So Far, and yet So Close

So about a week ago I found myself starting to contemplate the ways that technology has really changed life for those of us who leave home to fight our country's wars. It was actually around the time that I got off the phone after calling my dad to wish him a happy birthday that it struck me. Here I am on a forward base in the middle of a combat zone and yet I had just called my dad from an air-conditioned trailer for no greater reason than to say "Happy Birthday". After that conversation I logged on to my email, which allows me to write to my family and friends nearly instantaneously without regard to time zones or geographic location. Then I spent a little bit of time surfing the internet to look at real estate listings, including photos and video, for houses I may consider buying when we get back to the states in a few months. Finally, I watched a couple episodes of my favorite TV show (Dexter, by the way. I'm addicted.) And then went to sleep with the A/C blowing on high. The next day I flew on a mission in the helicopter while listening to songs from my crewchief's iPod playing through the aircraft's intercom system. It pains me to try to think of what life will be like when Michenna (who doesn't know what a VHS tape is, by the way) is my age.