the ground. Some folks looked on and went about their business, reading their papers, etc. Some people looked at him trying to not catch his attention. A few minutes had gone by and I turned to him and asked if he was coming or going. He looked at me and said he was heading back. Fresh off his two week leave, he was heading to his unit to finish his duty. We exchanged small talk, just two soldiers talking about nothing really. I was on my way out on business. The time was drawing near and my plane was ready to go. I reached in my wallet to check if I had some cash or if I needed to hit the ATM. The edge of the laminate that held the four leaf clover scratched my finger. I looked at it and smiled for a moment. The memory of that day all came back in an instant. I pulled it out and looked to the soldier and told him that I was given this last year before I left for Iraq and that I made it back despite being wounded. Sometimes luck is all I ever relied on over there. I told him that I would like him to have it and said that this would be at least the 3rd trip for this clover. He gladly accepted it. The call came for my plane to board and I stood up and shook his hand. I smiled and shook my head slightly. He smiled back and understood. I grabbed my bag and headed off.

Wherever that soldier is tonight I hope that I in some way I have brought him some luck and that clover continues to make it’s way into other soldiers hands. Paying it forward is always better than simply paying it back.

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