Reward for tape being held hostage by the LA Times

WHISTLEBLOWER REWARD: $200,000 For Khalidi/Obama/Ayers Tape

A Learning Experience

This past weekend, even though I am not a military spouse, I had the privilege of attending SpouseBUZZ Live in San Antonio, at the invitation of Carren, wife of milblogger Chuck Ziegenfuss. I had never met Carren before, but I've been a long-time reader and commenter at Chuck's place. Carren and the other ladies I met made me feel very welcome.

SpouseBUZZ Live itself was very interesting. The two panels ("A Humorous Look at the Milspouse Experience" and "Making the Most of the Milspouse Experience") were both very informative, at times very entertaining, or very touching. It made me understand that some things for the military family have changed quite a bit in the 17 years since my father retired after nearly 27 years of service, but it also reminded me that some things about military family life will probably never change.

After the event was over, some of the ladies wanted to go to Brooke Army Medical Center. There was a specific person one wanted to visit in the burn unit, and Carren and I wanted to see if we might be able to meet service members in the ortho ward. The other ladies were going to knit in the lobby while we went upstairs. When we checked in at the desk on the ortho ward, we were informed that there were actually only a couple of service members currently on the ward. The gentleman we spoke to walked us around the ward and showed us the brand new hospital beds the ward had just been outfitted with, to replace the original, 12-year old, beds. Carren, having become quite familiar with WRAMC and what a Wounded Warrior goes through while an in-patient was very much impressed with the new features of the bed: they will help to tilt the patient to the left or right, based on the doctor's orders, eliminating the need to stack pillows and to turn the patient manually; also, it can weigh the patient without having to move them out of the bed. We were able to meet one of the patients, a young Air Force lieutenant who lost a leg in a motorcycle accident (a woman pulled out in front of him) and his mother. I followed Carren's lead, since I had no prior experience meeting injured troops. Carren spoke to Mom about Soldiers' Angels and Valour-IT while I talked baseball with the LT. He's a Red Sox fan, and at the time, they had yet to be eliminated in the ALCS.

On Sunday, I went back down to San Antonio. The plan was to go to the Fisher House at BAMC to deliver some of the extra (very nice) giveaway bags from Saturday's event (and to share information about SpouseBUZZ, and to see check in to see what's going on. When we got back over to BAMC, and were to have meet a couple of "locals" at the Powless Guesthouse. Unfortunately, there was a family emergency, so we were on our own, but that didn't turn out to be any problem. We went into the Guesthouse and learned that the place we wanted to go, the Warrior and Family Support Center was housed on the second floor. One of the volunteers walked us up and introduced us. Once Carren explained what we were about, we went back out to my car to get the bag. The Center is the main gathering place for guests at Powless and the Fisher Houses, so we could leave all the bags there. Carren spoke at length with the volunteer who seemed to be "in charge", and Kate (another milspouse) and I interacted with the cutest little 2-year old girl who was there with a family member, and also were individually snagged by another volunteer - an older gentleman - to be told about the new facility that will be having it's grand opening on Monday, December 1st, 2008.

The Returning Heroes Home will give the officially named Warrior and Family Support Center about ten times the space they currently have with the second floor space at the Powless Guesthouse. Given all the services the Center provides, they really need it. Many area churches provide dinners for the Center. We were also told that at Christmas and Easter, the Jewish synagogues volunteer to provide dinner: they figure that since they aren't celebrating these holidays, they can gift the gift of their time to allow Christian volunteers to celebrate instead of working.

Seems someone came to Judith Markelz, the program manager, asking what they wished for. "A new building." Now, less than two years later, through the efforts of brothers Steve and Les Huffman, owner of Huffman Developments (a construction firm), that wish is coming true. The 3.589 million dollar project has been funded entirely with private donations. If you would like to help out, you can make a donation. At this point in time you can still make a donation of $50 to purchase a personalized paver brick (about 100 left) ("a tasteful and permanent way to honor your family or loved one"). Returning Heroes Home is a 501(c)(3) organization, so your donation would be tax deductible.

