July 31, 2004
MEAN
Ohhhh, this is mean. One of the German pop-ups makes the same sound that Yahoo messenger makes! That sound makes any military wife come running, hoping that her husband has just logged in; instead you find a pop-up for T-Mobile. Mean, mean, mean.
My computer programmer friend is coming over tomorrow to do scary things to my computer that include the words "reinstall" and "virus". Hopefully she can teach me how to get rid of all of these damn pop-ups, especially the extremely graphic German porn ones.
Posted by: Sarah at
03:00 PM
| Comments (2)
| Add Comment
Post contains 89 words, total size 1 kb.
Posted by: Madfish Willie at August 01, 2004 03:28 PM (uvu7I)
2
Also there is a post over at MuNuviana that deals with free software for removing virii etc... the recommendationed software worked wonders on all the systems I installed it on... Then, switch to Mozilla and forget about all the pop-up nonsense.
Posted by: Mudfish Billie at August 01, 2004 03:30 PM (uvu7I)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
July 29, 2004
CLOSE
Well, we didn't quite make it to a full
sewing machine, but we got close (together we donated $300). My sincere thanks to everyone who pitched in for this project of mine. Hopefully the women of Ramadi will be sewing like the wind soon...
Posted by: Sarah at
10:45 AM
| Comments (2)
| Add Comment
Post contains 46 words, total size 1 kb.
1
Excellent 'Three Amigos' reference.
Posted by: Brass at July 29, 2004 11:09 AM (SrRJG)
2
Brass, thanks for noticing...
Posted by: Sarah at July 30, 2004 08:08 AM (xNgp/)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
July 25, 2004
UPDATE
Ten seconds after I published the
previous post, my friend called to apologize. She hadn't even read my blog yet, but she knew she had been in a bad mood and had taken it out on me. I laughed and said that I know I am overly sensitive and that it's just as much my fault as hers. She finally got me to agree that I would try to say "you're being a bitch" if she is being one, which was really funny to me. And all's well that ends well.
My friend attributed her crankiness to hitting that breaking point in the deployment, the first major hump to get over. I can completely understand, and I know that sometimes I'm just not myself either. My friend is perhaps the strongest wife I know when it comes to the deployment: she's been incredibly upbeat and composed and she does not complain or grumble at all. We three friends have done pretty well for ourselves, I think, yet we all know that we're not quite whole. There's a part of our hearts that's far far away, and it can make us all a little crazy at times. I guess the important part is being able to recognize that and just try to help each other get by.
And she borrowed the Larry Elder book too...
Posted by: Sarah at
11:05 AM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 226 words, total size 1 kb.
1
Sarah,
Thank you for being my good friend. I admire your intelligence and your ability to present your ideas so beautifully. Reading your site is like smelling dryer sheets...I love it and can't get enough of it. And unlike many of the people that comment on this site, I actually get to talk politics with you in person. And speaking from personal experience, you are even more brilliant in person than you are when you blog. Thank you for being my friend despite my flaws (bitchiness being one of them). I am so lucky to have you in my life.
Posted by: Erin at July 26, 2004 04:32 PM (1NcK9)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
July 24, 2004
DISCORD
When I was in high school, I had a boyfriend who did a number on my self-esteem. Everything I did was wrong. My taste in music: wrong. My clothes: wrong. My views on social issues: wrong. I spent so much time being hurt because he never gave my views any credence; he simply said, "How can you think something like that?" and then told me the right way to think. I hated it, but I kept trying to please him because I hate disagreeing with people.
I hate disagreeing with people. Not something that someone who enjoys reading about politics should say, right? But I really do hate it. I hate discord. I hate arguments. I hate not having common ground. I usually try to avoid people and situations where I know there'll be discord because I'm so bad at dealing with it. I can't argue with someone and then turn around and be friends again in ten minutes. I just can't; it lingers...
So I do anything to avoid arguing. When someone says, "Ugh, Bush did blah blah blah..." I just ignore it and change the topic. I'd rather just let them think what they think than get myself riled up by discussing the issue. Just last weekend I sat at a table while three people railed on President Bush and I didn't say anything. Until it got out of hand and one person stooped to making monkey noises, at which point I calmly said, "That's quite rude, considering I plan to vote for the man." And that was that. But it lingered...
