Countdown begins...

The countdown for the holiday season has begun. (bet you thought I meant the countdown for the election.) Stores are already decorating and Thanksgiving and Christmas wares abound everywhere. With the election and the holidays coming, most of us will be running helter skelter to finish all our chores, and errands, and responsibilities.
I have a Christmas wish list and am writing a letter to Santa early. Its a simple list that I have. All of you can be a Santa this year. Will you take up the challenge?
There are thousands of soldiers serving our country admirably and bravely. Some won't even receive a letter or a card, let alone a package. We cant allow this to happen.
There are several things you can do. In an earlier post, I wrote about Adopt a Platoon.
http://www.adoptaplatoon.org/new/
Great people doing this wonderful effort. Go check them out.
Or go to
http://www.soldiersangels.com/
Read about them, help them, and adopt a soldier.
Cant afford to send a package, dont have time to adopt a soldier? Write a letter to a soldier. Let them know we pray for them, think of them, and care about them. Buy a card, write a note.
Or check out here:
http://www.homefronthugs.com/page17.html
send a soldier a hug.
Have paper back books that youve read and dont know what to do with them.
Go here: http://www.booksforsoldiers.com/
Or simply go here:
http://asoldiersblog.blogspot.com/
On a soldier's blog, you can find dozens of links that will give you a place to act, as well as news, pictures, and a soldiers point of view.
Lets once again stand and show our support for the men and women who everyday live and breath the fight for our freedom.
Imagine...you are in a crowd of people, and someone yells," mail is here." Youve been living in a world far away from your familiar surroundings, far away from loved ones, or just far away.You look up and hope, maybe today I will receive a letter , you watch as peoples names are called. You wait, trying not to get your hopes up. You hold your breath, not even realizing you arent breathing, wanting, hoping, wishing....and then you hear it ...your name...
a letter...yeaahhhhhhh....your whole day changes as a smile erupts on your face. Someone cares about me.
As Tiny Tim said, " God bless us, every one."

Calling all women...celebrating a victory

Not long ago, HBO aired "Iron Jawed Angels", a story about the fight that women took in the USA to get the right to vote. It wasn't an easy fight but now is something we don't think much about. Some to the degree that they don't even vote.
Voting...one more precious gift our country guarantees us, and one more thing a lot take for granted. In this country, quite unfortunately many are turned off by the politics of electioneering. But as I have said before...there is power in ONE. We all need to begin to stand in unison and allow our voices to be heard...to rise against the things we find offensive, to cherish our rights (and not use the I am entitled theory). We also should stand in unison and acknowledge when hard fought victories are made.
I was asked recently, "Where are all the women?". Why aren't they standing and applauding the recent vote in Afghanistan? I don't have the answer. Why wasn't the media flooding the airwaves with this most historic event? Afghanistan voting for their president!!!!!
People in Afghanistan turned out in droves to vote this past Saturday. The conditions were far from idyllic. There was the threat of being targetted by terrorists, the long long lines , the (according to our standards) unsophisticated methods of the polling places. And yet the people of this country were jubilant. Women in particular came out in great numbers. This was a major change in their lives. They have a voice now, and they responded by using it.
This was the first election for head of state in their 5,000-year history. Can you imagine?
Do we, who take our vote for granted, understand what a great accomplishment has been made here? The following is a good take on the event. http://www.techcentralstation.com/101204C.html
"Turnout was described as "massive." Men in turbans and baggy sharwals lined up in orderly fashion to cast their ballots, many of them with uncharacteristically chipper looks on their faces. One guy I saw at a mosque in central Kabul actually had mist in his eyes. Women voted beneath tents at one poll near a block of wretched Soviet-era apartment blocks, lifting their burqas even in the presence of foreign cameras. In Bamiyan, home of the giant Buddhas destroyed by the Taliban, they stood in line to vote in the first snow of the season."
It has led me to think about those women who fought for the right to vote in the USA. I now marvel that in some way, their sacrifices and determination is now touching and reaching women in another part of the world. Women who were, not so long ago, conceived as those who had no rights. This weekend those same women, some still in burqas, VOTED!
This is my applause, my shout for congratulations and best wishes. Please join me in spreading this great news and acknowledging this most precious of freedoms that has arrived in a part of our world that, once upon a time, this very wonderful undertaking would have been an "Impossible Dream". (roll the song in your head)
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
And to run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
And to love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star
This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march, march into hell
For that heavenly cause
And I know
If I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart
Will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest
And the world will be better for this
That one man, scorned and covered with scars,
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable,
The unreachable star
And I'll always dream
The impossible dream
Yes, and I'll reach
The unreachable star

...and so in Afghanistan...it is exactly what they did!
God bless us all.

