Johnnie, We Hardly Knew Ye

 I spend my days and nights surrounded by dead men.

Many of them weren't exactly men when they died, but were men in the way they chose to live their lives.

As a teacher, I come in contact with many students. Most are just faces in a moving stream of humanity, but once in a while one stands out.

My heart is broken--for his family, and for the loss to the rest of the world. Every death is difficult, but the death of a young person--unbearable. The same can be said for all my other dead men. We are poorer each time we lose one.

When a child in particular stands out like a beacon, the loss is doubly hard. Our country is poorer after every war, after each death. 

Johnnie Marfia, we hardly knew ye.