I had forgotten that, and so many things. How could I put everything down on paper? It seemed impossible. No matter what, the majority of life would be left out of this story, this sliver of a version of the life I'd known. But I tried anyway.

I am a freak in secondhand velour, a leper who uses L'Oreal Anti-sticky Mega Gel. I am rootless, ripped from all foundations, an orphan raising an orphan and wanting to take away everything there is and replace it with stuff I've made.

WHEN we don't get the results we want in our military endeavors, we don't blame the soldiers.

I really believe strongly that kids should be spared the runoff of their parents' lives and problems.

It is no way to live, to wait to love.

Because I grew up with this naive expectation of people doing right, I get shocked by every little violation.

I often cannot believe the things I do.