Freedom may not be free, but the view from the cheap seats can be quite inspiring just the same. I'm tested and somewhat defeated, yet even in the darkest hours, a glimmer of hope can serve as a light brighter than the brightest sun.

It's amazing how resilient a person can be when nothing else makes sense. When the worst of us rears it's ugly head and spits upon my soul, I can still see the distant glow of happiness right around the corner - as if it's just a few days away (and maybe it is).

I experienced something I would never wish an anyone today and while it was painful and difficult all wrapped in one, it was closure. Closure is needed. Closure is good. Closure allows us to move forward even while caught in the past. Closure enables us to bridge the divide between what was and what will be.

And I couldn't be happier about it.

As I mentioned the other day, I may very well be walking into the path of an oncoming train. But this time it's my path, and my path alone. I left behind my past today and while some things are too sacred to lose, what can be excised, has been.

Onward, Jewish soldier!

Maybe I'll be like a phoenix and rise from the ashes. It's happened before, so why not again?