Independence Day

All Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

I'm Wrong?

A few weeks ago some people told me I don't always have to be right.  I think I have been told this for many years, but never really listened until now.  

I think I never realized that I did this, that I always argue and tried to correct people.  I mean, I knew, but I didn't realize how much it hurt people.  My family seemed  to tolerate and even laugh, until it got to be too much, even for them.  

For a while there I felt such remorse and regret.  I watch Big Bang Theory and laugh at Sheldon, knowing that I am like him too in some ways.  But TV is not real life.  Real people have feelings.  

I finally thought to myself, "It isn't about being right, it's about being loving."  And I have to keep reminding myself of this.  Because it is so easy to act like I know everything.  I forget that sometimes people don't like that and they might feel hurt.  The last thing I ever wanted to do is hurt people's feelings.  Then I find out I have.  And it broke my heart.

So here I am telling the world that I have this problem.  I will probably always have this problem.  But as they say, knowledge is the first step.  Now I know, I can hopefully become more aware of it.  It is so easy for things to come out of my mouth before I think. I much prefer to write.  Too bad we can't edit our speaking.  

Wonder Woman

I have been waiting as long as I can remember for a Wonder Woman movie.  I was a huge fan of the Wonder Woman TV show as a child, and I even dressed as Wonder Woman one Halloween.  I wanted to be Wonder Woman.  I wanted to fly through the air and beat up the boys who made fun of me at school.  I wanted to be powerful like Wonder Woman, and not have these disabilities that made me have scary surgeries and painful treatments.

I saw this movie last week and I loved it.  It was so wonderfully made, and it represented well the power of women.  Finally, women have a hero for them, one that stands on her own, and not just a sidekick of a male superhero.  

I may have waited too long for this.  But it is better late than never, where I am on the cusp of finishing half of a century of life, I finally get my wish.  I get a beautiful superhero that can leap tall buildings, deflect speeding bullets, and wield a sword like a knight.  

FINALLY.

Father's Day

My dad admires Henry Ford so much that he has a room full of Ford memorabilia in his basement.  So even though this is not a Father's Day quote, this is something that I see in my dad.  For he strives not to get attention, but to see how his best looks.  

My dad is also a patriotic man.  I rarely see him cry, but as we were watching "Saving Private Ryan" the other day, he cried.  He always cries at the playing of "Taps" too.  He didn't get into the military because of his bad back, but he wanted to.  

Being a father and a husband are the most important things to him.  He has never been much of a demonstrative man, and he has always been a man of few words.  His words aren't cheap.  But he is a man of principle.  He lives by his conscience, whether it is popular or not.  He doesn't care what others think.  

He is the smartest man I know.  Smarts don't come from a degree.  It comes from using your brain.  And he has and always does.  

I have always admired him, and looked up to him.  He is a humble man, not one to toot his horn.  He doesn't brag, but has a quiet dignity that brings respect.  

I am so very thankful for my dad.  For his wisdom and foresight to provide for us, then, now, and in the future.  I am thankful for a dad I can trust to be honest and real.  What you see is what you get.

I have learned a lot from this man.  He taught me what matters.  He is not perfect, no person is.  But he is the person I needed.  He demonstrates his love and commitment through his actions, which speak much louder than words.

So I hope you have a very happy Father's Day, dad.  I love you.

See Something, Say Something

I saw this sign in the subways of NYC, where I went with my family a few weeks ago.  For some reason, it stuck with me.  Maybe I felt responsible as I was guiding my family through the mazes of the subway system.  Maybe it was because it was the day after flying into JFK and hearing this being said over the loudspeaker numerous times.  Nevertheless, it stuck with me.

Later that week my mom and I were in a Starbucks when I happened to see an unattended bag.  I remembered this sign and how in the airports they tell you to report an unattended bag.  I showed it to my mom and she pointed me to two police officers nearby.  I went to them and directed them to the bag, of which another unattended bag appeared.  I told my mom let's get out of here, envisioning a horrible explosion ready to take place. As we were at the door, five men walked by us,. two holding those same bags.  The police officers had asked if those bags belonged to anyone, but I don't know what happened between that and the men leaving.  They didn't look happy though, and so as not to appear non-PC, they looked mighty suspicious to me.

