One day late..

I'll post here (one day late) what I posted on my fb page  yesterday:

Today when I thought of veteran's day, my memory slipped back to stories I heard about soldiers being spat upon as they returned from the Viet Nam war. I can't wrap my head around the fact that someone would do such a vile, senseless thing.

Calling them baby killers, throwing beer bottles and human waste at them. What kind of propaganda were the brain-washed people listening to back then? I was too young and fortunately I did not know of anybody who taunted the soldiers.

Soldiers were sent to war to do a job. Everyone of them paid a price for this service. Not one was left unscathed. Most of them saw and experienced things that we could only imagine in our worst nightmare.

Anguish

My grand nephew's face seems to depict the anguish I felt when I became overwhelmed with all the names on The Wall. To all those who have served, to all those who currently are serving - may we all find peace from the struggles.

Looking for Jan

She had been kneeling there a long time and I was drawn to her. I went over and asked her if she had found the name she was looking for. She shook her head no, silently.

She had the correct panel, she just could not locate the name. I have circled his name - it is at the bottom right of the panel she is searching. I helped her locate the name. She would only tell me he was a friend. I did not ask for more. She did not want to talk and I let her be.

http://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/37599/JAN-H-NELSON

Names

Over 58.000 names. My brother-in-law had a couple of names he wanted to search for. They give you a paper with the panel that the name is displayed on. There are two sides: East and West. His card would say W8, we would find the 8th panel. Then the name is number 124. There are dots on the side to count by tens. We counted down 120 and then you only have ten names in that section. The name you are looking for is number four into the section, but there are still so many it is easy to get lost in the sea of names.

We found the first one. My brother-in-law and I and his seven year old grandson. My brother-in-law told me the boy was 18 (the name we were searching for). He had to walk away and his grandson asked me where he was going. I said "It is very hard for him." My sister could not even come over. She said it took her husband a long time before he even talked about Viet Nam. She said that it was far too emotional for her to handle so she stayed back with the three year old grandson.

The above photo I made by taking a picture of the shiny granite display of three servicemen. It was facing the wall. I was able to capture the wall in the reflection and surprisingly - no people in the frame. The crowd had dwindled by this time.

Speaking to an organizer of the wall he said that an entire military group failed to show for the event. They were the ones who were supposed to guard the wall at night.

I have more pictures and more stories. These are too important to throw into one long post. I want to give each one a little bit of time and space here.

Thr Travelling Wall

Going here today.  Not to the real one, the traveling one.

It started yesterday. Sister 1944 wanted a sister to go with her to the genealogy picnic. I said "Sure". I wasn't doing anything. I got myself up and ready, made my calico beans and went. I don't know what has happened to me over the past few years but I have become a super-charged extrovert. This is a 180 from when I was growing up as a shy, bashful introvert. How does that happen? I have no idea.

Regardless, my medication (that I have taken for maybe a  year, now) has exacerbated the extrovertism. Ha, that isn't a word. But,you get the idea.

Gabapentin is the generic name. Here is a list of side effects.  I seriously think it would have been easier to print things that it "DOES NOT" do.

Hyperactivity. Oh, yeah. I got that one covered. It started about 11 o'clock. It did not stop until I was by myself in the car on the way home at 4:30. Sometimes I wonder if my brother-in-law just wants to tell me to shut the f@ck up. My sister laughs with me. I think he just tolerates us. (Seriously I think he really enjoys his wife laughing and having a good time. She is under a lot of stress right now). I certainly am the one to entertain.

I was the bingo caller at the picnic. When they said they were going to start the bingo game I automatically got up to call. Sister 1944 asked me how I knew I was going to be the caller, I just gave her my incredulous look. Like "Seriously? Who else would do it? Who else has this big of a mouth?"

We stopped on the way home to visit another sister and brother. The laughter did not stop. Sister 1944 was getting a headache from laughing so much. The movie "The Mask" with Jim Carey comes to mind. When he spins and says "Somebody stop me!"  That is truly what I feel like because I feel like I cannot stop myself. I am like a runaway train or a bouncing ping pong ball.

In the car by myself,  I do calm down a little bit. Not much, though. I crank the music and sing. Maybe I should begin to cut the caffeine intake. Sigh.

Anyway, sister 1944's husband was a marine in the Viet Nam war. They said they are coming to my neck of the woods today to visit with their grandson and if I wanted to go. I said "I'm not doing anything,  I'm in!"

We will go today and I will definitely be curbing my hyperactivity today. When I read that there would be clergy and counsel available I began a slow panic. Oh, no. I can't handle the crying. I am going to be bawling like a baby and I don't know one soul who passed away in the war. None that I can think of anyway. No cousins, either. Oh dear. The other side effect to the medicine:  Over-reacting too quickly, and too emotional. Oh, dear, dear, dear. I am done for. Focus, I  must focus. I need super glue for my mouth because I know I will be going up to people, hugging them and asking them to tell me all about their lost loved one.

I'm talking complete strangers, here. I have no fear. If somebody is freaked out by my actions, I read the environment, back-pedal and move on to the next victim..err, person.

The vocation of counseling does run in my family. I have three relatives in the therapy area. We seem to know what to say and when to listen. The drawback is we fall victim to the emotional vampires. People (co-workers) who unload all their problems and issues onto us. Then they feel better and we become depressed - zapped of our energy. They sucked the energy right out of us when they go on and on about their problems. How does a therapist do it?

Hold it High

I missed posting on the correct day, but I figured I could not pass up posting one of my poppy flowers and recite yet another section from In Flanders Fields.

Hold it high.

We lived...

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
   Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
         In Flanders fields.

In Flanders Fields.