war-zone

Reporters go through four stages in a war zone. In the first stage, you__e Superman, invincible. In the second, you__e aware that things are dangerous and you need to be careful. In the third, you conclude that math and probability are working against you. In the fourth, you know you__e going to die because you__e played the game too long. I was drifting into stage three.

Minding his own business had been his motto living in a strange foreign country with a world-recognized social issue of failing morals.