It's a beautiful morning, the air is crisp, the sun sparkles and the grass grows in silence but harmony with the morning dew. I sit at the red light and watch the little birds jumping around at the corner just before a monster truck with huge tires, gleaming side steps and fat chrome pipes whizzes around the corner. On the opposite side of the steet I watch an old man, at least 70+ yrs old, possibly a homeless immigrant trying to decide whether to cross at this busy intersection. I have only seen a few desolate places in person, seen pictures and movies of many more; but how odd and overwhelming it must seem to suddenly be surrounded by dripping abundance rotting from every pore. Our cars are big, they use enormous amounts of gas, they are shinier than our characters and image is king. It seemed that the little birds and the old man shared similar secrets. More cars went by and finally my own. America may not be perfect; but its got all the imperfections I want most. That's probably a sad statement; but I had to say anyway — its true for me and I love my home...home of the free, the brave and the I want mores! If there were no America, one might argue that the world would have been helped much less. I choose to believe that too.
How even more incredible to have left here and gone to a foreign shore to fight an invisible enemy with undisclosed rules. You see things that noone else would believe and the white picket fences would only shun, choosing to hide their eyes from
the glare of human capabilities and darknesses. But everything is ok so long as "we are on god's mission." Support our troops; there is no question or hesitation there — you thank God they are there so you don't have to be. But let's take care of their families in the absence of their service. Everybody has a purpose and some people discover theirs and others are discovered by theirs. I suppose I enjoy the thought of being a Marine of Black Ops; but there is no director saying "cut." Maybe I prefer my illusions of ignorance and disconnect more than heroism. Life has no restart button, no command X (undo for non mac people); so how would you know how the future is going to turn out or which decisions change the future. Perhaps, if you are reading these mental droppings, you are already in the future. I hope you see that we supported our troops, valued their commitment and appreciated their sacrifice by taking care of their families. My "American Idols" run into the heart of trouble, not to the stage, not to the limelight, not the other way. If I had to choose an idol, that would be my preference.
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