The way my high school boyfriend treated me has stuck with me, and I never want to be the person telling someone else what to think. I never want to be the person putting down someone's ideas or taste. I never say what I think of movies, or food, or music, or anything, for fear of hurting someone's feelings the way my feelings were hurt every time my boyfriend made fun of my music or views. If someone asks me what I thought of a movie, I always hedge. I often turn the question back on them to see what they thought before I give my opinion. It's a horrible habit, I know, but I can't feel good about myself if I'm making strong statements that others disagree with.
Which is why I started this blog. I don't talk about these things in person. I hate it. I never talk politics or current events in person because I don't want to make anyone feel stupid for holding certain views. Tim talked in his farewell post about how the internet allows people to express views they would never express in "polite company". He sees this as a bad thing, but it has been a very liberating thing for me. I want to work out my own ideas, and writing is how I do that best. But no one is forced to read my site, so it's not the same thing as forcing someone into a conversation they don't want to be having. I say things here I would never dream of saying in person, simply because my blog is the one place where I feel comfortable being direct. I still think people should be civil, and lord knows I hate discord in the comments section, but my blog is an open soapbox where I can air my views and not worry about sounding rude.
Which is why it's been extremely weird for me to have people in my "real" life read my blog. Very few people even know I blog, and I'd really like to keep it that way, because there are so many times when I wish I'd never told any of them. Most of the time they agree with me, and everything is fine, until something comes up in "real" life that's a major source of discord. Like tonight when my friends said, "I can't believe you're reading that book." All of a sudden I was back in high school again, trying to defend myself and why I'm reading Larry Elder. "Ugh, I would never read a book like that" sounds in my ears like "You are a huge moron", and it really bothers me. Because I would never say something like that. That's what my high school boyfriend said, and I would never treat someone that way. Even if a person were reading Noam Chomsky, I'd never say anything. When a friend offered to lend me Bowling for Columbine, I simply said, "No thanks; I'm not a big Michael Moore fan." I bend over backwards to avoid offending people, just so they never have to feel as incompetent as I did in high school.
I know I'm over-sensitive about things like this, and I know it's my fault that I can't let things like that go, but I really don't know how to change. I don't know how to let go of the hurt I feel when someone puts my interests down. It lingers...
Posted by: Sarah at
05:17 PM
| Comments (9)
| Add Comment
Post contains 842 words, total size 5 kb.
1
Ugh, I know what you mean. Which book by Elder are you reading? I like a lot of his stuff--at least, what I've read on CapMag.
Btw, I'm watching Band of Brothers, in part due to your recommedations. I think I'm heading out to get the book tonight...
Posted by: Carla at July 24, 2004 05:56 PM (r5M6F)
2
Oh, man, now I feel really guilty! You should feel PROUD of what you write, I'm proud of having a friend who takes the time to post things of interest to so many people. I always just say you have a page, I never give the URL address. But I will be more discreet in the future. (But you ARE a tad sensitive if the book comment bothered you - a good healthy difference of opinion is FUN. I completely agree with talking politics, though. You can't often convince the other side, so it's more a duel than a discussion. Keep fighting the good fight!)
Posted by: Oda Mae at July 24, 2004 08:04 PM (Hn49D)
3
I hear the phrase 'I can't believe you read that crap' probably once a week. I've found that it does not matter what I'm reading, someone will say it. Even I found it popping out of my mouth when I saw a coworker reading romance novels.
I generally try not to hit people with my views if they don't want to talk about it, but if the subject is raised, game on.
Posted by: John at July 24, 2004 08:37 PM (+Ysxp)
4
Oh, and Band of Brothers is excellent, both series and book.
Posted by: John at July 24, 2004 08:39 PM (+Ysxp)
5
Sarah I'm the same way on many of the things you mention. Oh, I don't shy away too much from a good debate, and I don't hedge away from speaking my opinion - except on some issues. In my real life I don't talk a lot of politics. It would be bad for business and bad for friendships. I also don't talk religion unless they ask me questions.