Another thing you wont hear in the media...

Darfur...one of those places in the world that is dark. Depending on the reports that you read, the painted picture is one of genocide, malnutrition, and utter dispair. The pictures are ugly and heart wrenching. In this election period, many are bringing up the subject of Darfur. The gist of their tone is that while we are in Iraq, we arent doing anything for Darfur. I am going to dispel this myth. The US is, in reality, doing more humanitarian relief in Darfur than any other country combined.
Once again, as in Iraq, The United States Agency for International Development is in the lead.
USAID has been in Darfur for years.
http://www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-saharan_africa/sudan/darfur.html
They have been providing water, health care, sanitation, vaccinations, and food. Airplanes drop much needed emergency food assistance.
According to the USAID website:
On May 3, 2001, President Bush appointed USAID Administrator, Andrew Natsios, as the U.S. Special Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan. . His main agenda has been greater humanitarian access for all of Sudan. In September, former Senator Danforth was appointed the U.S. Special Envoy for Peace to Sudan.
In the initial phase of U.S. engagement under the Special Envoy, the humanitarian and political agendas have intertwined. The success of these efforts led to negotiations between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement on a comprehensive framework agreement for peace. It has also added to increased stability with international monitoring.
The Sudan Task Force, formed under the leadership of Assistant Administrator Roger Winter to support the Special Humanitarian Coordinator, has been an integral part of U.S. Special Envoy Danforth's missions to Sudan. USAID has played a special role in the recent negotiations and agreements, in addition to managing humanitarian and development programs in Sudan.
So our great country hasnt turned its back on these unfortunate people who are greatly in need. Despite the difficulty, the USAID 's courage and compassion is an enduring presence in the region.
God bless these people who give their committment to making this world a better place.

Quiet? on Wednesday?

A friend sent this to me, they had received it in an email and forwarded it on
...kinda makes you go hmmmmmmm

When I Was Quiet
"They didn't see me when I was quiet."
That's what my five-year-old said. I picked him up from
school and as usual, asked him how his day went.
I often ask him what he did during the day.
"I got my name put on the board for talking," he said.
The teachers try to be strict about maintaining discipline.
It's a good thing. Even though they can't use the paddle
anymore as they did in my day, they do the best they can
with the techniques they are allowed to use. If your name
is on the board, you can't play during recess. You can't get
on the swings, the slide, or play any of the sports. If your
name is on the board, you're grounded. "I got my name
on the board, but they didn't see me when I was quiet
so I couldn't get it off." Remember the last speeding ticket
that you got? They didn't see you when you were going
slower and traveling at a reasonable speed.
Down the hill and in a hurry and here comes
the blue lights. They didn't see you when you were
quiet! The boss catches you just when you doze
for a second (well maybe longer than a second)
after diligently working all day. They didn't see
you when you were quiet. Your wife catches your
eyes wandering as you admire the architecture
of an elegant building that just happens to have
a shapely female in front of it. They didn't see you
when you were quiet. Why doesn't the world take
into account all of the times that you were quiet?
Why do you suffer so long for a moment's indiscretion?
How can a few minutes take an eternity to make up for?
Because of one of life's simple principles, it's a lot easier
and faster to mess up than to clean up. Harsh words
uttered in five seconds can damage a relationship for
five years. All of us are still in school. We still have
teachers. We still pass or fail tests. There are still
paddles in one form or another and there is still the
board. With many of the things in our lives, we simply
need to slow down and be quiet. That way we won't miss playtime.
Smiles...have a great day....and shhhhhhhhhh hehe

Rebuilding a spirit...

Yesterday was one of those days that goes by in a flash, with no time for a breather. We started out early, and finally got home and settled down around 8 PM. My son and I sat together for the our daily chat. He had a program on the television called "Renovate My Family".
http://www.fox.com/renovatemyfamily/
At first I laughed and said to him, " Are you trying to tell me something? ". He replied that he had seen an advertisement for it and thought it might be a good show to watch. I was skeptical. Another reality based show. But watch it we did.
Its one of those shows that a crew comes in and redoes a family's home in a week. This family and the approach of the show was a bit different. The Blankenships had suffered a major loss. Their house had burned down, their little girl had lost her dog in the blaze. Most everything they had owned was gone.
The producers of this show, had the family walk through the house one more time, relating their feelings and allowing them to say goodbye. They began the demolition of the burnt out shell of the house. The family at first looking sad and reluctant, became involved with the notion of rebuilding as they watched their past become the future. Then the family was sent off in typical fashion to vacation while a massive crew sets about to rebuild the house. But this wasnt typical. The family did not just vacation. They confronted their loss. They were helped to set out to restart. The little girl was given the opportunity to choose a new puppy, giving her back a feeling of some control. The look on her sweet face as she embraced her new friend was priceless.
My favorite thing was that the father and son were sent to help another family get their house ready for the arrival of hurricane Ivan. It gave them a sense of giving, not just receiving. Pride, enabling, power of self. I love that. Charity is fine, I think , but giving something back, enabling those receiving to pass it on , is much much better.
It was one of those feel good moments in television. I have a feeling that the Blankenships will pass it on. They seem to be that kind of family. All in all a good night spend, quiet, watching a show, sharing the ideas and exchanging thoughts with my son. One of those otherwise taken for granted moments in a lifetime.
And for that I am grateful.

