I worked 40 hours in the last 3 days and I'm listening to Billy Joel's "We didn't start the fire."

Who says Americans are lazy slobs? There's a general misconception that Germans are the hardest working people in the world. Wrong. They're up there with the Italians. Only in Europe do people take 3-month vacations. Only in Europe do people take 3-hour lunch breaks. There's a lot of talk lately about patriotism. I've got my own take on patriotism, and its not how our military is superior (even thought it is.). In the terrible days following of 9-11, the firefighters of New York city worked endless 15 / 16 hour days to save the lives of people trapped, and then later, to dig up the remains of the dead

They did all this knowing that most of the dead were not people who worked in the building, but people that they lived and died with - other firefighters. I think its sad to think about digging through endless wreckage to find the remains of your peers.

I can't help but to think about how those firefighters felt during those subsequent days thereafter, especially the days (possibly day) when they knew all that they would find would be the dead remains, at the same time knowing the it might as just as well have been them lying in the rubble.

That brings me to war. Firefighters are not soldiers. They are not prepared to deal with a situation on a scale that terrible - soldiers are. The soldiers are lucky (or a least "luckier.")

When I was I kid, I - like a lot of other kids - wanted to be a fireman. I also wanted to star in the next round of Star Wars movies, too late for that - damn you McGregor.

My point is, would Ewen McGregor make a good fireman?

Yes. Damn right he would.

And even though I think I could play a better obi-won, I don'[t think I could deal with the what the New York firefighters had to after 9-11. That is patriotism to me. That's how I feel about America. And on that note, Goodnight Saigon, and - Good Morning Iraq. Boo-Yah!