Reporter: Mr. Harrison, with all that’s going on in the world today, why did you decide to focus on this (Bangladesh)?”
George Harrison: “Because a friend asked me to help.”
from a press conference for the Concert for Bangladesh
this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war and other disasters
we honor courage in all its forms
cross-posted at DailyKos, Booman Tribune, European Tribune, My Left Wing, and TexasKos.
image and poem below the fold
CAPTION CORRECTION – CORRECTS DATE TAKEN An Iraqi girl stands at the entrance of a tent inside the Shi’ite refugee camp in Shula district in Baghdad May 23, 2006. Officials say 100,000 people have registered as ‘displaced’ in the three months since the Samarra bombing. But many more go uncounted, quietly seeking refuge with family or heading abroad. Photo taken May 23, 2006. REUTERS/Ceerwan Aziz
The Wolf’s Postcript to ‘Little Red Riding Hood’
by Agha Shahid Ali
First, grant me my sense of history:
I did it for posterity,
for kindergarten teachers
and a clear moral:
Little girls shouldn’t wander off
in search of strange flowers,
and they mustn’t speak to strangers.
And then grant me my generous sense of plot:
Couldn’t I have gobbled her up
right there in the jungle?
Why did I ask her where her grandma lived?
As if I, a forest-dweller,
didn’t know of the cottage
under the three oak trees
and the old woman lived there
all alone?
As if I couldn’t have swallowed her years before?
And you may call me the Big Bad Wolf,
now my only reputation.
But I was no child-molester
though you’ll agree she was pretty.
And the huntsman:
Was I sleeping while he snipped
my thick black fur
and filled me with garbage and stones?
I ran with that weight and fell down,
simply so children could laugh
at the noise of the stones
cutting through my belly,
at the garbage spilling out
with a perfect sense of timing,
just when the tale
should have come to an end.
– – –
Join CIVIC’s “I Care” photo campaign
put a meaningful magnet on your car or metal filing cabinet
read Ilona’s important new blog – PTSD Combat
view the pbs newshour silent honor roll (with thanks to jimstaro at booman.)
take a private moment to light one candle among many (with thanks to TXSharon)
support Veterans for Peace
support the Iraqi people
support the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC)
support CARE
support the victims of torture
remember the fallen
support Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors – TAPS
support Gold Star Families for Peace
support the fallen
support the troops
support Iraq Veterans Against the War
support Military families Speak Out
support the troops and the Iraqi people
read This is what John Kerry did today, the diary by lawnorder that prompted this series
read Riverbend’s Bagdhad Burning
read Dahr Jamail’s Iraq Dispatches
read Today in Iraq
witness every day
The candle that DianeL first lit many months ago, and which has become such an important part of these diaries since, is still available here.
You can copy that image into your own comment (you can leave it on my server), craft your own image, and/or rate this one – not for mojo, but to leave a small mark after taking this moment – as a sign that you know, but do not approve, and are not resigned.
“It is like trying to ignite – to pass on the responsibilities as much as possible to everyone else.”
Ravi Shankar
Rubdmc, am so glad you are here with us. Thanks again for all that you do in recording history for us. You do us proud. Hugs.
Sad to see ppl displaced by the things we are doing to them along with all the rest of the madmen of Iraq.
Have a pleasent and calm Memorial Day and remembering those who have died for us.
This Memorial Day weekend is my chance to chill after working 4 x 12 Tues-Fri (extra time is to pay for the trip to YearlyKos in Vegas). Every day at work is intense – only some days are more intense than others (as you know).
The good was a 40-ish patient who had a temporal lobe meningioma successfully resected Thursday and who, because of good general health, progressed beautifully through the 24 hours in the ICU and will likely be home on Tuesday.
But this patient was also hospitalized 2 years ago following an MVA in which the spouse died, and is now a single parent. Quite a lot to deal with already in a relatively short life.
Another good was a very elderly patient with multiple chronic conditions (CHF, CRI, COPD) who was due to go home on Thursday from rehab following a THR. The patient fell in the bathroom early Thursday morning, and it was feared the patient fractured the other hip in addition to a moderate SDH. More surgery would not be a good thing for this patient.
The SDH was stable, the patient is completely mentally intact (maybe even more than me), and the hip injury was a simple RAMI fracture of the pelvis – no surgery needed. The patient is the obvious object of devotion by a large and extended family who is now intent on bringing them home for whatever time remains (and it could be considerable).
Then a very young adult (not my patient, but in the next bed, so I helped a lot) who was thrown over the handlebars of a 4-wheel ATV, and now appears to have suffered diffuse axonal injury. The patient is not obtunded, but when awake exhibits the kind of aggressive behavior associated with frontal and temporal lobe disease.
The parents were just beginning to get their own heads around the idea when I left work.
I don’t go back until Wednesday. This weekend is for farting around outdoors, recognizing how well off I am, and acknowledging that it can all change in an instant.
I hope you have a great weekend, too.
Peace
In honor of a veteran who gave all in Vietnam and suffered for it the rest of his life.
Impeach Now.
Baghdad market bombings kill 13