Discover their stories, honor their values

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation has embarked on a fund raising effort to build an education center at the Vietnam War Memorial Wall. I just saw a full page advertisement for this in Armchair General, a magazine I subscribe to.

The Education Center will be built adjacent to the Lincoln Memorial. The center will not only put faces to the 58,000 names on the wall, but will house and display letters, photos and artifacts that have been left at the wall. The American History Museum had a display of artifacts left at the wall that brought me to tears every time I stood in front of the display case. When I have gone down to DC and have walked the length of the wall, I can't help but stop and read things that have been left at certain panels. I never walk away with dry eyes. I can only imagine how moving this Education Center will be.

More information about the center and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund can be found at their website: http://www.vvmf.org/.

Above, sculpture at the Vietnam Wall in Washington, DC.

Today's Washington Post is also carrying a story on the center and the task at collecting photos of the 58,000 plus veterans listed on the wall: Putting Faces to the Names on the Vietnam Memorial. According to the article, 10,000 photos have been received so far and $20 million has been raised of the $85 million needed to build the center.

Remembering 9/11

9/11.

That day is seared into our memory. Many of us remember almost everything about that day.

For me, it was a normal, warm early fall day here in DC. I rushed around in the morning. I was running late (like I am today). I must have ran out to my car and back into the apartment three times. Something was out of place and I couldn't figure out what it was. Maybe it was some connection to the 'spiritual' world or old instincts we humans have surpressed. My subconcious knew something was going to happen and it wasn't going to be good.

At 8:30, I was on the road - - the hijackers were boarding planes with their unsuspecting victims. People in New York were already busy with their day. I was running late, willing myself to get through the crush of traffic on I-66 heading east so that I could make it to Bethesda (where I worked at the time) by 9 a.m.

As I rounded the corner to pull into the parking garage to our building in Bethesda, I heard the breaking news, a plane had hit the World Trade Center in New York. My first thoughts, the thoughts of all Americans, probably, that this was some kind of terrible accident. By the time I had gotten upstairs to the office, everyone was standing around the cube of co-worker who had a radio.

"Hey, you guys, a plane hit the World Trade Center in New York." I said.

"Another plane just hit the other World Trade Center building," a co-worker replied. We all realized that it was no accident. We were stunned. We all stood in the hall listening. Then the Pentagon was hit. Silently, urgently we all returned to our desks and started calling our families, our friends, people we knew who worked at the Pentagon or near-by.

My sister who was working in Rossilyn, very near the Pentagon, e-mailed me. She couldn't get through on the phone lines. "If you can, call mom and dad and tell them I am o.k."

I have the string of e-mails we exchanged over a half hour span of time before she and her co-workers decided to walk to someone's home who lived near their office.

As I write this, remembering, tears still swell up in my eyes. I really was worried about my sister. There were so many rumors we were hearing in the news and from friends we had reached on the phone or via e-mail.

Our bosses came through the office and told us that if we wanted to go home we could. Everyone wanted to go home. You wanted to be with friends, family or in a familiar place.

The drive home on the beltway was like something out of a movie. We were living the evacuation scene from Independance Day. Amazingly, everyone was curtiteous. No road rage. We were all in the same boat. We were all in the same shock and just wanted to get home in one piece.

Below is a photo of the TV and Radio antenna that had been on top of the World Trade Center. In the background are front pages of the news papers from 9/12. This is at the Newseum in Washington, DC.

There is a movie interviewing journalists who covered the events that day along with the footage they had taken. I couldn't watch long because it made me cry.

I think the childlike thing that I have never understood, and still have a hard time understanding is, why to other people hate us, the United States, Americans? Why would they do this to us? Why were there some people so happy and celebrating that this happened to us? The US is the country everyone tries to come to. The US always seems to be helping, wants to help, feels its our responsiblity to help because we've been blessed with plenty.

I can't believe its been 8 years.

May the the loss of that day not be forgotten. May the lives lost that day and since, not be forgotten. May we, as a nation remain vigilant so this doesn't happen again.

The End of the Summer and New Beginnings

Labor Day, the last "real" day of summer was always kind of a sad day for me. It meant that summer was "really" over. Even though sports practices had begun early in August and school usually the last full week of August, it still seemed like summer, until Labor Day. Once Labor Day was over - - summer was over.

Back in the day when I was in school, I did look forward to the end of summer because it also meant the beginning of something - - another school year. For some reason, I always had this feeling that some how, I could re-invent myself going into the new school year. There were always endless possibilities.