That's one of the things I love about blogging. I can put my thoughts out there, read and comment on others and feel like I'm almost having a conversation.
If that makes me timid - that'll be the first time someone called me that. ;-)
Posted by: Tammi at July 24, 2004 08:45 PM (Xm18O)
6
Sarah (that's my daughter's name too),
Re. "Everything I did was wrong" - sounds like that statement was true in one respect; you forgot to add 'my taste in boyfriends was wrong.' (Hope you have fixed that.)
The blog world is most valuable for people who think they are alone in their feelings or beliefs, because their 'real world' is limited to a too-uniform group of people. It can be a real boost to their self-esteem to learn they are not alone and wierd.
I'm sorry Tim has stopped, though I can certainly understand. The 'mission' he set for his blog is now accomplished. I was only bothered that he was regretting having blogged because it was 'impolite' - it was anything but that. If it were not for the bloggers I would not have a clue what was really going on in Iraq (well, maybe a 'clue' from Fox, but that's all).
Posted by: Glenmore at July 24, 2004 09:37 PM (/tLZ4)
7
I don't know about anyone else, but I'm forced to read you as often as I can get online. Of course, its myself holding myself hostage until I grok.
I tend to hold my opinions because I don't want to offend anyone who may disagree. Perhaps its because of the position I am in and the subtel influence I might have over the younger soldiers, but I pretty much keep my opines to myself, the one holding myself hostage until I grok. You get the picture.
Posted by: Sgt Hook at July 25, 2004 10:35 AM (olp4a)
Posted by: Sgt Hook at July 25, 2004 10:35 AM (olp4a)
9
Don't worry Sarah, I've been there too, and still am in some respects. I also don't want to offend anyone, and argue my points horribly in person, much preferring to respond in type.
The need to not offend becomes outweighed by the need to speak your own mind in time. You are still very young, and learning who you are (as am I at 43). The older you get, the more sure of your opinions you are and don't really give a flying rat's behind what anyone else thinks. Growing a thicker skin is a blessing of age, but don't let it grow so thick that you are impervious or insensitive to others' opinions. Although, with the blinding hate of the left these days, armor may be helpful.
I respect your opinion because you speak from your heart. If others can't respect that, then THEY are the ones who are myoptic. Even if I think what someone says or believes is STUPID, I respect their point of view, and try to steer them to more information to broaden their view. I never claim to be the end-all, know-all, and don't ever believe any one else is either! There is very little in this world that is that black-and-white. People start with different beliefs, as wrongheaded as each other may think. That's what makes this country so great is that we CAN discuss and disagree. (Disclaimer: DISAGREEMENT DOES NOT MEAN CENSORSHIP!)
Hang in there girl. My prayers are with you and yours.
Posted by: MargeinMI at July 25, 2004 09:11 PM (o532Z)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
July 22, 2004
100
I just put letter number 100 in the mail to my husband!
I haven't quite sent him a letter per day, since I couldn't write while he was in Kuwait and I don't always have anything good to say. But the ratio comes out to 100 letters in about 145 days in Iraq. Not too bad.
Someday we'll look back on all these letters and laugh. And our grandkids will think that grandma had a foul mouth.
Posted by: Sarah at
10:32 AM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 79 words, total size 1 kb.
1
Man, do I feel like an underachiever.
Sarah, I'd love to discuss that book with you when you are reading/have read it.
Posted by: Carla at July 22, 2004 06:19 PM (r5M6F)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
MARK
Erin, your husband left you a
message...
Posted by: Sarah at
02:59 AM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 9 words, total size 1 kb.
1
Sarah,
Thanks for letting my husband announce his love for me on your website. Even though it's extremely intrusive of him, I still appreciate you letting me know about it.
Posted by: Erin at July 22, 2004 03:10 PM (339z+)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
July 19, 2004
CHAT
I am doing a three-person chat with Red 6 and Blue 6 as we speak! Husband and Best Friend are talking shop, and I'm sitting back and enjoying them being themselves. It's great to see them let off some steam and make jokes. I can't wait to see it in person...
Posted by: Sarah at
11:53 AM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 53 words, total size 1 kb.
