Saturday Boy

If I've learned anything from comic books, it's that everybody has one thing that can totally ruin their day without fail. For the wolfman it's a silver bullet. For Superman it's kryptonite. For me it was a letter.

With one letter, my dad was sent back to Afghanistan to fly Apache helicopters for the U.S. army.

Now all I have are his letters. Ninety-one of them to be exact. I keep them in his old plastic lunchbox—the one with the cool black car on it that says *Knight Rider *underneath. Apart from my comic books, Dad's letters are the only things I read more than once. I know which ones to read when I'm down and need a pick-me-up. I know which ones will make me feel like I can conquer the world. I also know exactly where to go when I forget Mom's birthday. No matter what, each letter always says exactly what I *need* to hear. But what I *want* to hear the most is that my dad is coming home.