4/22/04 -- A Sad Day.

It was announced today that former NFL All-Pro Pat Tillman turned Army Ranger died yesterday in a firefight in Afghanistan. He was an extraordinary man and will be missed.

In 2002, back when I was an attorney at a large law firm high in the skies of Chicago, I read an article about Tillman quitting the NFL to join the Army Rangers and fight the Taliban. It was an inspiring story. I clipped the article and hung it in the middle of my bulletin board, amongst all my Lexis passwords and late-night pizza menus.

Occassionally, I'd re-read the story as I sat in my office at 2 a.m. finishing up a mass-document distribution for a corporate client. My neighbor at the firm was an ex-Ranger who did mostly Bond work. I'd drop by once and a while and ask, "What are we doing? We are young and bright. What are we doing slaving away at this thankless, many times mindless job when our country is at war. Scandal after scandal is hitting Wallstreet. Our cities are on high terror alert. And we spend 12 hours a day propped up in our chairs high on caffeine, pushing buttons, proofreading prospectuses, and sending off mass mailings, while collecting fat checks that we never have a chance to spend. There must be something better to life."

My neighbor had retired from the Rangers after fighting in Iraq and Kosovo. He was older than me and had two kids and one on the way. He was done with the fight. I was single and bored.

Well, I wouldn't go as far to say that Pat Tillman was the reason I left the firm. But looking at that photo on my bulletin board of a ferocious NFL player and knowing that he gave it all up to pursue something he believed so strongly in, didn't make waking up every morning and trudging off to a job that I despised any easier.

Although I may not believe in everything that the Administration does militarily, I thoroughly respect the men and women of the armed forces who on a daily basis put their lives on the line. I will not forget Pat Tillman. There is one bad MoFo who lived life to the fullest.