Sgt. Sandy R. Britt, Fallen Hero, and Yet Another

I will be attending Sgt. Britt's funeral tomorrow to present the Gold Star Banners to his family.

Today I was notified that another soldier from our small town was killed in Afghanistan; Cory Clark, 25 years old. He was deployed from Ft. Lewis, WA (as is Austin).

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Today I went to a dentist who uses nitrous oxide on wimpy patients like me(my former dentist refused to work on my teeth because I have panic attacks every time I go into a dental facility). I should NEVER have used the gas. At first I felt really good, really, REALLY good. I thought to myself, "I get to do this for an hour!" Then it went very wrong. All I could think about was Austin (probably because we had an IM chat today) and these were NOT good thoughts. I think if you are basically happy the gas will make you feel happier. But if at the core of your being you are terrified, the gas makes it easier to imagine the source of your terror.

When I started crying the dentist asked me if I wanted to reschedule. It's hard to breath through a snotty nose (that's where the gas goes in) and I'm sure he didn't want his fingers in the mouth of an hysterical person. But I wanted to get this over with and not have another appointment to dread. I was able to calm down and after the last Novocaine shot for the second procedure I had them take the gas off. I handled the rest of the procedure w/o the gas and, other than trembling all over, did just fine. They were very kind and understanding but I was very embarrassed.

Thursdays are meditation class nights but I just wanted to come home.