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 Greetings! You are reading an article from The Mudville Gazette. To reach the front page, with all the latest news and views, click the logo above or "main" below. Thanks for stopping by! January 24, 2005 SixBy GreyhawkThe Dance Somewhere in Germany this past weekend there was a father-daughter dance. My daughter went, with a friend and her dad, and will have something to remember: the Father-Daughter dance when dad was in Iraq. She was disappointed, I'm sure, that her dad wasn't there. But coming so soon after the Christmas with dad in Iraq and the Thanksgiving Dinner at the Club because dad was in Iraq it's just another one of those things. She is, of course, the only one of my kids who hasn't had a Birthday when dad was in Iraq. In the email yesterday I received pictures of the event. It was quite the formal occasion, and my youngest has become the lovely young lady - in my entirely unbiased assessment - in her gown and with her hair just so she is a heartbreaking beauty. With High School still a year away I still see the little girl I've always known. But she is a little lady now, of that I am sure. Here is what I know she didn't think or say about the dance with all her friends and their dads, regarding her lack of same: "It's not fair!" Such sentiments are banished forever at my house. By age four my kids know it's a pointless statement to make. Welcome to the world. By the way, it isn't fair. ****************** Representative Martin T. Meehan, (D, Ma) tasked his staff to draft a plan to withdraw the troops from Iraq, and they have delivered. Such a timetable, if adopted, would make it more urgent for a new Iraqi government to take over most security functions and also send a clear message that the overwhelming US presence -- now seen by many officials and military specialists as counterproductive -- will soon recede, according to the proposal by Meehan, who recently returned from a fact-finding mission to Iraq. That's wonderful. No longer will young American girls attend dances without their fathers. Regardless of the results of the Iraqi elections this weekend, no matter what form their new government may take, the Congressional Democrats of America will send them a strong message. "Don't count on us!" Of course, the report is likely not to see the light of day, Americans last November voted and, well, (D Ma) is unlikely to pull much weight. It does give the Boston Globe the opportunity to run this headline: House Report Proposes Troop Withdrawal Plan. It's a congressional report, you see. It has weight, it has gravitas. Certainly that's very important and very grown up. Let's wear pretty dresses and do our hair just so and sit at the grown up table and talk about exit strategy, shall we? Just like the grown-ups do. After all, the Mean Man in the White House got to dance with his daughters at the Coronation Ball, didn't he? It's not fair! This story also gives my lovely wife an opportunity to teach my children what pandering is. ****************** The London Sunday Times declares Shi’ite Muslim cleric Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the winner of the elections. THE Shi’ite Muslim cleric tipped to become prime minister after next Sunday’s election in Iraq has said it will be the duty of the new government to demand the withdrawal of American forces “as soon as possible”. I think, in spite of the rhetoric of both the cleric and the Times, that "as soon as possible" is a timetable we can all agree to. After that, In comments certain to raise eyebrows in the United States, al-Hakim spoke of a role for Iran and Syria — both regarded in Washington as enemies in the war on terror — along with Iraq’s other neighbours, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Kuwait, in the security of the country. That's quite a full dance card. I hope he's ready for a long night. ****************** And what of the people of Iraq? Where do they stand in all this? Apparently they have not yet voted, and The New York Times provides a shocker: Iraq Remains Sharply Split Over Election!!!!!! (Exclamation points added for effect!!!!!!) Hejaz Hazim, a computer engineer who could not find a job in computers and now cleans clothes, slammed his iron into a dress shirt the other day and let off a burst of steam about the coming election. Unlike their last election, which was unanimous, as the Times notes in it's final paragraph, There was one thing, though, that many Iraqis interviewed for this article, from all groups, agreed on: the novelty of free elections. Abdul Khadim Ali, a portrait painter, remembers the days of Mr. Hussein's elections and how there were not 111 spots on the ballot but 2: yes or no. The gist of the story is that Shiite Muslims, the victims of sanctioned violence for years under Saddam and "insurgent" attacks in the months since his fall, are going to the polls. Many Sunnis, on the other hand, (some of whom have been killing Shiites like it's going out of style for years now) will not. Because it's not safe. Because some Sunnis are killing Shiites. Are you still with me? Recall Ohio 2004, where Democrats were disenfranchised in Democratic precincts because, well, lines were long and the weather was just awful. And Florida 2000, where Democrats were disenfranchised in Democratic precincts because the ballots were just too complicated. Certainly residents of those States can sympathize with the Sunni districts of Iraq, where the violence is too great for elections to be fair. ****************** So what will happen? Who knows. Certainly I don't. It's sort of like getting ready for The Big Dance, isn't it? Who will dance? Who will not? Who will be asked? Who will be rejected? The stakes, of course, are a bit higher. But even as we speak, the band warms up, the players begin to get in tune... Posted by Greyhawk / January 24, 2005 8:37 PM | Permalink 8 Comments |