Now that I'm almost as old as dirt, I look back and realize it was the summer that held all the possibilities for me. The seemingly endless days spent at the pool or beach (from 15 to 22 years old, I life guarded - - so it wasn't entirely unproductive). The long cool nights spent reading an endless pile of books while listening to the crickets through the open windows. Oh, the endless adventures I went on through time and space! All things seemed possible in the summer.

Now, the days of summer melt into fall into winter into spring into summer with no real milestones with which to keep track of the years. I feel like Rip Van Winkle when my friends and sister talk of their kids going to kindergarten or worse yet - - high school. The kids can't be THAT old already!? How old does that make ME? Where has time flown? Why, the last time I saw you, you were just a toddler!

It seems so fitting that the last day of this summer be chilly, cloudy and drizzly. The weather kind of reflects how I feel.

The beginning of the summer, it was full of so many possibilities. I wanted to have a BBQ at my house once a month. I wanted to go here and there and all over the countryside of Virginia. I didn't do nearly all the things I had planned and I did many things I had not planned.

The wonderment of childhood was re-introduced to me in the form of four little furry kittens.

I would have to say the kittens were the highlight of my summer. I really didn't think I'd have them as long as I did. With the economy being poor and what seemed like a HUGE wave of kitten births, they were with me all summer. They invited me into their magical world of play and the miracle of growing up. I got to watch their personalities develop and in some way I hope, I shaped the good beings that they will become as adults. Every day there was something to laugh about. Some new adventure. Being a foster has been one of the most rewarding things I've done, next to volunteering at the museum.

I picked up this skinny litter of kittens Memorial Day weekend. The beginning of summer. It was only fitting that the last of the litter be adopted Labor Day weekend, the end of the summer.

Yes, Dash and Stache were adopted.

I think I knew it was going to be this weekend. I hoped it would be this weekend. You see, I was getting really attached to them. They were integrated with Ranger, Scout and Stryker, it was like they were all one big happy family. Scout was grooming them, Ranger would wrestle with them, Stryker would show them all the best sunny spots under the dining room table. As they became 'half-cats' and people would pick them up at adoption events and oooo and ahhh over them, only to then go for the younger kittens...my heart would break. But I knew that God had the right family for them, they just hadn't come to an event yet.

Last week, as the days ticked by, in my mind it was one less day with the kittens. Thursday, I had every intention of going straight home after work, no gym, just go home to play with the kittens. But something drew me away from that plan. My old, comforting friend, Books, was tugging at me. I spent entirely too much time at the bookstore. I was avoiding going home. Subconsciously, I didn't want that to be the last evening I spent with them.

When I got home, I could see the white of Dash's face in my dark front window. When I opened up the door, there he was. Stache came running across the top of the sofa toward us. Their excitement when I got home at night was always so nice. I was loved, wanted, anticipated. We played, but not as much as I had planned and I feel sad about that.

I'll be honest, I felt sad. I prayed Thursday night that God would bring their forever family to the adoption event. For purely selfish reasons...I really loved those little guys and I told God that the longer I had them the harder it was going to be for me to let them go -- so please, please bring their forever family to the event. I prayed for a young couple, like the couple that adopted Spree and the small kitten Zola. People who loved animals and who would love them and spoil them.

I cried. I think it was the first time this whole summer that I have cried, so three months of it unleashed. Stache had curled up on the pillow next to me. He cooed and then I felt this soft paw on the side of my face, wiping at the tears that were streaming down. Well, that just made me sob. Poor little guy, he'd probably just reached out to touch this strange wet thing running down my face because he'd never seen a tear before. Then Dash got into the act, licking my face - - tears are salty after all. That all combined with a sad book about a man and his dog - - well, you can guess where Thursday night went for me.

Friday - - a young couple came in and adopted Dash and Stache. They both grew up with lots of animals and the wife missed having a cat. They were exactly who I had prayed for.

So, while the summer ends, along with my season of being a foster to Dash and Stache, their lives are just beginning and are full of possibilities. I think I even heard their new "parents" say they were going to keep their names Dash and Stache, those were cool names. Even if they get new names for their new life in their new home, I'm sure they will be their loving, crazy, playful, affectionate selves that I adored and I know they are going to be loved.

Thanks to all my friends for indulging me as I shared photos and stories of their little lives with you this summer. Thanks Lost Dog Lost Cat for giving me the opportunity to foster them. Thanks to the families who adopted them. May they bless your lives as much as they blessed mine.