This architectural drawing is impressive enough, showing the Hill Country style that can be seen all around this part of Texas, but it doesn't do justice to the actual building, which we were able to get a glimpse of before heading out to take my new friends to the airport for their flight home.


This building, with the white rock and tin roof, would be at home on any Central Texas or Hill Country spread... While the volunteer who was bragging on it invited me to attend the grand opening, I don't think I'll be able to make it. However, I do hope to work out being able to volunteer there from time to time. I sent an email last night to the contact information I got on Sunday, but I haven't heard back yet. If anyone is interested in volunteering, drop me an email and I can pass along the contact info.

For a little background, this is a video about the Returning Heroes Home from July 2007...



...and this report from WOAI television from September 2007...

An American Carol

I went to see An American Carol yesterday afternoon. I have to say I agree with Wordsmith over at Flopping Aces (H/T: CJ @ ASP):

The movie itself is uneven, crude, unapologetically- nay, proudly- pro-American, over-the-top, simplistic, funny, stupid, less-than-funny, hilarious, offensive, mercilessly lampooning the American Left. I loved it.

I don't usually go for David Zucker movies (Airplane! and The Naked Gun - generally not my preferred sort of humor), but I figured any movie that openly made fun of The Left deserved my support. I went to the first showing - 12:30pm Saturday afternoon. When I got to the 14-screen cinema, the parking lot wasn't very full, and there were maybe a dozen people there to see An American Carol. After the movie ended, someone even applauded! I laughed; I got a little teary-eyed with American pride. I'll try to see this movie again before it leaves the theater...

Judging from what Wordsmith had to say, not all theaters showed the same previews before the movie. The ones I saw were Oliver Stone's W, Defiance, Proud American and Milk. The only one I'd heard of before was W, and I thought to myself that people going to see Carol likely weren't the same folks who would be interested in seeing W...

Defiance, set to be released December 12th, looks to be an excellent movie. It is the true story of three brothers, Jews from Poland, who escape the Nazis into the Belorussian forest where they eventually come to lead a group of resistance fighters and save the lives of many Jews.

Proud American, in the trailer, seemed to be a series of vignettes of different inspiring American stories. The movie's website says:

This story takes the audience to the most stirring and heartwarming scenes in America. History, adventure and spectacular scenery are the backdrop. Opportunity, personal responsibility, and the free enterprise system is the platform in which America's success is molded. We are a nation that owes much to many. This is an American story told through the magic of magnificent music performed by top performers, breathtaking photography, thrilling aerial scenes, and some of the most touching human moments ever presented on the giant screen.

I admit that isn't very helpful, but it could be an interesting movie to see - if I had a clue as to where it is showing, since it came out in September...

Milk - starring Sean Penn - another movie I thought wasn't really for the same target audience as Carol... It is the story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person to win public office in the United States, winning a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Might be an interesting story, but I've long since decided I won't go see any more movies with Sean Penn in it...

I just hope An American Carol does well, and that Hollywood will figure out that if they make movies celebrating America, Americans and American Exceptionalism, people WILL go. Kind of like the voice from the cornfield in Field of Dreams: "If you build it, they will come..."

Confirmed: USS Grunion Found

It has been confirmed by the United States Navy that wreckage found more than a year ago in the Bering Sea is, indeed, the USS Grunion.

Bats At The Beach

I found Bats at the Beach, written and illustrated by Brian Lies, around Halloween, I think in 2006. It's a very original, fun concept. Bats aren't really my favorite animal, but they are made to be very likable, cute, even, in this book. The bats are anthropomorphized, but also retain their "battiness", coming out at night, eating bugs or fruits, and living in dark places.

The story is presented as a poem:

Sun slips down and all is still,
and soon we can't tell sky from hill.
Now from barn and cave and rafter,
bats pour out with shrieks of laughter.

The rising moon can grow no fatter
as sky lights up with gleeful chatter:
Quick, call out! Tell all you can reach-
the moon is just perfect for bats at the beach!

