OK, technically its no longer Sunday, in fact it's 4:00 Monday morning, I meant to write this earlier when it was still Father's Day, but I am working the graveyard at Red Cross and the activity has not allowed me to reflect until now. In some ways, all the better, I have always believed there is no greater time for reflection than the time as dawn approaches.
Now of course I know that Father's Day is one of those made up "holidays" designed to sell ties and gadgets as Valentines Day is designed to sell chocolate and underwear (or chocolate underwear I suppose) but that does not mean it is "made up" in a philosophical or spiritual sense. Hence then a few comments for those with or without fathers of any kind.
First topic is that closest to my heart, those with fathers who are no longer living. Obviously, that fact makes the concept of this day a little harder but also brings some unique prospectives and thoughts. I tend to think these thoughts probably have some merits whether you lost your father when he was young or old or when you were young or old. Grief has similarities no matter the specifics because no matter how you are or how old your father is or was, whether you were or are "Daddy's little girl" or one of his beloved "boys," I believe we never lose that part of us that hopes and believes that "Daddy can make anything better," Unfortunately that need or belief does not does not go away even after one's Father passes away, so I guess in the end I direct most of the comments of this sort to those who have lost father's recently, because I've been there and most importantly, I am still here.
When my Dad first died, I remember one of the thoughts that I had the most often and that terrified me the most was "what if my memories fade?, how can I survive a future when all I have to preserve my Dad is a past," The bad news is memories do fade, but they fade only in some ways. Naturally the who, what, when, where and why of all memories fade over time. The good news is, the spirit of memory never fades. Your Dad will reappear in you in ways that you could never think of. This of course will happen even if your father is still alive, but I believe that once your father passes on, it sneaks up on you in more subtle ways and often just at the right time. You will incorporate their quirks and phrases into yourself, for better and worse. Most interestingly, while some memories fade, others reappear in a sense. For once I don't mean this in any sort of Freudian repression sense, rather that they just pop up, usually little things you haven't thought about in years and recall again for no reason at all. I can tell you even with my Dad gone for nearly 8 years this still happens to me from time to time. At first this will bring tears but eventually I assure you it will bring chuckles and smiles (even if your eyes still water a bit)
Lastly, there will always remain moments that will bring you right back to the past. Although I have thus far kept away from my own personal memories (one because they are private, and two I have to maintain my emotions to write this) but I will share my own personal experience with this.
When we were younger we used to often play around the corner with the neighborhood kids like a lot of you did. Uniquely when my dad decided it was getting too dark and or we needed come home for dinner or whatever, he wouldn't call the neighbors. simply he would walk out to our front deck, put two fingers in his mouth and whistle. We heard that we wrapped up whatever game we were playing and headed back around the corner. It didn't mean we were in trouble (if that were the case he would have showed up in person with teeth clenched and eyes glaring, very effective I tell you), this was just a signal, his signal, our signal. Folks, to this day wherever I am, if I here that two fingered type whistle, I turn my head, it almost becomes instinct, an unconscious tribute of sorts, this example is supported by both my sisters, they both have the same reaction.
In the end, if you've lost your father recently, I quote Dr. Viktor Frankel from his book Man's Search for Meaning (a fantastic book on grief and survival), where he warns against "constructing monuments to your grief", I second this but instead encourage you to construct monuments to your memories, they are all you have and most importantly will always belong to you and alone.
For whose who still have your fathers in your lives, don't worry this won't just be a long way to say "to hell with you lucky bastards", rather personal thoughts on how I believe you can have the best relationship with your father (and other family members for that matter) For one, remember they are not perfect and naturally not all memories or times with your father can or will be positive, same for me, same for everybody.
Fact is part of the job of parenting is that no matter how hard they try your parents are gonna screw you up. In a movie I watched a couple days ago this was summed up with the line "...This is life, not heaven, you don't have to be perfect". Many people try their best to do the right thing but the trick is to remember that at times, the best we can give is going to be nowhere near 100 percent. The point of all this is to take the good with the bad, when it comes to Dad try to cherish the whole package best you can. Try your best to forgive and don't forget to remind him how thankful you are when he gets it right.
