Rolling of the great stone

Remember that scene at the beginning of the FIRST Indiana Jones movie, where he is trying to escape from the south american tomb with the small statue, and he screws up, sending the giant rolling stone after him? (that was cool - quoting the late great Chris farley!) The stone is rolling. It will arrive on the 20th of this month. My comfortable world of worrying about home remodeling, cutting the grass, and how much of my paycheck we are blowing on eating out will be traded for bulletproof (?) vests, thigh holsters, and what level of my mental energy should be allocated to personal defense, instead of other important things.
Winston Churchill once said that there is no greater thrill than to be shot at without incident. I am hoping that the shot never takes place to start with. In the meantime, all concerned are calling, writing, visiting, and generally trying to show support without getting too teary about it. While this is touching, I am also finding the best sources of inspiration and help are those with the ten-thousand yard stare. Those that have been there already, have their demons tightly locked away - who know that there is no way to guarantee safety, to tell anybody that it will be ok, and to pass on that no matter what, the timing of our number coming up is largely due to luck. While not as comforting, there gets to be a comfort in routine - packing the seabag, trying on the holster, checking the gear....twice.
Visited the academy today - went to chapel. Before you go anywhere, it is necessary to know where you have been. Chick and Ruth's, and a healthy dose of staring at the statues at the top of the Cathedral dome. And the stone keeps on rolling....closer, and closer, and closer.