November 26, 2010America@war [Greyhawk]
I think anyone who's ever pondered the "comment" option - once only available on blogs and bulletin boards, now ubiquitous on almost any web site - will appreciate this:
The so-called faculty of writing is not so much a faculty of writing as it is a faculty of thinking. When a man says, "I have an idea but I can't express it"; that man hasn't an idea but merely a vague feeling. If a man has a feeling of that kind, and will sit down for a half an hour and persistently try to put into writing what he feels, the probabilities are at least 90 percent that he will either be able to record it, or else realize that he has no idea at all. In either case, he will do himself a benefit. That's wisdom from the past, captured for posterity at the US Naval Institute, shared via the web on the institute's 137th anniversary. From their about page:
"The Naval Institute has three core activities," among them, History and Preservation: The Naval Institute also has recently introduced Americans at War, a living history of Americans at war in their own words and from their own experiences. These 90-second vignettes convey powerful stories of inspiration, pride, and patriotism. Take a look at the collection, and you'll see it's not limited to accounts from those who served on ships at sea, members of the other branches are well-represented. I'm fortunate to have met USNI's Mary Ripley, she's responsible for the institute's oral history program (and she's the daughter of the late John Ripley, whose story is told here). She also deserves much credit for their blog. ("We're not the Navy nor any government agency. Blog and comment freely.") We met at a milblog conference - Mary knew (and I would come to realize) that milbloggers are the 21st-century version of exactly what the US Naval Institute is all about. Once that light bulb came on in my head, I mentioned a vague idea for a project to her - milblogs as the 21st century oral history that they are. "Put that in writing," she said (of course - see first paragraph above!) - and here's part of the result. Shortly after the first tent was pitched by the American military in Iraq a wire was connected to a computer therein, and the internet was available to a generation of Americans at war - many of whom had grown up online. From that point on, at any given moment, somewhere in Iraq a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine was at a keyboard sharing the events of his or her day with the folks back home. While most would simply fire off an email, others took advantage of the (then) relatively new online blogging platforms to post their thoughts and experiences for the entire world to see. The milblog was born - and from that moment to this stories detailing everything from the most mundane aspects of camp life to intense combat action (often described within hours of the event) have been available on the web... And et cetera - but since you're reading this on a milblog, you probably knew that. And you know that milblogs aren't just blogs written by troops at war, that many friends, family members, and supporters likewise documented their story of America at war online in near-real time, as those stories developed. The diversity in membership of that group is broad, the one thing we all have in common is the impulse to make sense of the seemingly senseless, and communicate the tale - for each of us that impulse was strong enough to overcome whatever barriers prevent the vast majority of people from doing the same. Everyone at some point has some vague idea they believe should be shared - we were the people who, from some combination of internal and external urging, found and spent those many half hours persistently trying to write it down. But where will all that be in another 137 years? Or five or ten, for that matter. That's something I've asked myself since at least 2004 - when I wrote this:
Membership in the ghost battalion has grown in the years since, and an ever growing majority of those abandoned-but-still-standing sites are vanishing. Have you checked out Lt Smash's site lately? How about Sgt Hook's? If you're a long-time milblog reader you know the first widely-read milblog from Operation Iraq Freedom and the first widely-read milblog from Afghanistan are both gone from the web. If you're a relative newcomer to this world you may never even have heard of them - or the dozens upon dozens of others who carried forth the standard they set down. If you have a vague notion that something should be done about that, (a notion I've heard expressed more than once...) then you and I and the good folks at the US Naval Institute are in agreement. Preserving the history documented by the milbloggers is just one of the goals of the milblog project, the once-vague idea that we're now making real. And it's a big idea, if I say so myself - too big to explain in one simple blog post, so stand by for more. Likewise, it's too big a task to be accomplished by just one person. So if you're a milblogger (and exactly what is a milblogger? is a topic for much further discussion on its own) I'm asking for your help. All I'll really need is just a little bit (maybe just one or two of those half hours...) of your time, and your willingness to tell the tale. We've already made history, it's time to save it. (More to follow...) Posted 4:02 PM | Permalink |
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The Mudville Gazette is the on-line voice of an American warrior and his wife who stands by him. They prefer to see peaceful change render force of arms unnecessary. Until that day they stand fast with those who struggle for freedom, strike for reason, and pray for a better tomorrow.