For better and worse, one family is all you get, save your energy for the real arguments. Family feuds and breakdowns are all too common but probably even more commonly avoidable. Avoid unnecessary regrets, they bring you nothing but a sense of premature loss. I have no idea if any of what I say is truly universal but I can tell you the last 4 words I ever said my father were "I love you Dad," so I like to think we did something right
Lastly I turn to those among us who never knew their fathers, or were abandoned, or abused by them. First things, first, you owe these men nothing aside from maybe a little card saying "Thanks for the sperm, but next time go fuck yourself,". Admiration and respect is earned not granted. The important thing to remember is although you may lack a true "dad, pretty much everyone has a man in their life that they admire and has imparted wisdom on them (by the way of course I know there plenty of mothers and women that fit this bill in our lives, by given it's fathers day I use the male examples for that reason only). Focus on these men, if they know how important they are to you, call and wish them a Happy Fathers Day or just to say thanks. If they don't know how much they mean to you, find the courage and way to tell them, chances are you'll be pleasantly surprised by the reaction. Remember that family should not always be defined by blood and blood alone. A father may share your blood, but a true "dad" shares your life. And even if on days like this if you still feel alone, take comfort in my belief that no one ever walks alone because, if I may mix metaphors, in the end, we are all passengers on the same ship and, trust me, none of us quite knows where it's going.
In love and May God Bless You Always
Monday, June 22, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
I'm just not that into you
For most of my life I have been both praised and criticized for being "old fashioned", and this undoubtedly will be again one of those times.
I hate technology. Now relax, I'm not implying I am a few mail bombs and a coffin size cabin away from old Teddy K (admittedly I don't remember how to spell his last name nor do I care to look it up), no he was just wacky, plus he went to Harvard, fuck Harvard.
What I mean more specifically is how crazy this Internet connectedness shit has gotten. Specifically this goddamn twitter thing. Admittedly I don't completely understand it and concede there are probably a few good uses for it, but really to me it just shows how the culture of self importance has gotten to pathological levels. Celebrity wise. why do I care to know that Aston Kutcher just scratched his ass or that Plaxico Burress has finally learned how to properly carry an illegal fire arm (yes I am a Giants fan, yes I am still bitter).
However if there anything worse than knowing the menial stuff celebrities are doing, it's you believing I or anyone else cares about the menial shit you are doing. If you have done something important, lets say deliver a baby while blindfolded during a traffic jam, then yes I will be impressed and most likely read about it in the paper, but if all you care for me to know that you are watching the latest episode of CSI while eating and Ben & Jerry's quite honestly I think you should jam the spoon up your ass, one because that's what you deserve and two, I'd sign up to read posts like that.
From where I sit, I'm just not that into you, and more importantly if I am friend of yours, I hopefully would learn about the happenings in your life, gee I don't know, through conversation, remember those?
To continue the indictment lets move on to youtube. Now given I have watched and laughed at my share of youtube knuckleheads, I know there is some contradiction in my rant but I warned there would be. Point is I laugh mostly due to the notion that said knuckleheads picked up the camera because they believed sincerely that whatever they were about to do was necessary for the world to see, and this my friends signals the stupefaction of modern society. Trust me, if you are a first semester film student and/or some burn out about to light a fart on fire, you're not in the world moving category.
Secondly, some of these "techno-dicks" (a phrase borrowed from my comedic hero Mr. Carlin) in my opinion are down right criminal. That's right I'm talking to you Mr. "David goes to the dentist guy", while funny as hell, you are also an asshole and a shitty parent. After I stopped laughing at the aforementioned video, I was profoundly disturbed by the notion that this idiot took the camera because he knew now was a good a time as ever to get good shots of a five year old tweaking. I'll tell you what pal, I'll be over in a minute to film David castrating you with a toy sand shovel. Now that's entertainment and I'm sure little Dave would get a few yucks out of it.
