That's Right...I Am Dangerous

 I love the Movie Top Gun. While I was aware of the movie from a young age, the first time I ever watched it from beginning to end was when I was in 10th grade. My friend Ryan in my Biology class lent me the tape. It’s been one of my favorite movies ever since. I can practically quote the whole thing. Dan Nelson (a Groomsman you'll be meeting soon enough) and I went to see the 25th Anniversary showing and absolutely loved it. One of my favorite lines takes place in the locker room after a training exercise. Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise have a classic confrontation and the phrase “I am dangerous” was solidified in cinematic lore.

Here’s the thing, I am not in fact dangerous. I am anything but. My mom went so far as to ask me one time why I wasn’t more rebellious. I just sort of shrugged my shoulders. Where some people like to be right in the middle of everything, I am just naturally more cautious. One of my personal mantras...don't get involved, stay out of it.

This past weekends’ trip went against my general nature. We visited the town of Sderot. It is located next to the Security wall separating Israel from Gaza. Sderot is targeted by missiles almost everyday and not only did we go there, we chose to.

Now these aren’t Patriot Missiles or anything super sophisticated, more like home made rockets, and while they are not terribly accurate they are destructive and have been deadly on occasion. Can you imagine living your life in a community where everyday you have missiles dropped on you. You can never stray too far from the bomb shelter that dot the area. It ‘s hard to believe, but that is just what people do. We met with a man named Raz. Raz lived in the community that was closest to the wall. He talked about what it was like and how both sides of the conflict feel. He talked about being aware, but not living in fear. And that’s what life is like in here Israel. You can hardly tell that some of Israel neighbors are openly hostile towards them.

I never really felt like I was in any particular danger, but it lead Isaac and I to discuss how you live your life. There is  a certain amount of danger in living. Every time you walk out the door there is a chance something terrible can happen. It almost never does, but almost never means sometimes rarely. But at least for me personally I'll take a few risks, I'll just try to be smart about it.