A different view

Of Death and Life, and Love

As we close down 2006 we bury the famous and infamous. President Ford and the Godfather of Soul James Brown are in state, Saddam is hanged like a common criminal.

There was such a rush to execute Hussein that they hanged him on a Muslim holy day, Eid al-Adha. I remember participating in this holiday when I lived in Turkey. The locals would leave a lamb in-between the two fences surrounding the base command post. Then for the holiday the lamb, commemorating Abraham finding a lamb that saved his son Ismael, is sacrificed and the meat shared with the poorest. Usually this meant vagrant Gypsies traveling from house to house begging a portion. But the sacrifice of the lamb was honored and the holiday a time of reconciliation.

I find it hard to believe a psy-ops unit from Ft. Bragg wasn't involved in this move. Did they know of the sacrifice for this holiday? Were they hurrying to beat the end of the year, not realizing that the Muslims follow a lunar calendar that doesn't end for three more weeks? Either way, the symbolism is working against the US.

The danger is two-fold. One, that we turn Hussein into a martyr of Islam. And two, that we look even more like we're carrying on a great Crusade.

Speaking of endings, many Republicans have vacated their offices and are busy pushing their resume around K Street and the lobbying firms that write so many of our laws these days. So while their jobs in Congress may have ended they could be just starting their careers writing policy.

Then there are the new beginnings. Nancy Pelosi has a three day event planned for her swearing in. I'm surprised she's not allowing the impeachment hearings of Bush and Cheney to go ahead. In one fell swoop she could become the first Speaker of the House and first woman President.

There will many politicians sworn in, but the field still belongs overwhelmingly to the veterans. Can we expect much to change?

The year will end, the new year will come, and life will go on. People will live, love, and die.

Oddly enough, all of this found me reminiscing of my first love during a long drive. Her name was Sherry, and like Wesley's Buttercup in The Princess Bride, it was true love. Unlike many teens, we didn't make out in the back seats of cars nor even thought of it. Ours was an innocent love and we held hands, talked, and basked in the glow of young love.

She was half anglo, half latina. I'll never forget her raven hair and kind brown eyes. She had a smile that to this day makes me feel warm when I remember it, so etched is it in my mind.

I think of true love as that given with nothing expected in return. This is what we had, I think each of us being special in being able to give.

Where would this love had gone had it been allowed time to grow? I'll never know. I like to think it would be of that lifetime kind.

Her father, hardened by a monotonous life of stacking produce at a local grocery store soon saw fit to make sure this didn't continue. Partnering with our pastor, in charge of a strict evangelical church who's affects I'm still recovering from, they made sure I never again had a lone moment with Sherry. It was stopped before it ever really started.

I've since loved, lost, and loved again. It was never true love, with always something expected in return.

I've come to realize how much hard work is part of making a successful marriage but never had one. I wonder what would have happened if we'd had a chance together.

While this was opportunity lost, I hope that you opportunities gained and loves recaptured in the new year.

Labels: death new year saddam hanged pelosi congress

posted by don1one @ 7:11 PM