When I scan through my email contact list, I see email addresses that are “no longer operative,” to borrow a phrase from the era of Richard “Enemies List” Nixon. Oh, they work, I’m sure they are still valid email addresses for those people. But I know I can’t send messages to them, because we fell out over something. Through someone’s fault (probably mine) these people are gone to me now. But I still have them in my contacts list…

It’s an experience like I imagine certain elderly people have when they read the names of the fallen on a World War II memorial in their town square. These were once my friends. Then they went to Enemyland and died. Just names, now.

My life has been like a world war.

Tags: Enemies List, Richard Nixon, The Work of Young SM Shrake, World War II