**My Name is David**
I have never been broken.
In sixth grade, I sat in class one day and made a conscious decision: I had to conform if I wanted to be part of the social world around me. That single choice changed the entire direction of my life.
From that point forward, I became extremely good at reading people and adapting to my environment. But I never truly changed who I was underneath. My fifth grade teacher had already labeled me “extremely obnoxious,” and that fire never really went out.
**Leopards don’t change their spots.**
At seventeen, my father put me in the military. I served as a tank driver under the black beret with H Company and Fox Troop, 2nd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. I drove the commander’s track for both the Company Commander and the Troop Commander.
One day while we were in a long column moving down the autobahn, the gunner — who was acting as tank commander — kept telling me how to drive. After his third time criticizing me, I pulled the CVC helmet connection off my helmet, stood up on the moving tank while it was still rolling at twelve to fifteen miles an hour, looked him dead in the eye and said, “You want to drive the fucking thing?”
He turned white as a ghost.
After that, we had no more problems.
I’ve lived a full life — five marriages, raising other people’s children, working in Germany, and later building automation systems. I remember everything.
One year ago, I was fired from my job. That same week, I saw a feral cat crossing my porch with her kitten. I chose not to look away. That decision changed the rest of my life.
Today I am 66 years old. My days begin at five in the morning. My arms are covered in scratches, my coffee is always cold, and my time is no longer my own.
I have never been broken…
…but these cats are bending me.
d1