Soon we've got out buckets, trowels,
banjoes, blankets, books, and towels,
strapped on backs and under wings.
- Have we forgotten anything?

Once at the beach, the bats toast bug-mallows, bury each other in the sand, play in the surf, play games, and moon-bathe. As the sun starts to come up, the bats return home for the day.

All in all, this is a cute book, which B&N recommends for children 5 to 8 years old. When I was at Barnes & Noble the other day, I did see that Brian Lies has another book, Bats at the Library, which I now see just came out this month. I'll read it when I have a chance and let you know what I think...

Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa

I have been trying to develop a diverse library of children's books. One of the areas that is still pretty thin is music. When I saw Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa, written by Andrea Davis Pinkney and illustrated by Brian Pinkney, I picked it up and flipped through it. I think it is a very fun book with a clever "format"...

Although it is a picture book (recommended for children 5-9 years of age), it is sectioned into "tracks": Hoofin' in Harlem, Jammin' at Yale, Stompin' at the Savoy and Carnegie Hall Scat. Ella's story is told by "Scat Cat Monroe", a zoot-suited feline.

Track 1

Ella hoped to make it big as a dancer. She taught herself to tap. She and her friends would perform on the street corners in Yonkers, New York. Neighbors told her to go to Harlem, in New York City, "where dreams really do come true." At seventeen, at the Apollo Theatre, she entered a talent contest. When the got on stage, "her feet failed her", but she wouldn't be booed off the stage, so she started to sing. "She won the contest straight up, kicked her dance dreams to the curb, and pinned all her hopes on being a singer."

Track 2

The following year, as a "featured singer" at the Harlem Opera House, "Bardou ALi, the master of ceremonies for the Chick Webb Orchestra, saw Ella perform." He knew she had to sing with Chick, but Chick didn't think people came to listen to a singer, but to hear the instruments. "What Chick didn't know was that Ella's voice was its own instrument." Chick gave her a chance:

He told her she could sing with his orchestra at a college dance the next night. At Yale University - the Ivy League, where gettin' loose don't always come easy. Chick told Ella that if she could work that college crowd, she could join his band.

So Ella went to Yale with a purpose. And, man, once Ella started to sing, she had them Yalies jammin'.

Track 3

The Chick Webb Orchestra regularly played the Savoy in Harlem "to a house packed tighter than the A train". The band played, Ella sang, and she joined the audience on the dance floor when she was done.

"When the sun set on Harlem, and the cats and kitties came out to play, it was Ella and Chick they were coming to see."

The Savoy also had a battle of the bands. One contest was between Chick Webb's orchestra and the Benny Goodman Orchestra. The applause from the audience would determine the winner.

Benny set the contest in motion. His band started with a song called "Peckin'." They made the place swing, no doubt.

Then Chick's band took their turn. Chick's drum solos were slammin'. They backed up Ella's vocals, which gave new meaning to the word divine.

The contest was close from the get-go. Those musicians put a fever to the room. They had me sweatin' the sheen off my fur, and scuffin' my wing-tip shoes. When Chick's band played "Harlem Congo," the crowd got hotter than bootleg Tabasco. That's 'cause Ella set "Harlem Congo" on fire. Her voice was quick-fried rhythm, with a brassy satin twist.

She sizzled with Chick's cymbals.

Busted loose with his bongos.

She tamed the crowd while Chick played his timpani.

And, man, that ain't all!

Ella worked the downbeat. She milked the backbeat.

She sang like tomorrow wasn't ever gonna come.

Four thousand people filled the Savoy Ballroom that night. The contest lasted five hours. When it was done, everybody knew who was boss.

Track 4

Chick had to put nightclubs on a waiting list for his orchestra. "Ella's popularity showed them that a true star has no color - it just shines."

Ella wasn't afraid to try new things in music. She tried bebop, which is "jazz on the wild side."

It was: SYN-CO-PATION. LO-CO-MOTION.
Fast-smack sound - done low down.
It was slam-bamming on the flitter-tip.
It was ham-hock-jabber.
FEVER. Pitch.

