Mar. 21, 2003 ~ Frustration
There were tears in my eyes when I arrived at last night's meeting. A huge yellow ribbon was wrapped around the tree near the building's front door. One of that business's employees, a reservist, was called to active duty, and the ribbon is in his honor. Before the meeting began, someone asked about my lapel ribbon and what it signified. When I explained, she said, "I want one!" And I'd brought a roll of ribbon. A pair of scissors was soon borrowed, and everyone there asked for and received a ribbon for their car and lapel.
The spelling bee was a bit strange. A big success, I think, but it's also a social event. Businesses have teams of employees who compete, and the judges are "real" judges; city, county, and otherwise. A good time was had by all. Here was the strange part -- a couple of folks asked about Soldier Boy, and I started to reply, but then they didn't wait for the answer. Had gotten maybe two words out, when they smiled and turned away. Well. Lesson learned, I guess. Some folks are only asking to be polite, and don't especially care one way or the other... in much the same way as one asks, "How are you?" And the correct response is, "Fine, and you?" You could have cancer, a mountain of debt, and be facing arrest, but the only suitable thing to say is "Fine." And be sure to smile.
Some people seem curiously unaffected by the war, or maybe they just aren't showing it, but I find myself irritated, perhaps unfairly so. I can't know what's in someone else's heart. But a couple of comments last night rubbed me the wrong way. Someone asked about Soldier Boy, and where he was, and what had been happening recently. I replied that his battalion had been involved yesterday in raids against the Taliban and al-Qaida. He replied, "Oh, good. So he's not on the front lines then? Not in Iraq?" And he seemed reassured, as if this made everything fine. Which... just... irritated me. I am terrified for our young men facing battle in Iraq, and I can only imagine what their families are facing. Well, truth be told, I CAN imagine it. No one seems to remember this, but Afghanistan is a war zone, and the enemy there has weapons, too. And one will bleed just as much when hit by bullets in any country. This fellow probably meant no harm, or maybe he was even trying to reassure me of my son's relative safety. I'm probably just over-sensitive, really. But, here comes that word again, I am easily irritated. If someone comes across as the least bit uncaring about our troops, it makes me want to slap and spit and hiss. And bite, I could probably bite. I have to remind myself that they most likely do not mean to come across that way, that they have their own worries and concerns, perhaps they even mean well.
Every member of the military I know... is worried and upset right now. Their families are, too. It doesn't matter if that person is stateside or deployed, if they have yet to enter basic training or if they're right in the thick of battle. We're all scared.
And I guess that's all I have to say about that. I'm going outside to feed the horses now. I expect they will have a sympathetic ear.
Uh-oh.
They might wind up with yellow ribbons in their manes.
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