1
im trying to chat but no way in could u help
Posted by: bola at January 25, 2005 05:21 PM (SCYc/)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
BUSY
Sorry, I put off all my grading this weekend to make meatloaf and sit around doing nothing, so I'm swamped today. You'll have to read someone else's blog instead...
But I will let you in on my backed-up knitting project. Here's my newest sweater:
Yeah, it's a pile (and not a very clearly photographed one, at that). I ran out of yarn right at the very end, so I'm waiting for my mom to mail me another skein. It's gonna look like this eventually, but for now I'm stuck with a pile of pieces.
Posted by: Sarah at
09:23 AM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 96 words, total size 1 kb.
July 18, 2004
SCARE
I was just sitting at the kitchen table grading papers when I looked up to see a Military Police vehicle parked in front of my house and an MP out in my yard. I froze. We live right next to a corner where lots of people get tickets, so I knew he was probably just clocking people, and I know in the rational parts of my brain that MPs do not do casualty notification, but I decided to check it out. He said there had been a noise complaint in the area, so he was listening for loud music. I told him that when your husband's deployed, an MP is the last person you want to see in your yard. He laughed and apologized, and when I walked back in the house, I realized I was shaking and crumbling fast.
No matter how many times you imagine the scenario -- and believe me, we lie in bed on bad nights and think about it -- I guess nothing can really prepare you for that knock on the door. As I shut the door and swallowed the lump in my throat, I wondered if I really would be as strong and brave as I am in my imagination.
I didn't feel very strong ten minutes ago.
Posted by: Sarah at
10:34 AM
| Comments (4)
| Add Comment
Post contains 217 words, total size 1 kb.
1
Anything I write will seem so trite right now. Just know, there are so many out here sending you all the support and strength we can. **hugs**
Posted by: Tammi at July 18, 2004 01:25 PM (Xm18O)
2
As I read your posting, I was reminded of the movie, "We Were Soldiers Once", where Madeline Stowe played Col. Moore's wife who espies the cabbie coming up the sidewalk with a Western Union telegram in his hand. How she acted in the film is how I imagine you felt.
At the same time, I cannot begin to imagine what went through your mind and heart...
I shall think of you in my prayers tonight, that God will settle your heart and calm your spirit.
Stay strong, and GBY,
Jim
Posted by: Jim at July 18, 2004 04:15 PM (zsTcZ)
3
Sarah,
Sometimes, you say (write) things that need to be said, but that I can't find the courage to say. It seems terribly morbid, doesn't it? But it's true, probably each of us imagines it at some point (I know I have). I hope with all my heart that we never have to endure those moments outside of our nightmares.
Posted by: Carla at July 18, 2004 11:39 PM (U0fAI)
4
You are a heroine, Sarah. Yikes...I'm not sure I could handle being the wife of a military man, so that makes me look up to you. :-)
Posted by: Princess Jami at July 20, 2004 05:42 PM (0gPLe)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
July 17, 2004
MIRACLE
I just finally watched the movie
Miracle.
I. Loved. It.
But I bet you guessed I would...
Posted by: Sarah at
05:02 PM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 19 words, total size 1 kb.
1
This comment has nothing to do with your posts, but you may enjoy reading them
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Hoffer
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eric_Hoffer
It has often been said that power corrupts. But it is perhaps equally important to realize that weakness, too, corrupts. Power corrupts the few, while weakness corrupts the many. Hatred, malice, rudeness, intolerance, and suspicion are the faults of weakness. The resentment of the weak does not spring from any injustice done to them but from their sense of inadequacy and impotence. We cannot win the weak by sharing our wealth with them. They feel our generosity as oppression.
Passionate hatred can give meaning and purpose to an empty life. Thus people haunted by the purposelessness of their lives try to find a new content not only by dedicating themselves to a holy cause but also by nursing a fanatical grievance.
Posted by: ic at July 18, 2004 04:20 AM (yJngx)
2
I loved the the movie also. I even bought the DVD.
Posted by: Moor at July 18, 2004 05:54 PM (xvwyL)
3
Hmm... nice site but be more informative!
