To laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics, and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition.

To know even one life has breathed easier, because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded.

I can’t pretend I know much about the War in Iraq, even though I’ve read Richard Clarke’s Against All Enemies, and Bob Woodward’s Plan of Attack… Well, I had to read the latter for a class in college that I really can’t remember. I even read Michael Gordon’s Cobra II…..