Practicalities and Symbolism

Most of my extended family is politically very different than I am. The vast majority are in Kansas and Nebraska and they are exactly what makes the red states red: highly conservative, solidly Republican and oh, so very moral. They're nothing like us heathens who left the middle of the country for the opium dens of California. Well, they're not really bad people. They just have what I consider to be a very warped view of the world.

The most recent thing I got from my cousin Jeanne was telling about Red Fridays -- a plan to get people to wear something red on Fridays to show support for the troops. The idea isn't bad, necessarily, but I think it's as pointless as tying yellow ribbons around every tree you come across. It makes the person who's doing it feel like they've done something, but it does absolutely nothing for the people who need it. The most annoying part of the email, though, was the claim that the "liberal media" ignores anyone who supports military personnel and that "Every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar will wear something red." Excuse me? Someone is going to determine what I think by what they happen to see or not see me wear on a given day of the week?

Also included in the email was the following: "The first thing a soldier says when asked "What can we do to make things better for you?" is...We need your support and your prayers." I would be the last person to call anyone else a liar without proof, so I will say that the second thing a soldier is likely to say is "We need lots and lots of stuff." There are tons of places on the internet that can help to facilitate supporting military personnel in a very real and practical way. AnySoldier.com has emails from people in the Middle East, listing the things they would love to have, some of which is as basic as toothbrushes. For those who want to help but don't have the time to do the shopping and packing and posting, there's TreatAnySoldier.com, which has pre-assembled packages of the most requested items. Then there's BooksForSoldiers.com, which I've only just found. Looks very good.

I wrote to my cousin, thanking her for telling me about the wearing-red-on-Friday thing, and also listed the sites above, saying that maybe doing something practical might be a little more useful than some symbolic gesture. I also told her that, while I detest the Commander in Chief, I do support the young men and women who are in a terrible circumstance over there.

I wonder if I'll get a response.

Life has its compensations

I've spent the last four days with another migraine. This is getting tedious, especially since I can't get any more Imitrex until July. I've been surviving on aspirin, which doesn't do very much.

Before the migraine hit, we had signed up to do another one of our Designed Dinners things. Their June menu was pretty good. We chose:

• Adobo Rubbed Sirloin Steak -- Full of flavor with garlic and a mildly spicy South American inspired adobo rub


• Asian Inspired Pork Loin Chops -- The sultry flavors of soya, orange, ginger, special seasonings and black tea come together for a great marinade


• Calzone Creation Station® -- Fresh dough, Designed Dinners signature basil pesto, herbed marinara and an array of fillings to choose from to build 4 custom calzones


• Chicken Wellington -- Breast of chicken, button mushrooms & swiss cheese baked in puff pastry


• Grilled Moroccan Style Breast of Chicken -- Ready for the BBQ with the robust flavors of red wine, coriander & cumin


• Grilled Tiger Shrimp -- With fresh rosemary & garlic


• Honey Ham Steak -- Glazed with molasses and rum


• Jumbo Meatballs in Sweet & Sour Sauce -- With pineapple & mixed peppers


• Mahi Mahi Fillet -- with pine nuts, lemon, herbs & chives


• Mojito Marinated Chicken Wings -- Mildly spicy, bursting with bright citrus flavor


• Savory Polish Style Smoked Sausage -- Premium skinless sausage with Designed Dinners signature beer braised onion compote


• The Ultimate Jalapeño Bacon Cheddar Burger -- Lean ground chuck mixed with herbs, garlic, aged cheddar cheese and minced jalapeño bacon

(We get two meals out of each one, so that makes 24 meals. I usually make three a week, which means this will last for 8 weeks.)

I wasn't sure how things were going to go this morning. The migraine was gone, but I always have a day or two of being really weak when they're over. We got to the place and got started. By the time we'd finished putting together two meals, I was ready to pass out. I know it was air-conditioned in the building, but I was drenched in sweat, the whole room was spinning and I had a horrible pain going across my back. I get that pain a lot when I'm feeling weak. So I found myself a stool to sit on and Jim went ahead and kept putting things together. He was so serious as he measured out the ingredients and made sure he had everything right. The chicken Wellington may not be the prettiest that anyone has ever seen, but I know it'll be edible and he did the very best he could. I was quite impressed with the way he dealt with the dough for the calzones.

At one point, I was sitting in a back room that was cooler and had real chairs instead of stools. Without being able to watch the goings-on, I found myself waxing philosphical (to borrow a phrase ;)). I'll admit I was feeling sorry for myself a bit, bemoaning the migraines and the Crohn's disease and all the other shit. I sorta felt like Job, with the gods picking me at random to mess with and make my life a hell. Then I thought about Jim and realized that, if the gods really had decided to mess with me, they at least gave me Jim so that I could bear it. I thought about a trade. Would I agree to lose Jim if it would mean that I was completely healthy? No. As long as he'll hang around, helping me to deal with it, I'll deal with it. Nothing in the world would be worth losing my guy.

So, we're home, we have 24 main dishes in the freezer, Jim's watching the World Poker Tour that he recorded while we were out. It's supposed to get over 80 degrees today and warmer each day through Tuesday. For those of you who are feeling that this is nothing, remember that we have no air conditioning. We have open windows, fans and shades to try to keep from ending up as little puddles on the carpet.

A Man of Grace and Conviction

When I saw on the news that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had been killed, before I could even decide how I felt about it, I saw an interview with Michael Berg. Michael is the father of Nicholas Berg, the young contractor who was beheaded on a live internet feed, very probably by al-Zarqawi himself. It would be perfectly understandable for him to have jumped for joy at the news of the death of the man who had murdered his son so brutally, but he didn't. He said that it was a tragedy and that he felt for the al-Zarqawi's family who would be grieving just as the Berg family had been grieving.

I found an article that gave a little more of what Berg said.

"I think al-Zarqawi's death is a double tragedy," Michael Berg told The Associated Press after learning a U.S. airstrike had killed the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq. "His death will incite a new wave of revenge. George Bush and al-Zarqawi are two men who believe in revenge."...

Michael Berg, a pacifist who is running for Delaware's lone House seat on the Green Party ticket, said al-Zarqawi's death is likely to foster anti-American resentment among al-Qaida members who feel they have nothing left to lose.

Berg said the blame for most deaths in Iraq should be placed on President Bush, who he said is "more of a terrorist than Zarqawi."

"Zarqawi felt my son's breath on his hand as held the knife against his throat. Zarqawi had to look in his eyes when he did it," Berg added, pausing to collect himself. "George Bush sits there glassy-eyed in his office with pieces of paper and condemns people to death. That to me is a real terrorist."
Berg: No Good in Al-Zarqawi's Death

I am deeply humbled by this man. I, too, am a pacifist from as far back as I had any knowledge of war, but I'm not sure I could have the grace to apply it to the person who murdered my child with his own hands. It's things like this that remind me of how much I still need to learn.