Dizzy Gillespie was a bebop star. "With his trumpet, he could blow notes into back flips." Ella joined his band. She "used her voice in the same way Dizzy used the notes he made with his horn - like a runaway leaf flying high on a breeze."

Dizzy & Ella performed before a sell-out crowd at Carnegie Hall on September 29, 1947.

Dizzy's trumpet chirped. It zipped. It sputtered in double-time tempo.
Ella's singing hung fast to Dizzy's rhythm.
Dizzy bounced his bebop to Ella.
Ella shot him back her scat.
Man, those two were making up music in the moment.
It was invention.
It was frolic.
It was cooler than cool.
Ella put scat on the map. When she and Dizzy threw down their skippity-hop-doo-dee-bop, every soul in the place slipped into the jam.

Ella Fitzgerald became The Queen of Scat, The First Lady of Song; she was a Vocal Virtuosa...

At the back of the book, there is a Note from the Author and a Note from the Illustrator. The author's note include specific biographical information about Ella Fitzgerald and lists many of the honors she received. The illustrator's note discusses his inspirations for his paintings for this book. Also included at the back are a bibliography, videography and "selected" discography.

Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa has fun with words. It's not "perfect" English, but I think it perfectly illustrates the musical culture Ella Fitzgerald represents. Even though this is "just a book", the words seem to make the music come alive from the printed page.

This book would be good to share with any child, but I think it could be a great tool to introduce music lessons about Ella, the Big Band era, and jazz.

Words of Wisdom

I've been reading The Button Box:A Daughter's Loving Memoir of Mrs. George S. Patton by Ruth Ellen Totten Patton (the younger of the Pattons' two daughters). I've not been able to just sit and read, with some of the other things I've had going on, but when I know I'll have some "down time" (waiting for appointments, break time when I am subbing), I bring it along.

I've got a lot of stuff in storage right now, and I needed to go dig something out. My storage place is right next to a Sonic Drive-in, so I figured I'd grab some lunch before "excavating" for my toaster oven...

The first thing that grabbed me today was something I think would be very much at home on some of the threads over at Cassandra's place:

A marriage is like a tree; sometimes it is in bud; sometimes in blossom; sometimes in leaf, sometimes in fruit, and then; sometimes the leaves will all fall off and it will look dead, but if you keep on cultivating the roots, always cultivating the roots, it will come alive again. (p. 261)

Not too much after that, Ruth Ellen relates the story of a young lieutenant and a lady friend who came to see Mrs. Patton during the Patton's last time in Hawaii. Seems the young lady had gotten thrown out of her family's home after "getting into trouble (remember, this was the 1930s). The woman who "helped" the young lady through the birth of her child up the baby up for adoption and introduced her to a man who "promised her a good job in San Francisco" (p. 266), and the poor girl ended up in a whore house in Honolulu. The young lieutenant met her shortly after her arrival and "fell in love with her, bought her time-book from the Madam who was a well-known and respected figure in Honolulu [ed. - prostitution was regulated and legal there at that time; remember that Hawaii was not yet a state], and intended to marry her. (p. 266)" He wanted Mrs. Patton to "check her out" and hoped for a "seal of approval" from Mrs. Patton (p. 266). Mrs. Patton did approve. Apparently, the lieutenant later became a lieutenant general in the Air Force, and he and the lady (who "was an asset to him" [p. 267]) had a successful marriage and four children.

Mrs. Patton, being a concerned mother, worried about the virtue of her two girls remaining intact. Ruth Ellen's recollections of the lessons:

Ma had told us from as long as I can remember that a woman's only truly personal possessions are her reputation and her virginity; you inherit your maiden name from your father; your husband trusts you with his family name when you marry; but your virginity is yours and yours alone to give to whom you choose, and if you give it away for nothing you get nothing in return. She said that virginity was a physical fact and that chastity was a spiritual virginity and it was to be handled with equal care. After Bee [ed. - the Pattons' eldest daughter] and I resented being different we started to glory in it, and keeping ourselves for Prince Charming in his golden cloak was very real. (p. 267)

If more mothers would teach this to their daughter today, and if those daughters would take those lessons to heart, I think certain things would be so much better today than they are...

