War Is A Lot Of Things And

I Went To Afghanistan In '96 To Write About Terrorist Training Camps South Of Jalalabad And Tora Bora, In The Mountains. I Was There Right Before The Taliban Took Over, Literally A Few Weeks Before They Took Kabul. The Frontline Wasn't Terribly Active, But It Was Definitely There. And They Swept Into Power.

The Attacks Of 9/11 Came Out Of Afghanistan. It Was A Failed State, A Rogue Nation. That's Why Al Qaeda Was There In The First Place.

One Interesting Thing I Found Was That If You Take An Affluent Modern Society And Collapse It During A Crisis, Like A War Or A Natural Disaster, People Begin Relating In A More Ancient, Organic Way. They're Functioning In Small Interdependent Groups And Putting Others First. And Another Irony Is That Even In Terrible Times, Cooperating Makes People Feel Good.

I Have Been Working Since I Was 20, And I'm 38. I Actually Once Averaged Out What I Had Made Over My Professional Life. I Think I Could Have Made That Much As A Waiter Or An Insurance Salesman. You Know, I Spent So Many Years In My 20's Making $10,000 A Year.

I Hope I Get Married One Day.