Big Fluffy White Flakes
Thu Dec 01 2005

We once again have snow today to replace all that melted the other day.  This time rumor has it that it might actually hang around for a few hours before melting off.  The kids will be thrilled!  I've already gotten a call from #3 telling me that they are letting them out of school early due to snow.  The twins have just gotten home and #1 is dancing around celebrating the fact that school sports have been cancelled.  This means he doesn't have swim practice and he can play in the snow.

I was supposed to go into school tonight to work with the other guys from class on our assignments, but I'm not going to drive in this stuff, particularly after it gets dark and everything freezes up.  Of course this means I need to find a way to get the kids and dogs to give me a few hours of quiet so I can get some work done.

OK, I need to go throw a couple snowballs at the kids...


Thoughts Of The Season & Other Philosophical Meanderings

Yep, it's that time of year again. The time of year when the radio starts playing seasonal songs and I hear the song that brings me to tears every time, Belleau Wood by Garth Brooks.

Those of you who have been reading my diary for a while will already have read this stuff that I write every year about the Christmas Truce of 1914. For those who are unfamiliar with it, here is a good in a nutshell accounting of what happened, as well as the lyrics to the song:
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/printer_122604A.shtml

Is it naive of me to wish that something like this could happen now, 91 years later? I suppose it might happen if the theological and philosophical differences between those that we are at war with now were not so extremely vast. I don't even know if it is the type of concept that the extremists we are at war with could conceive of.

Of course, they probably believe the same of us. After all, how could Godless Infidels be trusted to honor a moment of peace? OK, OK, this is a hollywood reaction to what we envision their point of view to be. I don't think it is far from the mark though. While I wish for it, I don't believe we are at a time, or at a war with someone we could hope for something like the Christmas Truce to happen.


I find it ironic how they consider us Godless when there are so many people in the US militaries that do follow any of many belief's. Of course, since many of them are not Islamic belif's, we must then be Godless I suppose.

I just can't fathom a culture who strives for oppression, even in the name of God. Admittedly I am American through and through, and I deeply value the freedoms we have here. As a woman I can go to school, get a job, drive a car, voice my opinion and wear whatever the hell I want to. I don't have to cover my head unless it is cold enough for me to grab a hat before leaving the house. I do not have to accept the word and directives of my husband or father as law.

I like it that way, and will support anyone who works to help me keep these freedoms. If the folks who oppose this war are under the delusions that if we just pack up and come home we will be left alone, boy do they have another thing coming!

6 Comments
  • From:
    Welshamethyst (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Dec 01 2005
    Yay!!! Snow!! We got some today, too, which was a rather rude shock. It wasn't exactly in the forcast.
  • From:
    Pragmatist (Legacy)
    On:
    Thu Dec 01 2005
    Throw a couple snowballs for me. Cuz I ain't gettin' into that stuff.

    Shalom
  • From:
    DancingButterfly (Legacy)
    On:
    Fri Dec 02 2005
    That sounds like fun - throwing snowballs at the kids. Can you do it when you're feeling aggro too?
    We don't have snow here, but it's nice and hot.. (not) :)
  • From:
    Welshamethyst (Legacy)
    On:
    Fri Dec 02 2005
    *shivers* I heard the song you are referring to just yesterday. Hearing it always brings tears to my eyes.

    What that song says is that we are all human. No matter what side we're on, we're all human. There are no enemies on certain dates, just men and women who are scared and tired and need a little peace in the worst of circumstances.

    Peace to those who have fought and died and peace to those who fight now.

    Hugs
  • From:
    Kaliko88 (Legacy)
    On:
    Fri Dec 02 2005
    I remember quite some time ago, when MTV was only playing music videos and the occasional bit of music news, a song and video by Paul McCartney called the Pipes of Peace. The video showed a similar scene to what you described.

    I've read a couple of news stories that my SIL has passed on that actually featured my brother a bit while he's been in Iraq. While he tries to do his best to work with Iraqis and he has made friends with many, it's clear that the cultures are very different. While the everyday Iraqi would love to have even one day of that kind of peace, there are enough of the extremists who hate that peace and will do anything to destroy it.

    It reminds me of a quote from Lord of the Rings, from King Theodan. "What can men do against such reckless hate?"

    >^..^<
  • From:
    Waterspriteflying (Legacy)
    On:
    Sat Dec 17 2005
    What a beautiful story! I hope I'll get to hear the song sometime, too.

    Thank you,
    Ani