Does expecting nothing = no disappointment?

Every day new situations confronted me that posed severe existential threats.

It was as if two fists were placed before me with the demand, “choose!”

And yet my choice only marked one route might be less deadly than the other, but both were as dangerous.

I did my best to pick correctly and often wondered if the debate had merit.

Finally, I discovered no correct answer existed, and all that mattered was remaining alive at any cost.

As Sgt. Greeley used to say, “The only fair fight is the one you win.”

My team became expected to clean up someone else’s mess. A lieutenant who found himself in a pickle or bringing in some rogue captain who fell off the grid.

Our missions were secret and what we found was never to exist in writing or pictures. After all, we were not there to win the war or prove someone right. Our job was to fix what was wrong and get back to base as fast as possible with the target.

And this we did until it was no longer possible.

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