In the Virginia Hills for the Scottish Games

The Scottish Games of Virginia were held in The Plains. This is where the Gold Cup steeple chase race is held each spring. I was surprised at the length of the line to get in.

Once in the gate, we were greeted with row upon row of antique cars, many of the them British.

It was a beautiful day and there were lots of people and many vendors selling food, jewelry, kilts, pottery and other crafts.

Lots of good food. I did not sample any Haggis. I was curious about something called Birdies. Its ground beef, onions and spice in a fluffy pastry. It looked exactly like a turnover. I couldn't help but think someone would be very disappointed if they picked one up expecting sweet cherries...

I can't imagine this young lady eating that WHOLE turkey leg. I'm sure her dog is hoping she shares. What a good dog!

There were lots of dogs at the event. This little terrier marched proudly with her clan during the parade of clans.

We even got to watch a demonstration of a border collie herding sheep.

There were even 'sword' fights.

Those Scottish women are sure tough. Yes, beware a Scottish woman wielding a sword.

Be even more cautious of the Scottish woman wielding a HUGE log.

She was really good! The whole idea of this game was to flip the log. She did - - three times.

And she kicked butt in the hammer throw.

This man is an east coast champion. They competed in the hammer throw and stone put (like the shot put only it was a big river rock).

Yes, that would be a pitch fork that he is polishing up - - for the sheave toss.

For the sheave toss, they get a sack of straw that weighs (I think they said 15 pounds) and they take a pitch fork into the corner of the sack and toss it over a pole.

The pole below is set at 27 feet.

I saw this cute t-shirt.

However, I found that the manly Scottish men were quite modest.

A Letter to the Unborn Children of a Fallen Marine

I saw this today in Politics Daily. I almost forgot about posting it. It tugs at the heart. Their father was dearly loved and respected greatly.
The Letter

Ted Kennedy's Gravesite - - Arlington Cemetary

A simple white cross marks the spot where Senator Ted Kennedy was buried yesterday.



Kennedy is buried about 50 feet to the left (if you are facing the graves) of his brother Robert, who is buried about 50 feet to the left of John. You can see Robert's cross to the back right in this picture. Yes, there was an armed guard at the gravesite. Since Arlington Cemetary was closed to the public yesterday, the public came to view the site today.

I opted to avoid any crowds and arrived around 6:15 p.m. There were maybe 100 people in line when I got there. I did not get in line. I just wanted to take pictures of people in line.



If you go to Arlington Cemetary, the Kennedy gravesite is a short 15 minute walk. If walking in the hot, humid, northern Virginia summer or fall, there is a tram from the cemetary visitor's center. The site is located down hill from the Lee House, home of confederate general Robert E. Lee.

After the resolution of the Cuban missle crisis, John Kennedy walked through the cemetary to clear his mind. When he arrived at the spot beneath the Lee house and looked out across the Potomac toward Washington, DC, he was so taken by the view he told an aide that he could stay there forever.

Jungle Adventure

Having the kittens in my life has allowed me to remember the wonderment of experiencing something for the first time. As adults, I think we lose this perspective. Its the same old - same old, day-in-day-out. We fail to notice the magic in the ordinary.

Since being in my care, the kittens have never gone outside, except for the one or two times they made a curious "sneak" onto the front porch. They watch with great interest as I do yard work in that 'magical', forbidden place called the outdoors.

Today, since I was letting Ranger out, I decided to let the kittens come outside for an adventure.

They stalked bugs, walked on stones, rocks and dirt for the first time.

They followed Ranger around a bit to see what he did. He goes for the grass. So the kittens tasted grass for the first time.

They were furry balls of excited energy. What do we do next? Where do we go? Can we eat that? What is this?

Many of my pictures are blurry as I tried to capture them batting at flying bugs or stalking each other. Below, Stache stalks Dash.

He would run along the stepping stones and launch himself into the hostas and scurry along the fence, under the cover of the bushes. He's actually panting here from all the running around he was doing. As he would pounce around in the bushes, he would let out these meows that sounded more like roars.

Here he is checking out where Dash is, so he can attack.

Stache leaps out from the 'brush'.

Here are two videos of their play. You can see that Dash is more cautious. He sticks to the edges of the garden, not wanting to dive into the dark places. Stache on the other hand, dove right in and was loving life. Dash was having a wonderful time too - - just not interested in going into the 'jungle'.

Here is Dash with one of his GQ poses.

Watching them explore and enjoy their adventure today was such a blessing.