Lastly is facebook, truthfully I have little negative to say about fb because well it is one of the mediums I use for these posts and two I kind of get a kick out of being "friended" by people I haven't seen or thought about in 15 years. What gets me about facebook is that everyone is on it. Both of my grandmother's are on it. Folks I love my grandmothers but something about that scares the shit out of me, limited profiles or not. God forbid one of them gets cute and or confused and before you know it ole Grams wants to know "What sex position are you"
Conversely, my mother, who is by no means dumb, barely knows how to send an e-mail (she prefers I do it first so she can just reply, "It's easier that way Sonny") and can't be bothered to have saving cell numbers or texting explained to her. I take true comfort in that for now because the first time my mom texts me I will most likely involuntarily shit my pants.
Lastly, so as to not seem as though I am completely unintrigued by the possibilities of technology, I do think Twitter in particular has a place in this world, in the hands of U.S. Correctional inmates: Imagine a few possibilities:
Charles Manson: the Beach Boys still won't reply to my letters, I swear I have written some good songs in here
Khalid Sheik Mohammad: Man they should call this stuff "water boring", same shit different day (side note: while I tend to be quite liberal on the torture controversy, that motherfucker planned 9/11, do with him as you please black ops)
John Hinckley: Watching Taxi Driver again, gets better every time
New Inmate 032: Cellmate says pig tails "work on me"
Inmate 472: Dropped the soap again, SON OF A BITCH!
That's it for now, until next time
Tweet Tweet, Bang Bang
I hate technology. Now relax, I'm not implying I am a few mail bombs and a coffin size cabin away from old Teddy K (admittedly I don't remember how to spell his last name nor do I care to look it up), no he was just wacky, plus he went to Harvard, fuck Harvard.
What I mean more specifically is how crazy this Internet connectedness shit has gotten. Specifically this goddamn twitter thing. Admittedly I don't completely understand it and concede there are probably a few good uses for it, but really to me it just shows how the culture of self importance has gotten to pathological levels. Celebrity wise. why do I care to know that Aston Kutcher just scratched his ass or that Plaxico Burress has finally learned how to properly carry an illegal fire arm (yes I am a Giants fan, yes I am still bitter).
However if there anything worse than knowing the menial stuff celebrities are doing, it's you believing I or anyone else cares about the menial shit you are doing. If you have done something important, lets say deliver a baby while blindfolded during a traffic jam, then yes I will be impressed and most likely read about it in the paper, but if all you care for me to know that you are watching the latest episode of CSI while eating and Ben & Jerry's quite honestly I think you should jam the spoon up your ass, one because that's what you deserve and two, I'd sign up to read posts like that.
From where I sit, I'm just not that into you, and more importantly if I am friend of yours, I hopefully would learn about the happenings in your life, gee I don't know, through conversation, remember those?
To continue the indictment lets move on to youtube. Now given I have watched and laughed at my share of youtube knuckleheads, I know there is some contradiction in my rant but I warned there would be. Point is I laugh mostly due to the notion that said knuckleheads picked up the camera because they believed sincerely that whatever they were about to do was necessary for the world to see, and this my friends signals the stupefaction of modern society. Trust me, if you are a first semester film student and/or some burn out about to light a fart on fire, you're not in the world moving category.
Secondly, some of these "techno-dicks" (a phrase borrowed from my comedic hero Mr. Carlin) in my opinion are down right criminal. That's right I'm talking to you Mr. "David goes to the dentist guy", while funny as hell, you are also an asshole and a shitty parent. After I stopped laughing at the aforementioned video, I was profoundly disturbed by the notion that this idiot took the camera because he knew now was a good a time as ever to get good shots of a five year old tweaking. I'll tell you what pal, I'll be over in a minute to film David castrating you with a toy sand shovel. Now that's entertainment and I'm sure little Dave would get a few yucks out of it.