Supporting Any Soldier, Inc.

I've been a little lax in posting about Any Soldier lately. This morning, I participated in a chat at Any Soldier with one of Any Soldier's most popular and well know contacts, Major Gary Bourland. Since Gary was a pen pal of mine back in 2004 when he was in Afghanistan with 1/6 Marines, it was a chat I didn't want to miss. Gary mentioned that there were some items up on eBay. So, I went to eBay and searched on "AnySoldier", as instructed. There are currently six items up for auction:

Marine Corps 25 count Cigar Humidor (dark finish)
Marine Corps 25 count Cigar Humidor (light finish)
Marine Corps 75 count Cigar Humidor (dark finish)
AnySolider Golf Package
Marine Coffee Mugs and Coffee Package
Freedom of Expression Lithograph

All proceeds from these auctions will go to Any Soldier, Inc. Also, the National Museum of the Marine Corps donated a number of the items up for auction.

Any Soldier also has a raffle going. Someone offered up their house in Prince Frederick, Maryland for the fundraiser. The house recently appraised for $835,000.

This beautiful single-family home is nestled on 7.989 acres in Prince Frederick, Maryland. WATERVIEW OF PATUXENT RIVER -- INCREDIBLE Farm Property! Beautiful Custom Colonial Home has much attention to detail; approx. 3500 square feet on two levels with 1620 square feet finished in basement, five bedrooms, 2.5 baths, zoned heat, upgraded fixtures, HWD, Imported Italian Limestone, authentic barnwood in LL, Recessed Lighting, Cherry Cabinets in Kitchen, Hot water in Garage. 5 Stall Barn, 6 paddocks, Hay Bin, Saw Dust Bin, Wash Rack, Electric and Water in every stall, large run-in.

There are lots of pictures of the house. I would love to have a house like this, with all that land and the pretty views. Raffle tickets are $100 each. If you don't win the house in the raffle (drawing to be held November 11, 2008), you have a chance at other prizes: 2nd Prize - $10,000 cash, 3rd Prize - $5,000 cash, 4th Prize - $2,500 cash, 5th Prize -$1,000 cash. Nine thousand tickets must be sold for this auction to be a "go". All the legalese is posted on the raffle page for those with a serious interest in this raffle.

Any Soldier, Inc. is a fabulous organization that now provide support to more than 100,000 service members through more than 3,000 service member contacts. If you are able, help keep this valuable operation going.

Too many holes in the story

Stanley Kurtz is doing a job that should be done by the rest of our free press. He is asking important questions that need answers. And there are other who seems to be stonewalling about letting those answers get out:

Questions to Press
While Rolling’s letter raises more questions than answers, it seems clear that we’re not being told the whole truth about who chose Obama to lead the Chicago Annenberg Challenge. In particular, the Obama campaign’s claim that Deborah Leff and Patricia Graham may have put forward Obama’s nomination can no longer be taken as the last word on the subject. The Rolling letter strongly suggests that Obama and his allies are not being fully forthcoming on this issue, quite possibly in an attempt to disguise the fact the Bill Ayers had a substantial role in elevating Barack Obama to the chairmanship of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge. More generally, in the immediate wake of my attempt to gain access to the CAC records, Rolling appears to have been maneuvering, both to block my access, and to make sure that the full story of who chose Obama as CAC head would not come out.

Given the Rolling letter, here are some questions that need to be asked:

1. Why did Ken Rolling contact UIC on August 11, 2008? Was he tipped off to my inquiry on the same day by someone at UIC? If so, who?

2. Was Ken Rolling in touch with anyone in the Obama campaign on August 11, or shortly thereafter. Has Rolling been in touch with Bill Ayers since August 11? Has the Obama campaign been in touch with any of the CAC founders, Chapman, Hallett, or Ayers, since August 11? In other words, has the Obama campaign been working through Rolling or the other CAC founders, including Ayers, to help manage this story?

