I ask why she’s visiting Hawai‘i, and she tells me it’s to see her brother
He’s stationed at Fort Shafter and loves living in Hawai‘i
I’m glad to hear this, and it doesn’t surprise me
I’ve heard this from many service people I meet in town
He’s doing very well, she continues, because he’s selling real estate
I do a double-take and ask if he’s serving in the reserves
No, he’s active duty, regular Army, an officer, so, she adds
“They can do pretty much anything they want to do with their time”
I stare out the airplane window and wonder about the military
How we count on them to protect our country, as in the Army motto: This We’ll Defend
Shouldn’t they be dedicating all their energy toward that vital purpose
I imagine her brother in the middle of an open house with a potential buyer
When an alert that some foreign power has shot missiles at us comes in
He checks his cell, and weighing options, decides the sale’s more important in the end
Lanning Lee 