Lastly is facebook, truthfully I have little negative to say about fb because well it is one of the mediums I use for these posts and two I kind of get a kick out of being "friended" by people I haven't seen or thought about in 15 years. What gets me about facebook is that everyone is on it. Both of my grandmother's are on it. Folks I love my grandmothers but something about that scares the shit out of me, limited profiles or not. God forbid one of them gets cute and or confused and before you know it ole Grams wants to know "What sex position are you"
Conversely, my mother, who is by no means dumb, barely knows how to send an e-mail (she prefers I do it first so she can just reply, "It's easier that way Sonny") and can't be bothered to have saving cell numbers or texting explained to her. I take true comfort in that for now because the first time my mom texts me I will most likely involuntarily shit my pants.
Lastly, so as to not seem as though I am completely unintrigued by the possibilities of technology, I do think Twitter in particular has a place in this world, in the hands of U.S. Correctional inmates: Imagine a few possibilities:
Charles Manson: the Beach Boys still won't reply to my letters, I swear I have written some good songs in here
Khalid Sheik Mohammad: Man they should call this stuff "water boring", same shit different day (side note: while I tend to be quite liberal on the torture controversy, that motherfucker planned 9/11, do with him as you please black ops)
John Hinckley: Watching Taxi Driver again, gets better every time
New Inmate 032: Cellmate says pig tails "work on me"
Inmate 472: Dropped the soap again, SON OF A BITCH!
That's it for now, until next time
Tweet Tweet, Bang Bang
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Welcome to my head
To begin I need to reiterate my general distrust and distaste of the pomposity that defines the blog and youtube era. However I also am fascinated by the general contraditions within myself and in the world. To that end, recently I truly realized that sometimes if something pisses me off, makes me think, makes me laugh, puzzles or disturbs me or generally intrigues me I feel compelled to write about it.
Therefore I hereby announce the creation of a series of these off the cuff, sometimes unplanned, complusive writings called "From Where I Sit", naturally the title is a wheelchair pun (you know I can't resist) but in truth was suggested to me by a friend years ago in conjunction with another idea I had at the time.
I have no idea how regular these will be so don't wait by the screen for another, but they will come (in fact the next couple probably very soon) and I have also retroactively made two older notes the first two of the series. I may come off as a genius, a fool, bitter, optimistic, angry or happy but goes so life so if you want to comment on anything I write or what you think about me in general, I encourage it.
I'd like to claim I am am doing this for no one but myself but the truth is, I believe anyone inspired to put thoughts on paper wants others to read them even if they don't admit it.
Bottomline: Read if you want, if you don't, I'll be writing them anyway
Yours truly,
Chris
AKA (and yes I have been called all of these at one time or another):
Higgs, Higgy, Higgy Smalls, The Notorious H.I.G, Higgy Pop, Clyde, Sonny, Tofer, McWheelie, the H-man, Drunkie McWheelchair
Therefore I hereby announce the creation of a series of these off the cuff, sometimes unplanned, complusive writings called "From Where I Sit", naturally the title is a wheelchair pun (you know I can't resist) but in truth was suggested to me by a friend years ago in conjunction with another idea I had at the time.
I have no idea how regular these will be so don't wait by the screen for another, but they will come (in fact the next couple probably very soon) and I have also retroactively made two older notes the first two of the series. I may come off as a genius, a fool, bitter, optimistic, angry or happy but goes so life so if you want to comment on anything I write or what you think about me in general, I encourage it.
I'd like to claim I am am doing this for no one but myself but the truth is, I believe anyone inspired to put thoughts on paper wants others to read them even if they don't admit it.