Posted by: Cari at July 15, 2005 08:52 AM (Hv+Ye)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
STORY
My mom sent me a nice story a few weeks back that I meant to post and never did. Here's what she wrote:
I just had the nicest thing happen to me. The Insight repairman just came to fix my computer. He fixed it and I now have internet again (as you can see). He says my computer needs to be "cleaned up."
We visited and I told him you have a blogsite that I read every day and that you're in Germany and [husband] is in Iraq. He has a daughter named Sarah too! He went out to his truck two different times and got equipment to fix the computer. When he left, he said he wasn't going to charge me---that with my son-in-law fighting for him in Iraq that that was the least he could do in return. He wanted to be sure I had internet to keep in touch with you. Technically, he didn't have to stay and fix it. I almost cried; wasn't that nice? You see, there are good people in this world who know that we're doing the right thing.
Posted by: Sarah at
08:22 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 187 words, total size 1 kb.
July 16, 2004
EMAILS
So it's been a while since I checked my blog email. I found lots of nice emails, another $5 for the
sewing machine,
this beautiful link from Tanker, and an email from my best friend from high school who found my blog and thought she recognized me. Yep, it's me, the same girl who stole a lunch tray from the cafeteria and used to say "buty" all the time. It's good to hear from you.
Posted by: Sarah at
07:37 AM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 77 words, total size 1 kb.
July 15, 2004
DEDICATION
I've bragged before about how wonderful my students are; tonight one of them outdid anything I've seen yet. Right before I was leaving my house, my phone rang: it was a student, one of the two students I have who drive more than an hour each way to come to class. He had gotten all the way to post and realized he'd forgotten his wallet, so he couldn't get in. I gave him the phone number of another student so he could get signed in as a guest. When I got to class, he wasn't there, so I figured he didn't have any identification on him and they wouldn't let him on even as a guest. About fifteen minutes after class started, he came in through the door. He had driven
all the way back home just to get his ID so he could attend class. He said he was speeding like a madman, but he wanted to make it back in time for our class.
Now that's dedication...
Posted by: Sarah at
04:48 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 171 words, total size 1 kb.
MONSTER
True story: I was walking the dog this evening when an animal ran out of the hedges and down the sidewalk in front of us. It was in my sight for at least five seconds, running away from us, and I was staring at it trying to figure out what it was. After it dashed out of sight, I stood there, puzzled at what I had seen. I figured it must have been a baby deer, even though it looked more like it was hopping than running. If someone told me it was a kangaroo, no lie, I might've believed it. When the dog and I got to the end of the hedges and turned, there it was again, this time from a side view. As it ran off, startled, I realized that I had just seen my first hare. Lord, was it humungous. It was bigger than the dog, with powerful legs and stiff ears. I then also realized why the flowers in front of my house have not only been nibbled to death, they've been ripped from the earth, roots and all. An animal that big could pull a whole bush up. Man, this hare put Illinois' bunnies to shame; it was a beautiful sight.
Posted by: Sarah at
04:42 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 209 words, total size 1 kb.
July 13, 2004
STAIRS
I've never been good at stairs. I never take my time, and I fall often. Going up, I usually don't lift my foot high enough and catch my toe on the edge. Going down, I usually put my heel too close to the edge and slip. One time when I was away at college, I came home for a weekend. I ran into the house and down to my dad in the family room, at which point I fell and came crashing down the flight of stairs. My dad just chuckled and said, "Sarah's home."
So tonight as I was walking up the stairs to class with my purse over one arm, my bag of class materials on the other, and a Taco Bell cup in one hand, it's no big shocker that I caught my toe on the step and crashed onto the landing. Since my hands were full, I didn't have any way to brace myself as I fell. The three Soldiers I was walking with were a pleasant change from my classmates in high school: rather than laughing and pointing, they immediately helped me up and made sure I was OK. Nonetheless, it was extremely embarrassing, and now the entire left side of my body hurts. I even have a nice big purple lump on the palm of my hand.
Only I could find a way to bruise my palm.
Posted by: Sarah at
04:53 PM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 235 words, total size 1 kb.
