Thursday, January 11, 2007
The Troops Are Coming Home!
I, for one, have this crazy (but necessary) protective armor of denial that is only pierced occassionally when I let my guard down. My father (Gordon) is a baker on a Merchant Marine ship and has been working off the horn of Africa (you know - just south of the Persian Gulf, just off the coast of Somalia and the United Arab Emerates) for months. He's been in this region and in the Mediterranean for many years. After the recent bombings in Somalia, I tuned into the worry that is just under the surface of my being all the time. Luckily, his partner Gini told me that he headed west again just before the bombings in order to let somone else have a turn parusing the sandy fly-infested shores of the eastern Africa. Relief sigh.
But there is no relief sigh for so many other families. There is no relief sigh in any part of the world today. The diplomatic efforts so desperately needed will not surge. The shift in conciousness on the part of our highest leaders did not happen.
We sat around the fireplace last night, listening to streaming audio of the President's speech. It's not like I was expecting anything better to come from him but I think there was some part of me that wanted to hear a glimmer of hope - the mention of increased mobilization toward peaceful solutions.
This morning, Michael Moore's letter to the President made me laugh at the whole situation. So we laugh and we cry here in this house. What do you do in yours?
I think it's about time we all started to send some books - as a way to say that we care. Those tired soldiers need something to do in times of boredom, especially since it looks like they will be there for a loooong time. It takes a little effort to give through this forum - but because I have a father who reads voraciously - I know personally what it means to someone so far away from their family and friends.
Click on the above link to see the details but first get some tissues.
I, for one, have this crazy (but necessary) protective armor of denial that is only pierced occassionally when I let my guard down. My father (Gordon) is a baker on a Merchant Marine ship and has been working off the horn of Africa (you know - just south of the Persian Gulf, just off the coast of Somalia and the United Arab Emerates) for months. He's been in this region and in the Mediterranean for many years. After the recent bombings in Somalia, I tuned into the worry that is just under the surface of my being all the time. Luckily, his partner Gini told me that he headed west again just before the bombings in order to let somone else have a turn parusing the sandy fly-infested shores of the eastern Africa. Relief sigh.
But there is no relief sigh for so many other families. There is no relief sigh in any part of the world today. The diplomatic efforts so desperately needed will not surge. The shift in conciousness on the part of our highest leaders did not happen.
We sat around the fireplace last night, listening to streaming audio of the President's speech. It's not like I was expecting anything better to come from him but I think there was some part of me that wanted to hear a glimmer of hope - the mention of increased mobilization toward peaceful solutions.
This morning, Michael Moore's letter to the President made me laugh at the whole situation. So we laugh and we cry here in this house. What do you do in yours?
I think it's about time we all started to send some books - as a way to say that we care. Those tired soldiers need something to do in times of boredom, especially since it looks like they will be there for a loooong time. It takes a little effort to give through this forum - but because I have a father who reads voraciously - I know personally what it means to someone so far away from their family and friends.
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