3. What is the full story of Obama’s elevation to the chairmanship of CAC, and what role did Bill Ayers play in the choice of Obama?

4. Did Obama and Ayers know one another prior to their time at CAC?

The Obama campaign’s initial response to this issue notwithstanding, the question of how a young and inexperienced lawyer like Obama was chosen to head a foundation created by Bill Ayers in 1995 is still very much open. Ken Rolling, Warren Chapman, Anne Hallett, and indeed, Barack Obama and Bill Ayers must now provide some answers.

Burning Down The House: What Caused Our Economic Crisis?

Updated after someone attempted to get the original video banned from YouTube...

How did we get here? Watch this 10-minute video. All claims are cited, so you can do your own research if you so choose:



H/T: Instapundit

COP Lybert

Haole Wahine sent me a link to yesterday's post at Gratitude & Prayers, which is currently supporting 6-4 CAV, 3-1 INF in Afghanistan. COP Lybert, named for a soldier killed in the area in 2006, came under attack on September 11, 2008. One soldier was killed. Go read the story and watch the related video.

Haole also informed me there would be a memorial service at Fort Hood tomorrow, but I am unable to attend.

Obama's Presidential Coin

Will the narcissism never end? Grim links to Dad29, who links to Hot Air, who links to the Birmingham (UK) Post article:

The coins already sold to the Democrats will be presented to the senators, congressmen, governors and other politicians they are being given to within the next two weeks.

There will also be a television advertising campaign launched in the US.
...
When they got in touch with the Democrats the party jumped at the chance. And the coins have proved such a hit that locally produced versions have already been launched to compete with the UK originals.

The coins show Senator Obama’s face, along with a picture of the White House and the legend “President of the United States of America”.

Never mind we are still more than 6 weeks from Election Day, and even further from Inauguration Day...

ASP raffle to help family of fallen blogger

I never read any of Bane's stuff, but he was apparently a friend of sorts to many in the milblogosphere. Bane, who was a veteran, passed away Monday morning. CJ over at A Soldier's Perspective is raising funds to help the family with funeral and hospital expenses by raffling off this "Paratroopers of Blackfive" t-shirt he wore at this past weekend's Milblog Conference in Las Vegas. If you would care to contribute, go on over to CJ's place.

Bill Whittle: The Undefended City

Popped over to Bill Whittle's place this evening to see if there was something new. Indeed there was:

If you step far enough back to look at the whole of human history, you will begin to see a very plain rhythm: a heartbeat of civilization. Steep climbs out of disease and ignorance into the light of medicine and learning — and then a sudden collapse back into darkness. And it is in that darkness that most humans have lived their lives: poor, nasty, brutish, and short.

The pattern is always the same: at the height of a civilization’s powers something catastrophic seems to occur — a loss of will, a failure of nerve, and above all an unwillingness to identify with the values and customs that have produced such wonders.
...
When all is said and done, Civilizations do not fall because of the barbarians at the gates. Nor does a great city fall from the death wish of bored and morally bankrupt stewards presumably sworn to its defense. Civilizations fall only because each citizen of the city comes to accept that nothing can be done to rally and rebuild broken walls; that ground lost may never be recovered; and that greatness lived in our grandparents but not our grandchildren. Yes, our betters tell us these things daily. But that doesn’t mean we have to believe it.

As always, go read all of The Undefended City.

Challenger: A Free-flying American Bald Eagle

Got this link in an email from a new internet acquaintance. Challenger is an American Bald Eagle who was rescued at five weeks of age who became human-imprinted and unable to be re-released into the wild. He is now an ambassador of the efforts to preserve his species. He was named to honor the astronauts of the Space Shuttle Challenger that was lost on January 28, 1986.

Dig It

You should be judged by the company you choose to keep. When you keep company with unrepentant domestic terrorists, I find you lacking. You have no moral compass and you should not be the Leader of the Free World.



