We wuv woo, Tom

 

 

Our good friend Tom passed away earlier this evening after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer six weeks ago. Our thoughts are with Roger, his husband of eight years.

As you might surmise from the photo (my favorite of the two of them), Tom loved to ham it up. He loved to laugh. He loved telling jokes--all too often--VERY corny ones. And we loved to laugh with him. On numerous occasions, Tom and I would get into nonstop giggling that could last five to ten minutes. We'd laugh, we'd stop, we'd take one look at another and start giggling all over again.

Tom and I made a game of tormenting one another with puns, insults made in jest, always ending with a show of loving affection for the other.

Earlier tonight, Stephen and I visited Tom. As we left, we told him we loved him and that he need not linger on for us. I truly believe a person can hear everything said to them, even when in an apparent vegetative state. We told him we would care for Roger in his absence. We think he needed to hear that.

When we left the hospice, we both agreed we might not see Tom again. I told Stephen the next time I saw him I would have to say to him our usual retort... wuv woo.

Tom, we wuv woo.

45 years

 

 

Today is the 45th anniversary of Star Trek - The Motion Picture. The better and completed version was re-released in 2022. ST TMP, to this day, remains my favorite of the 13 Star Trek big screen adventures.

Forever remembering

 

An unfortunate truth

 

Here’s a sad thought: Some people are too poor to work.

Consider this. All too often the jobs available to the poor pay hideously low wages; usually are part-time employment with no benefits. Many cannot afford a car or other means of transportation. Many cannot afford daycare for their young children. Many cannot afford adequate work attire. Many cannot afford to be ill or miss work if their children are ill. Many cannot afford adequate health care for themselves and their families.

Most do not have a cushion or fallback if something devastating happens to their home, car, or family.

The poor do not bring their condition upon themselves but have little means to escape their lot in life. The American dream is becoming more and more elusive.

So please, during this holiday season of giving, the next time you harbor ill thoughts about the poor or turn a blind eye, you might think more kindly, maybe even donate to supporting agencies such as soup kitchens, food pantries, and homeless shelters.

Sometimes there are angels on earth--can you be one?

Failing Afghan girls and women

Afghanistan is an enigma... and a tragedy.

Let me tell you something you may not have known about this landlocked Asian country.

From the 1950s through the mid-1970s, Afghanistan was a VERY modern Islamic country. Metropolitan even, and then came the Russian invasion in 1978. From there, the nation descended into a religious quagmire that propelled the Afghan people back to the 14th century. With the Russians defeated and exiled, the Afghans became embroiled in governmental corruption that led to the Taliban gaining a toehold in the Afghan’s day-to-day life.

The Afghans are a beautiful people.

For those of us servicemembers who served there (I served in Afghanistan from February 2008 through April 2009), seeing the collapse of the Afghan government in 2021, brought on by a treaty that former President Donald Trump negotiated with the Taliban, I mourn the fall. To be fair, President Biden's order for a hasty exit only served to worsen an already horrible scenario.

While the coalition's 18-year presence was of missed successes and failures, perhaps the biggest failure was to the Afghan girls and women. While we were there, girls were allowed to go to school once again. Women could once more have careers outside their homes once more. Women became women again, not just slaves to their men.

Today, women are forbidden to speak in public. Young girls are prohibited from attending school beyond middle school, i.e., no secondary or post-secondary education. While out in public, women are forced to wear a burka, clothed head to toe. To show their faces could endanger their lives.

Afghan women have no voice nor any rights. Per Wikipedia, "The Taliban, who took power in Afghanistan in August 2021, have banned girls and women from attending secondary and higher education, making Afghanistan the only country in the world to do so. The Taliban claim that this ban is in line with their interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law, but no other Muslim country prohibits girls from receiving an education."

It is easy to throw your hands in the air, and please pardon my French, but fuck religion. It is the bane of our existence. It is all too often the cause of pain, suffering, strife, violence, and death.

While I served in Kabul, I interviewed a female major in the Afghan National Army. She was an educated pharmacist. She thanked me for being there. When I told her I was merely doing my job, she said, "No, not just you, but your people. Before you, the Taliban required me to stay home, and ignore my education. Your presence has given my daughters hope for a better future."

I have wondered where this woman and her daughters are today. I mourn their present existence.

Take a look at the photographs from the 1960s; they give cause for tears. I assure you what you see (then) is not what you will see in Afghnistan today.