In Hong Kong, 1.25 million chickens were killed due to the outbreak of the dreaded bird flu, Princess Diana died, and gas was only $1.22 per gallon. I was newly divorced and working pizza delivery for about nine months when the call came in for a delivery to Eastern Ave. in Manchester, NH. It was much different than the inner city that I grew up in. Buildings were riddled with bullets, the streets were filled with thugs and the part of town that I grew up was labeled “The Combat Zone”. I was excited to deliver to that section of town as it has been known to tip well. I didn’t realize that it was the address of an old high school crush. This surprise was better than any tip I would ever receive. When she opened the door, I could place the face; I couldn’t put a name to it. “Donna”, she said. “Ah, dang it”, I said, frustrated with myself. We were both “war veterans”.