H/T: TigerHawk

Update: Jane of Marine Moms - Bethesda sends a link to her "The Man Who Would Be President". It's just another example of how Obama lacks the character to be President of the United States of America.

Question...

Have we ever had a sitting president who had a child on active duty in the military?

I asked my dad that this evening - him being the history teacher and all - and he said there was a Roosevelt involved with the D-Day invasion.

I did a little checking, at that was Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., eldest son of President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, but as far as I can tell, he was not in the military while his father was still in office.

So, does anyone know of one? If not, if John McCain is elected President, he would be the first, what with his son Jim, 20, in the Marine Corps (as a Lance Corporal at this time), and his son Jack, 22, in his fourth year at the U.S. Naval Academy.

I guess the same question could he asked of sitting Vice Presidents, as well. Would Sarah Palin be the first, with her son, PFC Track Palin, having just deployed to Iraq. Of course, Joe Biden has a son in the JAG Corps in Iraq right now, too.

9/16/08: Welcome ASP readers!

Dear Mr. Obama II: Economics 101

Seven years later

Where I was, seven years ago, when I heard about the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon:

9/11/01 was the last morning I just listened to the radio in the morning while getting ready to go to work. That morning, I was going into work late because I had to take my car in to get payment for repairs arranged after I had been re-ended in my new car. I always just had the radio on as part of my alarm clock, and it would turn off an hour after my alarm. The radio had turned off before I left for the insurance office.

When I arrived at the insurance office, the agent I was dealing with (the agent for the guy who rear-ended me) asked if I had been watching or listening to the news. I told him no, and he informed me that a jet had hit the World Trade Center. At first, I thought small jet, not commercial airliner. While he was looking at the damage on my car, the Pentagon had been hit. I immediately thought Bin Laden. I went home before going into the office. I called in to see if they knew yet - yes, they did. I had turned the TV on when I got home, and I watched as the first tower collapsed. I knew that about 50,000 people worked in the towers, and I anticipated a death toll far more horrifying than it was, although nearly 3000 dead is horrifying enough.

At the time, I was part of a small church group at my parish in Fayetteville, and we had our regular weekly meeting that night. Instead of what we originally had scheduled, we went into the church and prayed the Rosary.

Since that day, I am even more of a news-junkie than I was before. I kept the TV on all the time when I was home, even overnight, watching nothing but news for days on end. I kept hoping for survivors. To this day, I often sleep with the TV on FoxNews channel.

Sadly, the deaths resulting from that attack didn't all occur on that day, or as a result of physical injuries received that day. Another friend of mine has a boyfriend who had a brother who had recently moved to Virginia and worked at the Pentagon. Stephen was a helicopter pilot. He had been part off Dust-Off during the Vietnam War. I'm not sure what Dust-Off was - I'd have to do a bit of research. Anyway, Stephen was at the Pentagon that day. Apparently, he was often in the part of the building that was hit and he lost people he knew. I'm not sure, but I think he was involved in either rescuing or dealing with the people who were pulled from the building that first day. Stephen later commited suicide. My friend and I surmised that what Stephen saw that day brought back the traumatic memories of the Vietnam War, and did not seek help in dealing with what he was going through. Stephen in buried at Arlington National Cemetry. My friend accompanied her boyfriend to the funeral. Stephen's wife moved away from there - I think she had been home when Stephen killed himself there. I happened to have a business trip to DC in May 2003, after Stephen's funeral over the winter. I was able to find Stephen's grave and photograph the headstone, since it was not in place yet at the time of the funeral. I'm sure Stephen's wife was still visiting - there were small stones placed on the top of the headstone. I don't remember the significance of that gesture.

We will never know the true toll of people whose lives will end as a direct result of the attacks. I'm sure Stephen's was not the only suicide of a survivor or a family member of those killed, and there are also those who are now getting sick and dying from illnesses connected to working at Ground Zero....