Bottomline: Read if you want, if you don't, I'll be writing them anyway
Yours truly,
Chris
AKA (and yes I have been called all of these at one time or another):
Higgs, Higgy, Higgy Smalls, The Notorious H.I.G, Higgy Pop, Clyde, Sonny, Tofer, McWheelie, the H-man, Drunkie McWheelchair
Obama-Mania meets March Madness
(originally written March 91th 2009)First let me say, I like sports, when pressed you might even get me to say (shudder), I like politics. This is getting ridiculous however. I am of course referring to the major news story making the rounds on both cable news and sports networks alike that informed us (as we awaited with bated breath) that President Obama had make his “official” picks for the NCAA Tournament! Really? I have long been of the belief that we should be more critical of media outlets than we are of politicians themselves and this “news” only reaffirms this.
Let’s remember something here folks, the President is not a celebrity outside of the fact that he is indeed the President of the United States. He (and his wife) should get the press for doing Presidential things, not of the Paris Hilton variety. During election build-up it is perfectly fine and perhaps even appropriate to cover Obama “the man” and Mrs. Obama “the woman”, after all how could we vote for him if we didn’t know what he looked like with his shirt off, what his jump shot form was like or where Michelle gets her dresses made or how she will decorate the Lincoln bedroom.? Now, however I am only interested in their actions as the 44th President and First Lady. To his sincere credit, the President himself seems even to be a little disturbed by his version of Obamamania. Yesterday, on one of the “bracket” clips running on ESPN, reporter Andy Katz was questioning our Commander in Chief on the strength of schedule of some team to which he responded (while looking more than a little uncomfortable) something to the effect of “Look , I catch ESPN highlights, I don’t have time to stay up to 2am to watch these games,” Amen Sir! He gets it! Why can’t the rest of us? That said, a sitting President has no business appearing on Jay Leno (maybe Conan) either, but I can almost understand that from a PR standpoint.
You want to talk about Obama? Let’s talk about ending the War in Iraq (but escalating the Afghani campaign, which means that nobody’s really coming home anytime soon), Closing the prison at Gitmo Bay and ending torture (however the Executive Orders doing so are very unclear as to whether we can or should actually let these prisoners go nor does it make any mention of stopping the practice of “extraordinary rendition”), or the Economic plan (where is the money actually coming from?). Now before you dismiss this bit on the account that I didn’t vote for Obama (thus rendering my opinions over the next 4-8 years moot of course), let me clarify, first, I like the man a great deal and have seen him speak in person, giving me great hope and secondly, I am not saying that the above plans and strategies will not work nor that they are even bad ideas, rather the point is the man has been in office for two months, let’s give him some space and time to figure this business out and in the meantime report the complete stories. “Yes We Can” can only come to fruition if we give the Big O (no not Oprah) a little space rather than getting his Tourney picks or bantering with Leno’s chin. Secondly, in the name of all that is Holy, celebrities and pundits alike, please stop referring to Mr. Obama as a “great” President. Talk about no pressure huh? Time, and not intention, determines greatness. Is he strong, ambitious, inspiring, well meaning, and (unlike his predecessor) generally interested in the job? Damn straight! Great? Talk to me in 4-8 years, for now I’ll parrot Bill Mahr’s position on religion, I don’t know.
The point of this is not that am I claiming some sort of “super citizen” status, rather that I do my best to do my own research and form my own opinions. There is a reason why I am a proud to be a subscriber to the New York Post and have never read the New York Times in full a single day of my life, why?, ok for one I can’t fold the goddamn thing but really because I take news media for what it is, entertainment. Don’t get me wrong, I like a good laugh (The Post is good there too) so if and when President Obama chokes on a pretzel (Bush) or falls down half a flight of stairs while rumored to be stoned (Clinton), by all means give me a full color front page, but until then, pardon me for not giving a shit that the President thinks the Tar Heels are going win it all.