Listen for the voice...NO MORE

There's an art to listening and hearing. Everyone is capable of doing
it. But too many of us got bogged down in the rush of daily lives to
take the time. We are so busy trying to balance a thousand things
that often we miss the whisper. And its the whisper that carries the
most important message. Once in a while the whisper becomes a
roar. An imperceptible hum becomes a piercing ringing in our ears
until we can no longer ignore it.
Terrorism.
One word evokes so many emotional responses. At least it does now
for the American public. Now it does... since 911. Terrorism was
that imperceptible hum for many of us. We heard the stories, but
how many of us actually wrapped our brains around the facts of it?
Afterall, it wasn't happening here, but far away, and we went about
our lives feeling a false security and almost arrogance that it was
something we needn't worry about. But that was until...911.
Its now become a roar. Everyday we are confronted with the
images, the horror, the inescapable reality of it. We can't run
and hide from it any longer. It's here, it's in our faces, in our minds,
ringing in our ears.
This morning I wanted to run and hide from it. Just for a bit.
Nothing on the agenda today, I wanted to take advantage of a no
schedule day. I was having my coffee, trying to enjoy the morning
quiet before the little one woke. I usually have the television on.
I don't really watch it as much as occasionally tune in if something
catches my attention. But I just couldn't take one more pundit spin
the debates from last night. Why is it that the media thinks that we
are all such idiots that they have to tell us what we heard? Or do
they think we aren't listening? I changed the channel looking for
something that would qualify as escape. I found some remotely
amusing and benign movie and left it on, even though it was toward
the end. I don't remember now what movie it was as I went back
to my daily reading and my coffee. This is also the time of day that I
tend to have a running dialogue with God. Some people would call
it prayer. Some would call me crazy. I don't really care. I ask
questions, I ask for mercy, I pray for those who need it to have
strength to get through the day. I count my blessings as a reminder
of how fortunate I am. And I give thanks.
Somewhere along the way I noticed that a new movie had started.
At first, I didn't pay attention. But as the story unfolded , I became
entranced. The movie was from 1987. It was "The Principal", starring
James Belushi and Lou Gossett Jr. Long story short, Belushi becomes
a principal in an inner city school full of "terrorists". Lou Gossett Jr.
plays his somewhat reluctant at first but supportive alliance. Back
then we wouldn't have called them terrorists. Some people still don't
call terrorists by their proper name. But the actions were parallel,
the means to the end the same. OK, I know this is just a movie, but
I couldn't help but to see the similarities to terrorism today albeit
a much different scale.
A driving force, steps in to the status quo of accepting the atrocities
that were going on. The protocol of the time was to appease the
"bad students" so that the uneasiness wouldn't get worse.
In the beginning of his attempts, Belushi as the principal announces,
that now that he has arrived, he has one simple rule....NO MORE.
Of course the "bad students" step up their attacks, singling out an
innocent teacher, and then another student trying to break away
and do the right thing. Heartbreaking attacks designed to break the
spirit of Belushi, and put fear into the other teachers and students
so that they protest Belushi's efforts. Who does he think he is
coming into this school and trying to change the scenery?
But Belushi's character is committed. He gets beaten, he agonizes
over the ones that suffer the attacks. But he doesn't quit and lives
by his mantra of NO MORE. As the movie winds to its close,
NO MORE wins out. Well kinda. Outside a fence the scene
shows there are more challenges to keeping the NO MORE rule.
But its message is clear. NO MORE.
I know many of you are wondering what I am doing today. Isn't this
supposed to be a good news blog? Well the good news today is that
there are real life heroes, ready and willing to take a stand and say ...
NO MORE. It's a difficult commitment one that will be met with
protest, one that at times will seem too daunting to win, one that will
challenge the will of us all. But all you have to do is look back on some
of the people that I've written about here on this blog. They are all
heroes standing up to say NO MORE. As more of us reach out and
join, stubbornly and defiantly holding onto one another's hands,
we will be heard. They will have to listen and hear our once
imperceivable hum as it grows into a roar.
NO MORE.
And for that I give thanks.
God bless us all.