A local high school remembers

The World of Harry Potter

I had avoided writing about the Harry Potter series. These books are generally well known, and others have done very in-depth commentary on them. So, what I will do is look at the series, overall, for those who haven't actually read them who are on the fence about them.

I started reading the books long before I went back to school to earn my M.Ed. Lyric Mezzo, who had introduced me to other fantasy series, loaned me a copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone back in the late '90s. Only after having borrowed all the released books from her did I decide I would get copies of my own - after another friend gave me a copy of a new release in hardcover. I've even recently gotten the older of my little sisters - who is 27 - to read them. Just the other day, she gave me back Chamber of Secrets and told me it would be okay if I brought her the next one of my "nerd books"...

The series consists of seven books, beginning with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. This is where we meet Harry Potter, an eleven year old orphan, living in the cupboard under the stairs in the home of his aunt and uncle. Harry learns that his parents were wizards, and that he is one, too, and that he has been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. That is where lots of people have a problem with the series, thinking it promotes witchcraft to children. People who think that, in my opinion, haven't read the books and don't know what the heck they are talking about. For those of you who lean this way, I invite you to check out Fantasy Fiction for Christians, where you can find discussions of the Christian imagery that can be found in the books (WARNING: there be spoilers there!). There are also books on the subject, as well as at least one "anti-Harry Potter" commentary book (none of which I have read). Let me just say that in the Harry Potter books, whether one is a witch or wizard is something you are born with and is not something that can be acquired. Anyhow, Harry learns that his parents were murdered by a "dark wizard" called Lord Voldemort, and that Harry is the only one to have survived when Voldemort decided to kill them; most people think Voldemort died when Harry became "the boy who lived", but there are some, including Hogwarts' headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, who believe otherwise and are on guard against Voldemort's return.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone covers Harry's first year at Hogwart's. As mentioned above, Harry turns eleven at the beginning of this book. I think it would be appropriate for a child to start reading the series about this age - 10 or 11, though I had a student in my 3rd grade student teaching class (who was 8 or 9 at the time) who was reading it. Each of the subsequent books are the succeeding years of Harry's life.

One thing I will say is that the books get progressively darker in plot as they go along. So, even if a child is a good enough reader to get through all seven books right off the bat, I'm not sure that most kids would be mature enough to deal with the darkening plot line. I would really recommend that parents read the books themselves in order to be able to make the judgment about whether or not their child is ready to read them. The first death - a murder - of a character occurs in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire which is the fourth book.

Harry Potter's world is one of fantasy: magic spells, fantastical creatures, and all the conveniences enchanted objects can provide. But, it also presents situations where characters must make choices between right and wrong, and as Dumbledore says: “The time is coming when we must all choose between doing what is right, and doing what is easy.” The lesson being: sometimes doing the right thing is the difficult choice. This theme carries throughout the series, in this fantasy context. I think that parents could use the books to talk to their children about making choices, being honest, helping others: Does Harry always make the best decisions? What other choices could have been made? Is it right or wrong to keep secrets? Does evil really exist? The possibilities, I think, are fairly endless.

So, the series, in order:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

There are other "Harry Potter" books by Rowling, but they aren't really about Harry. They appear to be - I have not read them - "books" mentioned in the actual Harry Potter books: Tales of Beedle the Bard (to be released December 2008) and Classic Books from the Library of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: Quidditch through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2001).

So, while I have very much enjoyed reading the Harry Potter books, I know not all parents are okay with them, and that not all children will be ready at the same age to deal with the progressing plot line through all seven books. But, before you decide to not allow your kids to read them, I would ask that you read them yourself first and make an informed decision.

On a related note, unless you've been living under a rock, you are likely aware that the books have been turned into a highly successful movie franchise. Like the books, the movies are getting progressively darker. While these movies are based on children's books, these movies - especially as the series has progressed - are NOT for small children. I've seen (and own) the already-released first five movies. A small child - and possibly not-so-small kids - might get very scared by these movies. The sixth movie is to be released July 17, 2009. As with the books, screen them first for young children.