Really? It is only September and the National Hurricane Center is about to run out of names. After Alfred through Wilfred, we move on to Alpha, Beta, and Gamma. As the outer bands of Hurricane Sally churn the Gulf of Mexico outside my window, I can’t help but think this hurricane season seems an appropriate metaphor for 2020: so many storms that we’re running out of names to give them.

So, what do you want to be when you grow up? Whatever those dreams were, you probably could not have imagined your life taking you around the world for the next thirty-plus years, leading your fellow Americans in defense of our Nation.