Journal Entry: “Reception”

This was the hardest day of my life - so far. In the early, early hours of an entirely sleepless night, I had something approximating a mild panic attack lying in bed. All perspective was lost from the total lack of sleep combined with the stress of an extremely unfriendly and unforgiving environment. I get the distinct impression that that the ‘handlers’ here, both civilian and military, are not used to dealing with people who come here for a spiritual-philosophical adventure; quite the opposite. You know those maddening pricks that piss on the toilet seats, those salt of the earth types that think wrestling is real. They are all here, representin’ for the American blue collar mentality. But I’ll tell you, even though I find their primitive ways strange and, in many cases, obviously counter-productive, most are good, caring men who love their families no less than I, and frankly that is the ultimate common bond. In a way, that fact alone is aiding my perspective on this endeavor: to always keep in mind that we are all brothers and sisters in humanity and that we will be only as successful as the depths of our empathy for one another.