In her book, Destiny of the Republic, historian Candice Millard offers a remarkably profound observation attributed to President James Garfield:

All of us have been intimately acquainted with grief, a gripping sorrow whose mental anguish can last until it is mercifully exhausted. People react differently to the sense of loss that accompanies grief.

It has now been 102 years since a Christmas when a sense of the brotherhood of humanity momentarily seized warring soldiers in Western Europe.

“Be All You Can Be” was the Army’s recruitment slogan from 1980 to 2001. Now that they have retired the slogan, it is fitting for the “army” of those 50 years of age and older to adopt that orphan.

Do you like adventurous experiences, maybe with a dose of shock that startles your tranquility? If so, there is no need to visit an amusement park.