 
 
 Furthermore, I will occasionally use satire or parody herein. The bottom line: it's my house. I like having visitors to my house. I hope you are entertained. I fight for your right to free speech, and am thrilled when you exercise said rights here. Comments and e-mails are welcome, but all such communication is to be assumed to be 1)the original work of any who initiate said communication and 2)the property of the Mudville Gazette, with free use granted thereto for publication in electronic or written form. If you do NOT wish to have your message posted, write "CONFIDENTIAL" in the subject line of your email. Original content copyright © 2003 - 2011 by Greyhawk. Fair, not-for-profit use of said material by others is encouraged, as long as acknowledgement and credit is given, to include the url of the original source post. Other arrangements can be made as needed. Contact: greyhawk at mudvillegazette dot com  Tending Distant Far from hearth and home, watching What tales we'll tell When things grim Some distant sunset, vision fading Saluting fallen friends whose names - Greyhawk, Baghdad, December 2004 |
There were parts during that dance where I really missed you more than ever. Every time they said "Now all the fathers and daughters do this..." and I would sit there next to my friends and watch them all do this and then and I would just sit there and think of you and imagine that you were there.
I miss you.
I'll be home soon sweet pea, count on it. The pictures were awesome. I certainly wish I had been there. Did people dance? Ask mom what a horrible dancer I am.
There you go, trying to make me cry again!
I came home 3 times. Twice from (OEF) Afganistan, Once from Iraq (OIF). The last time was the last, Apr 2003. In that last absence the oldest had left the household and joined the Air Force. He's due for a rotation to "the sandbox" this fall. I'm reminded of it still each time we set the dinner table. So many things I had yet to teach him.... You can't get those ones back. I guess in every dad's life you should expect to lose some. All the time you really own is ..right..Now. Make 'em count!
Little Hawk who is not grey--Thank you for sharing your dad with our nation. His job is so
important and I know he would have liked to be with you. I am an old bird in NC and am so grateful to the families who continue with their lives while an important member is missing.
Thanks, Greyhawk. It's amazing how something as little as a phrase like "It's not fair!" can bring up childhood memories. As a daughter of a military dad, I can appreciate the sentiment.
And military spouses are amazing considering all they have to deal with and the fact that they do deal with it; my mom had to deal with six kids--tell Mrs. Greyhawk to be happy the two of you have so few. ;^)
What you have to know about Mahtty Meehan is that he was the 3rd most dissapointed man in the Democrat party on Nov 2nd behind John Edwards and John Kerry. All day on the 2nd while listening to the exit polls shwing his man as the 44th President, Mahhty was standing in the mirror saying things like "Martin P Meehan, US Senator", "Good Morning Senator Meehan", and "Hi I'm Senator Meehan".
Greyhawk, you have a wonderful family! My father was a career artillery officer. We, too, were stationed in Germany and my father served two long tours in Korea when I was growing up. We (3 sisters) shared the conviction that we served, too. We were so proud of our father and we believed we were his partners, sharing the duty with him, which made the sacrifices, if not fun, at least worth it. The credit for this goes to my mother, who was a rock. Hats off to Mrs. G.!