Mindless

Meaningless

Pointless

Paycheck to Paycheck

My only goal to accumulate dollars for a half realized future

A noble enough goal in itself

To provide a happy and comfortable home for the woman I love and the children which would follow

But what of the work I actually did?

What "good" did it contribute to our world?

I didn't even know how empty I was until that day

The day that changed all of us.

On that morning, I stood in the Hybla Valley Home Depot

The store was not yet open to the public

I was one of the many bees working to build the hive Building racks, displays, shelves… arranging the products

Preparing for the hordes of American Fathers who would waste their money on countless unimportant projects to improve the social status of their castles.

My phone rang and my Mother's voice spoke to me in hushed disbelief.

A tower in flames

And then the other

Everyone stopped… listened to the radio… and spoke whispers

Then I heard it… a muffled boom… I felt it… a vibration in the ground

No one seemed to notice… it was a warehouse

Things fall all the time, make loud thuds… shake the ground

But I knew… this was something else… no one had to tell me

I didn't need to hear it on the radio

I knew

I ran outside and saw what I knew I would see

The massive tower of destruction… hundreds of human souls… rising above the trees

Joining the thousands from New York.

I rushed back inside

GOD ALMIGHTY! THEY HIT THE PENTAGON!

Just a few miles down the road.

It was then… that moment… that I knew how empty I had allowed myself to become

How meaningless my work was

How unworthy of the ability and spirit the Creator gave me

Making my way home though the traffic… the phone service was spotty at best.

I did get a few calls

Friends

As terrified as I was

Looking for a place they could hide… a safe place to hole-up and freak out

My house… come to me… or I will come get you.

Days later… the nightmares started

I have told no one about them until now

Not my friends, not my family, not my love

I am not one of the dead or the dying in my dreams

I am one of the helpless

I am the firefighter who can't get to them… can't get them out… who has to watch the tons of rubble fall on my brothers

I am the guy on the checkpoint who let them through, let them get on the planes

I am the one who failed

Sometimes…

In order to chase away the nightmares

You must become what you fear

You must embrace your anxiety and put the phantoms in their place

So now…

I am the guy at the checkpoint

I am a Jedi Knight protecting the Republic from those who would tear it down

I am Hal Jordan, John Stewart and Kyle Rayner, holding my ring to the battery and reciting the Oath

In Brightest Day
In Blackest Night
No Evil shall escape my sight
Let those who worship Evil's might
Beware my power
Green Lantern's Light

My Lantern is my X-ray machine… and it's light exposes every Evil.

The passenger arrives from Frankfurt.

He is angry because he thinks he will miss his connecting flight.

He has been through Immigration

He has been through Customs

And now he has to go through me

He has been drinking on the plane

Drinking for hours

He is volatile

A powder keg waiting to go off

And he has a 6 inch hunting knife in his carry-on

My Green Lantern's Light lays open the dark recesses of his life.

The weapon is exposed to my sight.

He is already prepared for a fight and brought a weapon with him.

No sir… not today… not on my shift

He gets a nice new set of shiny bracelets and free room and board.

He even gets a new roommate named Bubba.

I go home and watch the news

There were no highjackings today

There were no fireballs of destruction from the sky

And tonight… there are no nightmares.