I don't really know what those men were doing there, or what was in their bags.  But I knew I was in a city that has suffered the worst attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor, and I wasn't going to take any chances.  

Sometimes I feel so helpless about the war on terror.  I want to do something but all I can think of is to pray.  Not that that isn't effectual.  But in WWII, every one participated in some way.  Everyone was involved in the war effort.  Now most of us aren't.  We go about our every day lives barely noticing anymore any attacks anywhere.  Even when Manchester was hit on Monday, I didn't see anything about it until later that evening, and it had happened earlier in the day.  Why so late?  Why was there no breaking news?  Have we become so apathetic and complacent that we don't even notice anymore?  

I think we can all do our part, we can all join in the war effort.  First thing to admit is that there is a war, a war between good and evil.  A war against those who practice extremist Islamic jihad.  If we can't call it what it is, we have already lost the battle.

We have to make a stand for what's right, and against evil.  Evil that throws homosexuals off of buildings, evil that straps bombs on children, evil that closes all schools except for madrassas.  Evil that takes away a woman's identity and makes her a slave, evil that destroys all works of art, and evil that eliminates any source of joy and peace.  

This is not what I signed up for as an American.  But just waiting for the government to fix it, or just depending on our armed forces to win it, is too much for them to bear.  I may not be able to do much, but I can

SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING.

Mother's Day

I owe all that I am and hope to be to my angel mother also.  I do also feel this way about God and my dad, but yesterday was Mother's Day, and I want to thank her for that.

Last night I watched a show about how a mother advocated for her daughter, and fought for her to get whatever she needed.  Sometimes the enemy is too big, and the mother has to step in to speak for their children.  And that is what a mother is supposed to do.

My mom spoke up for me with doctors, schools, and rude parents with ruder kids. People might not have liked her for it, but a mother does that when her child is suffering and needs her help.  A mother fights for her children.  And my mom did, and still does, even to this day.  

I am thankful my mom taught me to be strong myself.  There will always be people who don't like me for what ever reason, and who will not help me with what ever I may need.  Sometimes my family and I are on our own, against a world that doesn't want people like me around.  

True, there are some good people out there, and true, I am not an easy one to deal with.  But when it come to a child with a disability, a mother has to always be ready for a fight.  And a mother has to teach her child to advocate for themselves.  She also taught me to advocate for others, to be a voice for those who have none.

She taught me that life doesn't have to be the way it is.  We can fight for right.  We can fight for justice.  Sometimes we won't get it, but unless we try, we will never know.  

Thank you Mom, for all you have done for me.  I love you.

9-11 Museum and Memorial

My family and I finally made the journey to NYC, admonishing my father to not fall off any more tractors!  We did the usual Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Central Park, Rockefeller Square, and Times Square.  But the one place that moved me to take pictures and now to write, was the 9-11 Museum and Memorial.  Please note that I can't find info on the pictures I took, so I am going on memory.  I encourage every American to see this stirring museum themselves.  

This was the last pillar standing in the attacks.  The numbers are those who perished in each first responder departments.

                                    

These are the survivor's stairs, where hundreds of people were able to escape the towers.

 On the left is part of the TV and radio antennae from the towers.

On the right is an elevator motor from the towers.  

On the left is a marker that was made after the first WTC attack in 1993.  On the right is a set of many girders that melted and bent from the heat and the collapse.   

On the left is a window from a plane.  On the right is a fire truck that was at the scene. 

After the attacks, there were missing posters all over the city.  The right is a quote to remember those who lost their lives on this horrendous day.  "No day shall ever erase you from the memory of time,"  from Virgil. 

These are the memorial pools.  The towers fell on these very sites.  All the names of the victims engraved around the pools.  

My pictures do not do the museum justice, and these are just a few of the remnants found there.  I hope that as in the Holocaust, we will never forget.  This is my generation's Pearl Harbor, and we must never waiver from the duty to remember those who lost their lives on that fateful day.  And we must never forget.