this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war – today, for healers
we love and support our troops, just as we love and support the Iraqi people – without exception, or precondition, or judgment.
image and poem below the fold
A U.S. military worker holds the hand of a wounded U.S. soldier inside a U.S. military hospital at the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad October 30, 2006.
REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ)
Design
by Robert Frost
I found a dimpled spider, fat and white,
On a white heal-all, holding up a moth
Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth–
Assorted characters of death and blight
Mixed ready to begin the morning right,
Like the ingredients of a witches’ broth–
A snow-drop spider, a flower like a froth,
And dead wings carried like a paper kite.
What had that flower to do with being white,
The wayside blue and innocent heal-all?
What brought the kindred spider to that height,
Then steered the white moth thither in the night?
What but design of darkness to appall?–
If design govern in a thing so small.
– – –
a personal note: two of my colleagues have been activated and deployed – one to a front line hospital in Iraq, the other to the Army medical center in Landstuhl, Germany where the most badly wounded are sent before moving on to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. My colleague in Iraq recently sent the following email:
Hello everyone, I’ve spent the last 4 months training at FT xxx in xxx and then had a brief week off to visit with family in xxx, I stopped by and saw a few people that were working but had to run. I then flew into Kuwait where I spent another week getting acclimated. I’m finally here in Iraq and it’s is worst than I could ever imagine. Our living conditions are almost unbearable. I had a day to gather my self and pick up my jaw off the floor then get right to work. There are some pretty horrific stuff going on over here! Anyways for those that would like to write here’s my email address: xxx@xxx.com, Take care.
– – –
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
Iraq bombs kill dozens, US toll passes 100
this illegally fought occupation and raping of Iraq for profit? Vote! Poll sit! Count how many people go in and out of your polling station. Be the change you want in this world.
We’ll be vigilant.
Peace.
Light A Candle For
Peace, Tolerance, Understanding
and For The Children – Innocence Lost,
And The Perpetual Conflict Future We Have Given Them!
The Corporal’s Boots
Description: The film is a journey through the boots of American soldiers who died in Iraq. The boots were sectioned by state and arranged in rows as if the soldiers were standing at parade rest. The exhibit passed through the United States. When it stopped in Washington State, a viewer who had a son in the military went to see it. She tells her moving experience of the exhibit and her pause to rest in front of one pair of boots. Recalling the subtle intensity of the Viet Nam memorial in Washington DC, this story of one soldier’s boots in the national exhibit, “Eyes Wide Open”, presents the inescapable wartime reality of lives lost and families wounded. Personal, intense and profound, it is a story that bears telling and re-telling. A haunting, original score and the hammerlock of raw emotion create a rare viewing experience. It’s a story you won’t forget.