Dear Son,

You weren’t quite four when you became an excited elder brother. I drove home from hospital happy that the second baby was a girl and that you loved showing her off. Among the first visitors to see us was an old friend, the mother of two boys. Who unforgettably said: “When people tell me I must miss having a daughter, I think, maybe. But it’s a double chance, twice the opportunity to raise two fine young men.” Well, I’m thankful for the shot I got to groom even the one. You. Because God knows the world desperately needs a few more good men. Mere months before you turn 21 you stand on the brink. About to come of age yet already arrived into an age that could and should make you rage.