| Friday, June 30, 2006 |
| The Significance of a Love Letter |
I was sitting at the barber shop in the middle of Baghdad waiting for my time to get in the chair and have my hair groomed to meet the military standards. As I was sitting there I noticed a Newsweek magazine with Katie Couric on the front cover. As I was thumbing through it, I came across an article written by William Shaw. I would like to share this article and my thoughts with you.
William Shaw had been married to Marion for a wonderful 46 years. Not one time during their marriage was he ever away from her more than five days with the exception of two 12-day trips to the West Coast. The love that they had for each other is something that we hardly hear about these days. They had nicknames that lasted throughout the years. The laughter that they shared still remained fresh in his mind. He would still play love tunes on the piano that reminds him of the days that he would play while she prepared dinner.
William said, "I have pictures - photos, slides, even a couple of collections of slides on videocassettes. What I don't have, in black or blue on white, are her thoughts." He goes on to say, "There is not much that is more personal than a letter, particularly a love letter. No card, no poem, no gift is as intimate as a letter. I'm sorry now that I never wrote to her, even if it would have been in my nearly indecipherable handwriting. I probably shouldn't feel this way - there never really was a need, and who thinks ahead to what might happen?.......I regret she never had one from me and I wonder if she ever wanted one, or ever missed having a little bit of the real me to hold on to.....Now I wish I had her words to read and reread."
As I read this I thought that maybe I could learn something from this gentleman. I love my wife more than anything on this earth. I don't ever want to do anything to hurt or displease her in any way. She is my most prized possession. I would kill or die for her. I often daydream about what our life will be like 50 years from now. I often imagine us sitting in our front porch swing, watching the grandchildren playing in the front yard. I picture this life that is beyond modern words. Many people will wait a life time to get just one glimpse of this kind of fulfillment, and yet I already have it all.
William Shaw has taught me that you don't want to grow old and regret something that you could prevent. When I die, I want my wife and family to be able to read and reread just how much I loved them and cared for them. Life is too short NOT to take the time and invest in the future. So, stop what you are doing and write your spouse (children) a love letter that will last forever. |
posted by Capt. C @ 10:59 AM  |
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| Friday, June 02, 2006 |
| Maybe it's Not the "white man" |
What is leadership?
Is leadership defined by a race, sex, religion, or position? I tend to view this question from a different perspective. Allow me to express something that many people are afraid to say. Anybody that knows me, knows that I am not a prejudice guy. So, please do not take this entry as a racial division. I'm not politically correct either, because I believe that political correctness is one of the many down falls of our country. I believe you should call a "duck" a "duck."
The people of New Orleans just amaze me. Not in a "Wow! They are really heroic," but more in a "Are you kidding me!?" The warning of Katrina's arrival was given five days in advance. Two days before the hurricane did its destruction, the people of New Orleans were ordered by the Governor of Louisiana to evacuate. This was not a suggestion. This was the law.
The Mayor, Ray Nagin, had over 1000 buses at his disposal. He had the ability to have food, water and shelter readily available. And yet, he did nothing. He did not arrange, anticipate or enforce the evacuation of his people of New Orleans. In fact, the doors of the arena were still locked when the first group of people arrived for shelter.
So what did this incompetent leader do when imminent disaster occurs? He did the same thing that other poor leaders do - he blamed somebody else. In fact, he blamed the President of the United States for the hurricane. He tried to make it a racial platform by saying if they were white that the President would have done things differently.
There's so much corruption and bad leadership that the right solutions were being overlooked. Allow me to put a few things into perspective. People refused to leave because they knew that they would be victims of looting (Why? High crime already existed). When rescue boats were brought in, they were ordered to take the children first. We know the nightmare that created. These parents gave their children up, which is a totally different mindset all together. So many things went wrong that it would be easier to count what went right.
We have all heard about the outrageous amount of money that it will cost the tax paying citizens to rebuild New Orleans. The lowest amount that I have heard was $25 billion dollars. Do you realize how far $25 billion dollars can go if placed in the right hands? For an example, with $25 billion you can build 277,700 homes for the price of $90,000 dollar per home and still have $7 million dollars left over. You do the math - this is not rocket science.
(Here's the point of this entry) Last month, the people of New Orleans had the opportunity and responsibility to change their leadership and start a new future for their children. But what did the people of New Orleans do? They re-elected the same leader that failed them before. I have been told that he was elected because of his race. Since the people of New Orleans are predominately "chocolate"(Ray Nagin's words,I guess they wanted to have the same type of Mayor.
As a white man living in a very diverse world, I feel that much of the blame is passed on to me. I have heard (more times than I would like) that "It's the white man keeping us down." Well, as a caring white man I have tried to see the other side of the coin. However, when I see the representation of the black race, I can't help but think that maybe it's not me. People like Jesse Jackson and Ray Nagin are not the kind of people that should make you feel proud to be black. People that preach hatred and division are not the type of leaders that you need.
It has been said many times by the black race that "We must not forget our heritage." A true leader that I highly respect, the late Dr. King, never forgot his heritage, but he did look beyond to see a Dream!......Now, that's leadership! |
| posted by Capt. C @ 4:43 AM |
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| Thursday, June 01, 2006 |
| To find "Do you want the problem solved" |
| Go to the "Archives" on the righthand side and click April 2006 |
| posted by Capt. C @ 9:19 AM |
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