Roy Griffaw
President
RTO Online, Inc.

There are moments when we experience absolute clarity. Our problems melt into utter insignificance as we realize what is truly important. It happened when my sons were born. It just happened again.

This weeks issue of RTO Magazine started out as 'Choosing between Breadth or Depth of inventory' (very exciting). I was almost finished when my mind went blank. I learned long ago that writer's block only gets worse if you sit and stare at the monitor. Instead, I surf the internet. I click random links, usually news, until my mind is clear. That's when I saw the picture.

It was an AP photo of a young soldier looking out a window of Saddam's palace. The caption said the soldiers name was Joshua Butler from Jackson Mo., just a few miles from my home. His unit had just taken the palace by force and he was on guard. That's when it hit me. I have no problems.

A young man is risking his life to protect my family simply because it's the honorable thing to do...and I'm stressed out about appliance inventory distribution. Families of service members live in fear of 3 uniformed men stepping out of a black sedan in front of their house saying 'we regret to inform you that'....and I'm frantic about my email deadline.

I am, at once, proud and ashamed. Proud of a country that produces such young men and women of honor, and ashamed that my own relatively trivial problems caused me to forget, if only for a while, how well I have it.

I have no problems. My wife and sons are healthy and safe. My country is free. My life is perfect.