Let’s remember something here folks, the President is not a celebrity outside of the fact that he is indeed the President of the United States. He (and his wife) should get the press for doing Presidential things, not of the Paris Hilton variety. During election build-up it is perfectly fine and perhaps even appropriate to cover Obama “the man” and Mrs. Obama “the woman”, after all how could we vote for him if we didn’t know what he looked like with his shirt off, what his jump shot form was like or where Michelle gets her dresses made or how she will decorate the Lincoln bedroom.? Now, however I am only interested in their actions as the 44th President and First Lady. To his sincere credit, the President himself seems even to be a little disturbed by his version of Obamamania. Yesterday, on one of the “bracket” clips running on ESPN, reporter Andy Katz was questioning our Commander in Chief on the strength of schedule of some team to which he responded (while looking more than a little uncomfortable) something to the effect of “Look , I catch ESPN highlights, I don’t have time to stay up to 2am to watch these games,” Amen Sir! He gets it! Why can’t the rest of us? That said, a sitting President has no business appearing on Jay Leno (maybe Conan) either, but I can almost understand that from a PR standpoint.
You want to talk about Obama? Let’s talk about ending the War in Iraq (but escalating the Afghani campaign, which means that nobody’s really coming home anytime soon), Closing the prison at Gitmo Bay and ending torture (however the Executive Orders doing so are very unclear as to whether we can or should actually let these prisoners go nor does it make any mention of stopping the practice of “extraordinary rendition”), or the Economic plan (where is the money actually coming from?). Now before you dismiss this bit on the account that I didn’t vote for Obama (thus rendering my opinions over the next 4-8 years moot of course), let me clarify, first, I like the man a great deal and have seen him speak in person, giving me great hope and secondly, I am not saying that the above plans and strategies will not work nor that they are even bad ideas, rather the point is the man has been in office for two months, let’s give him some space and time to figure this business out and in the meantime report the complete stories. “Yes We Can” can only come to fruition if we give the Big O (no not Oprah) a little space rather than getting his Tourney picks or bantering with Leno’s chin. Secondly, in the name of all that is Holy, celebrities and pundits alike, please stop referring to Mr. Obama as a “great” President. Talk about no pressure huh? Time, and not intention, determines greatness. Is he strong, ambitious, inspiring, well meaning, and (unlike his predecessor) generally interested in the job? Damn straight! Great? Talk to me in 4-8 years, for now I’ll parrot Bill Mahr’s position on religion, I don’t know.
The point of this is not that am I claiming some sort of “super citizen” status, rather that I do my best to do my own research and form my own opinions. There is a reason why I am a proud to be a subscriber to the New York Post and have never read the New York Times in full a single day of my life, why?, ok for one I can’t fold the goddamn thing but really because I take news media for what it is, entertainment. Don’t get me wrong, I like a good laugh (The Post is good there too) so if and when President Obama chokes on a pretzel (Bush) or falls down half a flight of stairs while rumored to be stoned (Clinton), by all means give me a full color front page, but until then, pardon me for not giving a shit that the President thinks the Tar Heels are going win it all.
Silver linings
originally written Friday, September 12, 2008
Normally I don't really do this blog stuff, because who am I to think my thoughts or life is so important or profound it needs to annouce itself on you, however I have been thinking on something for the last day that I felt the urge to make public. When one is watching the news or reading the papers, or actually attempting to find a way to objectively learn about (mostly horrible) world events, it quite easy for us (myself included) to adopt the " hell in a hand basket" position but even when the world looks pretty gray and cloudly...there is always a silver lining to be found
Of course I make no big secret of the fact that my father was a firefighter murdered at the World Trade Center. Naturally the last few days have been very difficult for myself and the rest or my family. One irony of course is that this is also a period throughout which I feel very loved. Among the dozens of calls, messages and visits I've received over the past few days, there are two in particular that I feel compelled to share because of what I feel they remind us about the general goodness of humanity. These two dear friends will remain nameless here (even thought they may be identifible through some of the details) one because I am not able to directly ask their permission and secondly because it is not who they are but they do that is the point of this letter.
