Writing is a catharsis for me. It has always been a place to that I run to for many reasons. Sometimes to fight for a cause. Sometimes to reason through a problem. Sometimes to rage. Sometimes to heal a place in my soul that a bandaid can't fix. Today, I write for all of the above.
I have posted many times about my military connection. This posting, once again, has ties to the military. It is a story about a young man, full of promise, bound by his love/hate relationship to his job, like many of us, and loved by his family, his friends, and his brothers in arms. So much of this story, I am not ready to tell, but I wanted people to know about this man, and how he lived his life.
Daniel (Jake) VanMeter was a soldier, a member of the Old Guard -The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment. They are a special regiment that, among other duties, serve as Tomb Sentinels at the Tomb of the Unknowns, or carry their brothers to their final resting place in the peaceful fields at Arlington. They serve in many other capacities protecting our freedom around the world. Jake was a soldier. Jake was a son, a father, a man.
On Monday, Jake was taken from this world. Maybe God needed him more right now. I know he has left boots that can't be filled. Having just returned from Iraq, where he was serving with the 172nd Infantry Regiment, he was currently stationed in Schweinfurt, Germany. He died in a fire in his off-post quarters. This man, with all of his special training, excellent health, strength, and agility, was overcome by smoke and did not survive, despite the valiant efforts of rescue workers. He left this world and moved on, as all good soldiers do, to his next mission. Jake loved his children, and others, more than life itself. I'm sure that he fought to the last moment to return to them. It was not to be. His next mission was already on the books. This fun loving soldier, with that mischievous twinkle in his eye, was gone, leaving behind devastation in his tracks. If we take nothing else from his passing, he would want us to take this lesson...Live life to the fullest. Forgive transgressions. In the big picture, they mean nothing. Tell those you love how you feel. You never know when that opportunity will be ripped from your grasp. Last, but not least, be someone you can be proud of. You don't have to be a superhero, but be able to look at yourself in the mirror and say "I am all that I can be!" Leave no regrets.
One final note- As we are about to enter daylight savings time, replace the batteries in your smoke alarms. If you don't have one, get one, NOW! Do it for Jake. Do it for those you love. Do it for those who love you. Life is tenuous and fragile, at best. Don't give up one second of it willingly! Fight until you can't fight anymore.
We will miss you, Jake. Know that you are loved and that we, who are left behind, will circle the wagons around those you loved. Rest peaceful in that holy place of honor your brothers are about to carry you to, knowing you were our superhero and the light still shines for you. Thank you for sharing your moments on earth, however brief, with us. God speed!

The Lesser of All Evils

Last night, I watched the debate between our two choices for the new President of the United States, and all I could think of is "Is this the best we could come up with?" It is not the first time during an election that I have thought that, but geeeeeeeee, do elections always have to be about choosing the lesser of all evils?
During the Vice Presidential debate, I really was watching to see if Joe Biden would suffer from foot-in-mouth disease, which evidently is a recurring illness for him, or if Sarah Palin would fall on her face, as everyone seemed to expect. What I came away with is "duh, boooooorrrrriiiiing!" Last night, I had hoped to see more. I wanted to get answers. I wanted lightning to strike. I wanted divine intervention to tell me who to vote for. Instead, I saw a song and dance show that couldn't be outdone by the Rockettes. Can anyone just answer a straight question?
When I was a child, I learned the rules of communication:
1: Be polite, even when it's hard.
2. Answer truthfully
3. Wait your turn to talk.
4. Don't talk with your mouth full (and I'm not specifying full of what!)
Last night, I saw 2 men who chose not to follow the rules that their own campaigns had agreed to. They wouldn't answer more than half of the questions put to them, but instead went back to some question asked 20 minutes prior because they finally thought of a good answer (in their own minds, anyway!)
I am tired of having to vote for the lesser of all evils. I want a man I can look up to and say "Yeah, that's the guy I voted for!" Instead, this election, I will vote, but I probably won't admit to who I voted for when I'm done because I'll be too embarrassed!
There are millions of people in the United States. Is this all we could come up with? Now, I will give to John McCain that he is a true hero. He served his country, suffered for years as a POW, and I'm sure suffers still the after-effects of that adventure. Unfortunately, he was involved, even if not charged, with a big scandal not all that long ago. He also wants to offer immigration immunity to everyone here and then start over. Didn't we already do that once? There are illegal aliens getting in-state tuition at the colleges I would love to be able to afford to send my children to. Unfortunately, they don't qualify for a La Raza scholarship. My daughter is serving her 4th year in the US Army as a medic to be able to go to school and my son went to work without the benefits of college.
Barack Obama comes out of my old hometown, Chicago. He seems to have made some friends there that my Mother would have told me "weren't the right kind of friends to be associated with." His preacher comes off as racist and one of his other friends served as toastmaster to the Weatherman, a group that bombed homes, businesses, and really anyplace else, under the auspices of "protest". Now, having grown up in Chicago under the leadership of "old man Daley" and his machine, and not "Jr.", in a time when more dead people voted than live registered voters, bad friends in that town can take on a whole new meaning.
So I say again, is this all we can come up with? I do understand that anyone in their right mind would be stupid to put themselves out there as fodder for the press and campaign machine pros, to be burned at the stake and destroyed. For crying out loud, they could make Mother Theresa look like an 18th and Central street walker! But really, isn't there someone who wants to be my "Mr. Smith goes to Washington" hero?
Now my plan, as naive as it might be, is to throw out anyone who has ever had any involvement with politics and put a whole new group of people in there. There would be no parties and no paid lobbyists. We could just start with a new crop of unbiased, untouched, idealistic people who just want to serve their country and solve the problems we are facing. Get rid of the big fancy healthcare plans, golden parachutes, limos, and fancy parties. Just send in intelligent people with no agenda and see what they could do, while having to live like one of us! How much worse can it be than to have to listen to Nancy Pelosi do one more press conference? (This coming from a registered Democrat!)
Well, I'm hre to say, I am going to register in the next election in the "show me a candidate I can vote for, and I'll go with you party!" I refuse to continue to vote for the lesser of all evils. Come on America! With all the millions of Americans, can't we offer up more than this?