1
Sarah,
Don't worry Sarah. That happened to me my freshman year in between classes. I think EVERYONE was walking towards me when I decided to bite it. But I didn't have the perks of three soldiers helping me up!! Hang in there, Purple Palm!
Erin
Posted by: Erin at July 13, 2004 05:47 PM (YH3yV)
2
It's an hereditary thing in my family. My sisters and I were teasing mom about it one night and she was like, "Fine, what else are you going to blame on me?" To which we started listing things like, wide hips, bad handwriting, no sense of direction (except for me, don't know where I got that from as my dad was the worst for getting lost). I don't think she really expected that response. Hang in there girlfriend.
Posted by: MargeinMI at July 13, 2004 07:39 PM (fpNCQ)
3
I do the same thing all the time, only it gets worse during PMS. It's gotten to the point where I have to hold the rail walking up/down or I fall.
Posted by: Machelle at July 14, 2004 01:54 PM (ZAyoW)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
July 12, 2004
YAY
Go and share the joy with Tim and Patti!
Posted by: Sarah at
01:41 PM
| Comments (2)
| Add Comment
Post contains 11 words, total size 1 kb.
1
For some reason the first place I "went" this morning was to his site and Man o Man what a great way to start my week!!!! I'm so very happy for both of them. (btw - great sign)
Posted by: Tammi at July 12, 2004 03:01 PM (Xm18O)
Posted by: Maryellen at July 12, 2004 10:00 PM (W5nSP)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
July 09, 2004
MURDER
I just got home from my travels and I was going to write about the Autobahn, high speeds, etc. All of a sudden that seems so stupid.
Base officials saying little about deaths
Air Force officials released little new information Wednesday regarding the killing of two Robins Air Force Base residents found dead in their red brick duplex early Monday morning by base security forces.
I know this couple. Both Andy and Jamie Schliepsiek went to our high school. My brother used to play sports with Andy and they were pretty good friends. And, eerily enough, Andy and Jamie were in line right behind my husband and me to get marriage licenses.
I feel a sort of disgusted shock right now.
MORE TO GROK:
They were a cute couple, weren't they? And he had just returned from a tour in Iraq. Senseless.
Posted by: Sarah at
10:11 AM
| Comments (7)
| Add Comment
Post contains 144 words, total size 1 kb.
1
I'm so sorry to hear this.
Posted by: Tammi at July 09, 2004 10:56 PM (Xm18O)
2
Oh, Sarah...this is such sad news.
Posted by: Princess Jami at July 12, 2004 07:12 PM (0gPLe)
3
I read what you had to say and yes, it is so awful that something like this has happened.
I'm actually a friend of Andrew's.
I have no idea of all the details to what happened, but I am very sorry of the loss of your friend. I cannot imagine Andrew doing this...he is such a kind-hearted person. A true gentileman, the kind of guy that would walk you to your door because it's dark out. He's a protector.
It just doesn't match up. I don't know what else to say...
Posted by: Teresa at March 23, 2005 09:05 PM (UCSq/)
4
Im really sorry about what happened to them. Unfortunely, their house is right behind our house 2 house down. I drive by their house all the time for my husband's work. I know a friend who told me that his sister have gone out with that killer long before he murdered them and said that he was psycho. But anyways, I'm sorry about what happened and I wish they would get this trial over with and find him guilty.
Posted by: Vicki at May 13, 2005 12:26 AM (4yVEO)
5
I personally know Andrew Witt. He and I have a dear friendship. I agree with Teresa that this is totally out of character for him. Andrew has been nothing less then kind, gentle, and caring. He has been around my children. Never had any fear or lack of trust for him. (To Vicki and her friend who "went-out" with Andrew Witt: I'm sure every woman who dates can say that they have dated a "Psycho" before. That label doesn't have much to stand on).
Posted by: Ruby at June 28, 2005 05:57 PM (mYMlL)
6
I wen to the same church as Andrew Witt when he was in high school. I trained him on running the sound system there. At that time he was a very intelligent, kind, and passionate person. i knew his parents, and they are two of the best. I cannot speak for Andrew's early years, and I realize that the mind is more complex than any of us know. But I will say that Andrew is more sorry than anyone reading this will ever be, and he is ready to take his punishment. Nobody wins here, except to say that anyone can be forgiven when he seeks the face of Christ.
