How to explain the death of Bin Laden to a child who has only lived during wartime, not even knowing he is living during wartime?
"American soldiers, the people who fight to keep us safe, found and killed the number one bad guy they've been looking for for ten years."
"Oh wow, mom. That's awesome."
And that was that.
For him.
I am having a hard time sleeping.
Dead Bin Laden scares me more than Hidden Bin Laden.
Seeing Americans revel in our streets scares me more than seeing Islamic Militants revel in their streets.
Security is up in our schools and buildings. I work in lots of schools and buildings. Trying to get in is a reminder that we are "cracking down". Whatever that means.
I'm carrying ID with me where ever I go this week. Two forms. Because sometimes you need two forms. I remember that from the last time we cracked down. I forget why we cracked down a few years ago, but I remember that we did.
It's only Tuesday and I've been asked for my passport twice.
Odd, this life.
If I didn't have my passport I wouldn't have been able to get my job done. I lost my photo work ID years ago.
Eight?
Nine?
Maybe I should go up to HR and have another one run off. Then maybe I could show my license and my work ID rather than my passport.
My passport is expired.
No one noticed.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
16 degrees {comments}:
You're living in a different world than me. Nobody has asked for my ID except at airports and when I've bought alcohol. Oddly, the only place I've noticed more security is when I visited the Eiffel Tower in Paris last year. Airports are the biggest change with intrusiveness I've noticed in the US.
I remember thinking when I was younger about what the big war of our generation would be. Now it seems like we'll just live in a constant state of war indefinitely. And that makes me wonder about Beau and Jake's generation.
I have no idea where my passport is. Somewhere in the depths of the den.
Lora, dead bin Laden scares me more too. I totally get you there. I also have a hard time celebrating the death of any human being.... no matter who they are. This quote made a lot of sense to me:
"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy." - Martin Luther King, Jr
Also this one that an author wrote on twitter...
"Tonight is for sober and mature reflection, not glee. Mindless celebration is spiritually inappropriate and politically naive"
My younger brother (who lives in Asia) just had a work thing blow up that will delay his ability to come home and visit our dying father by another 2 months. Yesterday he Skyped me that he could probably skip away for a week or so now, and told him don't -- as important as it is for him to come see our dad, now is not the time to be travelling by air. Broke my heart.
What I think scares me is the euphoria some folks seem to feel about UBL being killed... not that I'd have wanted to see him capture alive. It was almost the same as how the Brits were during "The Wedding." I can't reconcile that.
Sam asked this morning about it, harder to explain to a 3 year old. He asked if the man was like the Joker. All things must be related to Batman in some way or another. Ahhh, innocence.
I personally hope Bin Laden is cleaning the women's toilets in hell.
If it's really Hell, there are no women's toilets.
You open this bundle of thoughts with:
"How to explain the death of Bin Laden"
AND
You close this bundle of thoughts with:
"My passport is expired".
The beginning and end have a symmetry, and cadence that cannot be denied.
The first notification led to Jake's understanding of the "awesome".
To visit Canada, and see Niagara Falls, from a better view than our own side, you now need a passport.
The reason for this is Bin Laden; the borders were always open prior to this man's evil.
Indeed! We often crossed at the Peace Bridge!, enroute to Quebec, and anti-American hatred served up raw in that Province at all times.
Be sure Jake knows passports can be renewed.
Then again, evil re-morphs at times too.
At Jake's age, YOU are still safe.
I am witnessing an extraordinary number of young men and women who go military, for lack of peacetime jobs, return and go back multiple times, and then are jettisoned by the Vet Department as collateral damage.
Those are the lucky ones; they came back.
But too much of their lives have been spent in kill mode. I am not sure that can be erased inside men and women returning, and burying the memories they saw. (and did).
Google "Private Sam Huff"
Sam is Samantha, but preferred Sam.
An Arizona gal.
Her parents served in Nam proudly, and Sam, an only child, did the same in Iraqi Freedom.
Sam was in Marching Band at high school, then Marching into war.
She rests in Arlington National Cemetery; she never saw her 19th birthday.
Her mom Maggie died from cancer soon after and rests next to Sam now (Vietnam Vet); and dad, Bob is now alone.
I can name scores more.
"Dead Bin Laden" will be nothing more than a
"time-out" for the military-industrial complex.
Russia expired.
Bin Laden expired.
They need to get a new bad guy. They will.
I got some groceries today and chuckled as I read the can of salmon. It is 11% salt. And 40 mg of cholesterol...the reason my doc says to eat that crap is to reduce cholesterol.
"Alaska Pink Salmon" is on the can front in huge font.
There is a warning on the back of a can labelled:
"Allergy Warning: CONTAINS SALMON.
I chuckled at that so much, I missed the date on the can, until after I bought it and brought it home.
It expired.
The Bible tells us that the guardian angels of children always have their faces on God himself!
I will continue to pray for Jake....and his guardian angel.
May he remain a child longer than most.
I am glad I am not alone... Since the news broke I was first skeptical.... then I was fearful. This isn't Oz, they don't sing Ding Dong the Witch is Dead and get over it... I'm sure even Bin Laden had a wicked witch up his sleeve somewhere.
Thank you for always keeping it real girl! ox
P.S. Holli's MLK quote is a perfect way to sum up my feelings.
As for me, I'm very skeptical of all of this celebrating. When one Evil one goes, another is waiting in the wings to take his place. Let us not get too excited about what this means.
And it saddens me too, that my children don't know what pre-war really means.
I got onto Post with an expired Mil ID last week...the security guard didn't notice. THAT bothered me!
Have a good week!
Janet
I'm so sad that Americans are behaving like barbarians. But, alas, when everything is stripped away, I think we are all barbarians. Some people are just whores and strip *way* faster than everybody else.
i know right? i just wrote my post on similar thoughts and clicked over and there you were...same eerie weirdness...ugh...
I have been at unrest too! I know they will retaliate!! It is just a matter of time.
I don't have a passport...hmmmmm!
Maybe I should get one
Sigh!
Hugs
SueAnn
Whoever takes Osama's place? Steps into the crosshairs. And they know it. They don't dare talk to each other any more. They know we can hear them. And we will find them.
There may be contingency plans. Things made ready, in advance of bin Laden's death, that will be executed on a predetermined schedule. But there will be no more worldwide communication between extremist groups. Unless, of course, they ARE as stupid as their lifestyle would suggest.
The long, slow death of organized terrorism has begun.
I hear you. I haven't discussed it w/my daughter, she doesn't know she lives in a time of war, and I honestly don't feel like teaching it to her. Instead I remind her how we went to DC a few weekends ago and saw the White House, where the President lives. And that was enough. For now.
pssst, this quote: "I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy." Was clarified to NOT be said by MLK. It was by someone on FB who said it before quoting MLK. Either way, it's understood as it represents, but just wanted to clarify as I recently read the deets on the quote.
A very gripping post.
In the course of this year so far, we have continuing wars, a royal wedding, death of Bin Laden, higher gas prices, unemployment, foreclosures, stock market changes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, nuclear explosions,and political combat. And yet we still have the everyday work, births of babies, laughter, love, illness, taxes, death, anger, hatred, forgiveness, prayer, fear, comfort, sharing, volunteering, donating, starvation, obesity, lonliness, isolation, nurturing, caring, climate changes,heat and cold.
Everyday brings something new, something more and we try to make sense of it all. Every generation wants their children safer, happier, healthier . . . if only we had the power to do it and have the world work with us.
Post a Comment