My friend Jim is returning to the area this weekend.
He's the closest thing to a dharma bum i've ever had the fortune to meet. We have had some really cool times together, talking about philosophy, religions, music, people...anything. he's very well read and very intelligent...but not showy about it, if you know what i mean.

Jim has had a few careers, from being enlisted in the army to being a certified massage therapist, to wroking at an express lube changing the oil in people's cars. Last year(whilst he was working at the express lube) he decided that he really wasn't going anywhere career wise, and that if he wanted to pursue his dream of becoming a PA (blending both eastern remedies with western medecine) he would probably have to re-enlist in the army to finance that dream.

So he did. At the age of 31, he signed on the dotted line, packed up his apartment, gave away most of his belongings (not that he had many in the first place, he's the most non-materialistic person i know) , shaved his past-the-shoulder length hair off and left for basic training at the start of January, with a promise to write and come see me when he came back for leave before his first duty assignment.

One day a couple of weeks ago I got a phone call at 7am. It was Jim.
"Hey, guess what? I broke my ankle on a road march!" he said.
And he had broken it, I mean REALLY broken it. If there are degrees of breaking your ankle, then Jim managed to do the top-of-the-line, primo, best break. He had a Weaver's break...that means that both tiba and fibula were broken clean through, and literally the only thing holding his foot on was skin and flesh. He had to have a plate and six pins put in. I wondered what would happen to his army career.
"I dunno." He said. "but that's OK, I didn't want to be in the Army again anyways"

So, now he's had the surgery to put his leg back together again, has his permenent cast on, and the Army in it's wisdom has decided to fly him to his Mom's house for some convalescent leave. He's going to be home for a month, then has to go be re-evaluated to see if the military wants him back or if they're going to have to medically retire him. Jim is ambivalent about it. He says he's just going to go where the Dao takes him. (I wish I could be more like that).

So, Jim's coming home! Hurray!!! I'm excited, can you tell?