Posted by: Craig at July 26, 2005 03:06 AM (7EVyU)
7
he is a psycho pure and simple
Posted by: joe at September 24, 2005 04:07 PM (EK7dU)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
July 08, 2004
BUSY
Blogging will be light these next few days. Tomorrow I have to travel for work, and then this weekend I am taking a seminar on...terrorism. I plan to take lots of notes for blogging.
In the meantime, you can read stuff on my sidebar. And consider donating for a sewing machine.
MORE TO GROK:
What do al-Sadr and Michael Moore have in common? Read this.
Posted by: Sarah at
05:32 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 67 words, total size 1 kb.
July 04, 2004
INDEPENDENCE
I wanted to write something really special for the Fourth of July. I read through lots of my old posts, through old emails home, through papers I wrote when I took that year of ROTC, searching for inspiration. But I just didn’t have anything else to add. I realized that when you live every day as an American – when you are proud of your country and wear your service flag and regimental crest pins every single day – then you don’t need to step it up a notch for 24 hours in July. Independence Day to a diehard patriot is like Valentine’s Day for newlyweds: it’s simply a day where the rest of society notices what you cherish daily.
When I took the Military Science class, the first year of ROTC, we were required to write an autobiography. Most of the students in the class were in their third week of college; I was a senior with a strong background in writing. I had a bit more experience to draw from than the rest of the class. The teacher, our beloved Captain R, told me mine was the best ROTC autobiography he'd ever seen and that he was passing it out to every Soldier he knew. I didn't think it was anything amazing; it was just the truth. I read it again yesterday, and I still feel the same way (though I must resist the urge to revise). Excerpt:
I am one of the oldest students in the MS 100 class, since I find myself rapidly approaching the ripe old age of twenty-two. As a senior in the class, I have been surrounded by people who are just beginning the scholarly journey I started long ago.
The most important part of this journey for me was last year, when I was a student in a French university. I spent an entire year on study abroad, which accounts for my tardy enrollment in Military Science as a senior. This was a pivotal moment in my scholarly life as a French major, because my outlook on the future has been radically changed by this time I spent away from my homeland. I found that France was nice, but it was not home. I felt aimless and rootless. I had a difficult time placing myself in a society into which I did not easily fit. I found myself standing up for my own country and facing people who were hostile to that for which my country stands. I found myself shying from the French thought and becoming more American than I ever imagined I would be.
I had always been a patriotic person. My favorite holiday is Independence Day, and I won the Daughters of the American Revolution award in high school. But once faced with people who did not respect the basic tenets of the country which I held so dear, I found within a great longing for my motherland. I returned from this year in France with a confused sense of what it is I want to become as a French major and a heightened sense of who I am as an American.
And then I began MS 100. Originally, I had just thought that it would be a better option than Health and Wellness. I would learn something to which I had never before been exposed: how the military is arranged and how it runs. I soon found that I enjoyed the class more than I had previously foreseen. On the first day of lab, even without a uniform, I envisioned myself part of something larger than I could fathom. As the cannons blasted and words were read, words of unity, justice, and freedom, I felt so proud. I felt very proud of my country, very proud to call myself an American, and proud to have called myself an américaine in France.
I never imagined that standing there in the group with me on the first day of lab was a young man who would one day be the most important person in my life. I signed up for MS 100 because of the paintball and rappelling; I'm happy to have stayed because of the values the military represents. The closing paragraph of my autobiography is ironic, considering the turn my life took when I met that young man in ROTC.
I had an argument with a foreigner the other day. He comes from a country where military service is mandatory and therefore seen as a burden and a hindrance to young men. Therefore, our opinions on the ROTC program clashed fiercely. What I said, on behalf of my experiences, was that the ROTC is a wonderful program, one that can provide students with a taste for the military, however diluted this taste may be. And through this experience of MS 100, a scholar can decide if he has been called to become a part of this greater collectivity of brave men who devote their lives to the country I cherish so much. I am proud to associate myself with these ideals, even if only for one year.
