COEUR d'ALENE - Even on days when there are blue skies overhead and the sun is shining, Eric Buffington doesn't like to go outside.

Loud noises frighten the 32-year-old Coeur d'Alene man.

Shopping is difficult, too, because he gets jumpy around too many people.

"It's hard for me to walk in crowds," he says as he stands in the garage of his 15th Street house. "I get a lot of anxiety and things like that."

So he usually stays home and plays video games.

"That's one of the things he's able to do that doesn't include crowds of people, and doesn't cause a lot of anxiety," says his wife, Megan.

"I like to play poker a lot," Buffington says.

Is he pretty good?

"Ah, yeah," he says with a laugh and smile.

But the smiles and laughter don't come easy to Eric Buffington. He spent eight years in the Army, including two tours in Iraq, that left him a changed man.

Once confident and outgoing, he's reserved and quiet. He has to focus, sometimes, to maintain thoughts and finish a sentence.

"It's hard for me to think right now. It's weird," he says with a shake of his head.

Buffington, a 1997 Post Falls High School graduate, returned to the U.S. in 2007, and moved to Coeur d'Alene in 2009.

His return to civilian life, he says, has been hard. In Iraq, he was involved in fierce firefights. He was in the situation no one wants to be in - kill or be killed. He did what he had to do to survive.

When asked if he can discuss what he went through, what he saw, what he did in Iraq, he shakes his head. No.

"A lot of the things I don't like to talk about," Buffington says.

He will say that he was hit with mortar fragments in the chest and was injured. He will say that he suffered a brain injury. He will say that he lives with post-traumatic stress disorder, and he wishes he didn't.

"I suffered severe PTSD," he says. "I still live with PTSD. I don't get out much. I'm trying to do something good just to try to get out there, get back into normal life."

He is starting with something simple, and most important, something that makes him feel safe: auto detailing. It's called American Veteran Auto Detail.

Before he even talks about his new venture, he points out he's donating 10 percent of whatever he makes to the Wounded Warrior Project, which provides programs and services to severely injured service members during their time between active duty and transition to civilian life.

It was, and still is, there for Buffington.

"I want to give back to the Wounded Warrior Project that helped me through my rough times," he says.

His smile returns and he beams with pride when he speaks of his auto detailing business. This is exciting, he says.

"It's something I like to do," he explains.

In his garage, where an American flag hangs on display, are the tools of his trade: A power washer, Kirby vacuum, buffer, an array of waxes, tire, wheel and glass cleaners, a shampooer.

Prices range from $35 to $85, depending on the level of services. However, while auto detailers are usually mobile, Buffington says his customers will have to come to him, because driving in traffic is overwhelming.

Still, he is confident he will succeed, enough to earn a living, regain his independence. He came across the occupation when he was stationed at Fort Stewart, Ga.

"I just picked it up one summer, working for an auto dealership outside the front gate of the base," he says. "They taught me everything I needed to know. I loved it ever since then."

Megan, his wife of five years, smiles and nods in agreement.

"He's limited to what he can do. This is something he can do and he enjoys it," she says.

The two met via the Internet while Eric was stationed in Iraq and Megan was living in North Idaho.

The more they traded messages and talked, the more she liked him.

"He's a really committed, loyal, sweet person. He was a really good soldier," she says. "I really liked the qualities that he had."

Megan has helped him readjust to the normal routines of daily life, but she admits it's not easy. Relaxing, for Eric, is hard work.

"He doesn't have very much of a social life. It's taken a long time to have friends and do things like that again. Just simple things like grocery shopping," she says.

What's been the hardest part of trying to become Joe citizen again?

Eric starts to answer, "The hardest part ..." then he stops, as if trying to recall the question.

A few moments later, he says he doesn't want to enclose himself in his home. He doesn't want to be afraid to step outside.

But many days, he is.

"It's extremely difficult, to adjust back," Eric adds.

He was 21 when he joined the military.

"It was either that or being a police officer. It was my dream to be a cop, but I found that the military was a better thing for me," he says.

Eight years and two tours of Iraq later, any misgivings?

"I am happy I have served my country. I have no regrets. This is what it is," he says.

Eric is looking forward to summer. He's hoping for customers. He's hoping, really, just to feel like your average American citizen with a business, a wife and a community to call home.

"I'm very dedicated. It's just me as a vet doing this," he says. "It might be time consuming, but I do an excellent job on auto detail and I pay attention to detail."

The interview over, Buffington offers a strong handshake, a thank you, his engaging smile, and wanders back into his garage.

He emerges, walking quickly, with a stack of his blue business cards. In the right corner are the Stars and Stripes, and he notes again that he is giving part of his proceeds to the Wounded Warrior Project.

"All I'm trying to do is give back to the people that are giving to me," he says.

Buffington can be reached at 704-4513.