Last week we ran a story about a Snoqualmie man who heard the call of duty and, at the age of 32, enlisted in the Army. Geoffrey Smigun gave up a successful career in the computing industry and with the support of his pregnant wife, he committed himself to serve his country. My hats off to Geoffrey because I’m not sure many of us could do the same thing.

After reading the story, I really had to think, what would it take for me to do the same thing. We each react differently to events in the Middle East, with many of us having family members serving abroad. But could we actually give up our comfort zone to do what Geoffrey is doing? For me, it would take a horrendous act that closely impacted my immediate family to make that commitment. Of course, I am probably too fat, a bit out of shape and too old to enlist, but I do have a nearly 18-year-old son that could face that question in the very near future.

Despite the fact that I applaud Geoffrey for serving his country, I wonder out loud, when we can expect to withdraw troops from Iraq. We are faced with daily video footage of gun battles on the nightly news and a climbing death toll to help a country emerge as a democratic society. I would expect we will see escalated demonstrations against the war, much like those of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

On a seperate note, our Best of Snoqualmie Valley results are out. Congratulations to all the winners. Each year the number of ballots increases and this year, with our online balloting the only way to vote, we saw another increase. Congratulations to those who won but more importantly, support local businesses. They pay taxes in our community, support local youth events and make the community what it is.