I believe these things every day of my life; I don't need to act any different today. I'll fly my flag, wear my pins, and be grateful that brave Americans today and yesterday have fought and died for what I cherish. Just like I try to do every other day.
Posted by: Sarah at
04:02 AM
| Comments (7)
| Add Comment
Post contains 901 words, total size 5 kb.
1
That was the perfect post for today.
Happy 4th of July Sarah! IMHO - This country is great because of people like you.
Posted by: Tammi at July 04, 2004 08:22 AM (VsBSK)
2
Sarah,
Happy Independence day to you, and all the others not able to be here today. I think this year my focus is going to be on dissent, not dissent for the sake of being disagreeable mind you, but educated dissent. The freedoms we have today are because the founders dissented with the prevailing thought of the day. The prevailing thought in the mid-1700's was "the king has dominion over this land". By 1776 that thought had been somewhat altered, and thus began our nation. Being as this nation was founded by dissenters, we have a right, no strike that, we have an obligation to give "informed" dissent to the prevailing thoughts of our day. If I say I think Iraq is wrong it is not because I am being treasonous, as Coulter is wont to express. I dissent because I do study the issues, and I think there are better methods of "brute force" we have at our disposal. I thought Wolfowitz and his crew were insane in 1996 when I first read about the "Project for a new American century", I still think that whole crowd is certifiable. So I offer whatever informed dissent I can. This is why I read these blogs and bother to comment, so for this 4th of July I am reading as usual. I am re-reading Molly Ivins "Shrub" just to see how right she was 5 years ago.
Posted by: Bubba Bo Bob Brain at July 04, 2004 01:07 PM (4pVZJ)
Posted by: Mike at July 04, 2004 01:55 PM (PaVgz)
4
Bubba Bo...but are you *really* dissenting from "the prevailing thoughts of the day"? Seems to me that you stand with the major media, and with the opinions that they are using their tremendous economic power to propagate. You stand with the Hollywood celebrities, and with those that control America's universities. Yours is far from a lonely stand.
Posted by: David Foster at July 04, 2004 07:23 PM (XUtCY)
5
Well I would be standing with those particular bozos if I, like them, was a chickenhawk-chickenshit. I did my six years, was lucky as all hell I did them entirely during "peace", 4 May '77- 23 Apr '83. I have an frigging idea of whence I speak which is why I don't think of those yutzes, when I make my remarks. Ahhh yes, here we go with the old "liberal media" dig, I sure have not seen all that much liberalism in my papers since the goddamned 60's, starting in the 70's with the single exception of Watergate the media in this nation have been asleep at the wheel, Iran-Contra was waaaaaaayyyyyyy worse than Watergate yet was given nearly a free pass by this so called liberal media. Since the advent of consolidation in the media, begining 20 years ago, they have not been all that liberal.
Posted by: Bubba Bo Bob Brain at July 05, 2004 12:23 AM (4pVZJ)
6
Bubba, coincidentally
Instapundit links to a study on this very topic today.
Posted by: Sarah at July 05, 2004 02:34 AM (TcRJG)
Posted by: cjstevens at July 05, 2004 02:36 AM (lz3SM)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
July 02, 2004
CHECK
There's nothing that makes me smile quite as big as doing our online banking and seeing
Electronic Check Tikrit as a transaction. Good to know he has access to money.
Posted by: Sarah at
08:26 AM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 32 words, total size 1 kb.
1
ATMs work everywhere! Or does that mean vendors are now accepting debit cards?
Posted by: Mike at July 02, 2004 06:52 PM (PaVgz)
2
Yeah ATMS work everywhere! I'm headin out to the Middle East soon and that's one of the first things I check on!
Posted by: athena at July 02, 2004 10:50 PM (/I+Yx)
3
Actually, most soldiers don't have access to ATMs (as far as I understand). They were all encouraged to bring a checkbook, because there's a cash cage downrange where they write a check and get the money from the military funds. So it really is an electronic check.
Posted by: Sarah at July 03, 2004 03:58 AM (CDMit)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
98kb generated in CPU 0.0594, elapsed 0.1333 seconds.
62 queries taking 0.1174 seconds, 254 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.