September 21, 2001 There's another entry up as well. Holden is talking about re-enlisting. He spent four years in the Air Force after high school and now he's thinking about re-upping. His patriotism is one of the things that I continually have to rediscover because it never quite fits with the rest of him. Still, it's strong and it runs deep. He feels that he needs to do something. We've got appointments to donate blood and we've talked about going to New York later on, when the fervor dies down, to offer help with the cleanup. For Holden, this isn't enough. When he first mentioned re-enlisting, my initial reaction was "No way are you getting yourself sent to war. I love you and I'm not letting you go." But then I thought about it. How can I say that I think our country needs to do something to avenge this tragedy, that we need to bring all responsible parties to justice and work to eradicate terrorism, and yet want somebody else to do it? If Holden decides to re-up, I will support his decision. I will still worry about him, but I will also be incredibly proud. Holden is one of the few people I know who is willing to do whatever it takes to support his principles. He puts his money where his mouth is, even if it means sacrifice and personal risk. Come to think of it, I'm already incredibly proud of that boy.