The first came from a friend who a month ago left the United States to travel to Uganda to do nursing work in orphanages and hospitals (in conjuction with missionary work). Naturally in such a country (particularly where this person is located) access to cell phone or internet is spotty at best, yet like clockwork yesterday in the afternoon I received a text message from a strange number that was this person reminding me that I was in their thoughts and offered their signature admonishment to "keep my head up"
The Second came in the form of a Myspace message (can I get sued for writing that here?) from another friend who is a Marine currently serving in Iraq, telling me I was in their thoughts and hoped my family were doing ok.The point and thought provoking thing for me in all of this is not neccessarily that these to people are important to me because clearly they are but that for one they both chose admirable and selfless ways to serve the world the world at large and secondly given the difficulty of communication and lack of "free time" in both of these situations , they still both were motivated and moved to check in on someone they loved that that they knew my be hurting in their own way back home.
Both of these people literally have chosen God and country to express a love they have not just for friends and family but every human on this earth. This country and much of the world are gripped in political squabbling and general cynicism, and these two examples remind me and should remind all of us that because there is no place or more importantly no time for for politics or cynicism on the battlefields of war or hunger and disease, it's the simple humanity and oneness among us and a general attitude to "do unto others" that proves that this world and it's people are not quite ready to book that hand-basket ride to hell just yet.
Lastly, rather than put ourselves down if we are unable to serve the far reaches of the world in one way or another, we should instead assert with pride and conviction the things that we say or believe, and perform the jobs and work we do with true purpose because no matter how big or small or how close or far they may be, all clouds need silver linings....
In love and reflection,
Normally I don't really do this blog stuff, because who am I to think my thoughts or life is so important or profound it needs to annouce itself on you, however I have been thinking on something for the last day that I felt the urge to make public. When one is watching the news or reading the papers, or actually attempting to find a way to objectively learn about (mostly horrible) world events, it quite easy for us (myself included) to adopt the " hell in a hand basket" position but even when the world looks pretty gray and cloudly...there is always a silver lining to be found
Of course I make no big secret of the fact that my father was a firefighter murdered at the World Trade Center. Naturally the last few days have been very difficult for myself and the rest or my family. One irony of course is that this is also a period throughout which I feel very loved. Among the dozens of calls, messages and visits I've received over the past few days, there are two in particular that I feel compelled to share because of what I feel they remind us about the general goodness of humanity. These two dear friends will remain nameless here (even thought they may be identifible through some of the details) one because I am not able to directly ask their permission and secondly because it is not who they are but they do that is the point of this letter.
The first came from a friend who a month ago left the United States to travel to Uganda to do nursing work in orphanages and hospitals (in conjuction with missionary work). Naturally in such a country (particularly where this person is located) access to cell phone or internet is spotty at best, yet like clockwork yesterday in the afternoon I received a text message from a strange number that was this person reminding me that I was in their thoughts and offered their signature admonishment to "keep my head up"
The Second came in the form of a Myspace message (can I get sued for writing that here?) from another friend who is a Marine currently serving in Iraq, telling me I was in their thoughts and hoped my family were doing ok.The point and thought provoking thing for me in all of this is not neccessarily that these to people are important to me because clearly they are but that for one they both chose admirable and selfless ways to serve the world the world at large and secondly given the difficulty of communication and lack of "free time" in both of these situations , they still both were motivated and moved to check in on someone they loved that that they knew my be hurting in their own way back home.
Both of these people literally have chosen God and country to express a love they have not just for friends and family but every human on this earth. This country and much of the world are gripped in political squabbling and general cynicism, and these two examples remind me and should remind all of us that because there is no place or more importantly no time for for politics or cynicism on the battlefields of war or hunger and disease, it's the simple humanity and oneness among us and a general attitude to "do unto others" that proves that this world and it's people are not quite ready to book that hand-basket ride to hell just yet.
Lastly, rather than put ourselves down if we are unable to serve the far reaches of the world in one way or another, we should instead assert with pride and conviction the things that we say or believe, and perform the jobs and work we do with true purpose because no matter how big or small or how close or far they may be, all clouds need silver linings....
In love and reflection,
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