April 6, 2003
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Ack!!! My favorite 'imbedded' reporter, David Bloom, with NBC/MSNBC died this morning! He was imbedded with the Army's 3rd Infantry Division. They are currently reporting that he died as a result of a pulmonary embolism.
I have been watching him from the beginning, with his clear, honest reporting from the 'front.' His youthful exuberance was refreshing. I will miss his reporting. He leaves behind three
daughters, including a pair of twin daughters, along with his wife. He was just 39-years-old & would have turned 40 next month (a Gemini, born on May 22). Blessings to his family.
April is an active and social month for you, Gemini. Expect an abundance of pleasurable interactions, as well as opportunities for travel. You are likely to have a chance to meet new people through the groups with which you are associated. Romance may also be on your agenda this month. Since a commitment could be discussed before the month is over, think seriously about what you're getting into. Sidestep other peoples' battles at the end of the month. Welcome a special visitor from the past.
How ironic.
Recently received in an email:
"A Deck of Cards"
A young soldier was in his bunkhouse all alone one Sunday morning over in Afghanistan. It was quiet that day, the guns and the mortars, and land mines for some reason hadn't made a noise.
The young soldier knew it was Sunday, the holiest day of the week. As he was sitting there, he got out an old deck of cards and laid them out across his bunk.
Just then an army sergeant came in and said, "Why aren't you with the rest of the platoon?"
The soldier replied, "I thought I would stay behind and spend some time with the Lord."
The sergeant said, "Looks like you're going to play cards."
The soldier said, "No sir, you see, since we are not allowed to have Bibles or other spiritual books in this country, I've decided to talk to the Lord by studying this deck of cards."
The sergeant asked in disbelief, "How will you do that?"
"You see the Ace, Sergeant, it reminds that there is only one God.
"The Two represents the two parts of the Bible, Old and New Testaments.
"The Three represents the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
"The Four stands for the Four Apostles: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
"The Five is for the five virgins that were ten but only five of them were glorified.
"The Six is for the six days it took God to create the Heavens and Earth.
"The Seven is for the day God rested after working the six days.
"The Eight is for the family of Noah and his wife, their three sons and their wives, in which God saved the eight people from the flood that destroyed the earth for the first time.
"The Nine is for the lepers that Jesus cleansed of leprosy. He cleansed ten but nine never thanked Him.
"The Ten represents the Ten Commandments that God handed down to Moses on tablets made of stone.
"The Jack is a reminder of Satan. One of God's first angels, but he got kicked out of heaven for his sly and wicked ways and is now the joker of eternal hell.
"The Queen stands for the Virgin Mary.
"The King stands for Jesus, for he is the King of all kings.
"When I count the dots on all the cards, I come up with 365 total, one for every day of the year.
"There are a total of 52 cards in a deck, each is a week, 52 weeks in a year.
"The four suits represents the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.
"Each suit has thirteen cards, there are exactly thirteen weeks in a quarter.
"So when I want to talk to God and thank Him, I just pull out this old deck of cards and they remind me of all that I have to be thankful for."
The sergeant just stood there and after a minute, with tears in his eyes and pain in his heart, he said, "Soldier, can I borrow that deck of cards?"
>-----Originator Unknown-----<
Please let this be a reminder and take time to pray for all of our soldiers who are being sent away, putting their lives on the line fighting for us.
Send this on so that we can have a multitude praying for our people and our country.
***************God Bless America!***************
And in another email:
When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire-building by George Bush. He answered by saying the following:
"Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have EVER asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return."
...... It became very quiet in the room
~~~~~The silence here says alot!
~~~~~
I tore my eyes & ears away from the war last evening (I usually do, when the programming is stuff worth watching
) to watch a movie with Julia Roberts & Campbell Scott. The title is "Dying Young," about a man in his 20s, battling leukemia & the ravages of chemo therapy.
The young man, Victor (Campbell Scott), hires Hillary (Julia Roberts), because she is pretty, young & rebellious. His father, extremely wealthy, travels alot, even during this time of his son's serious illness. This portrays the unfortunate truths of most wealthy families, so caught in their own lives that those of their children become a burden 'best avoided.'
Hillary goes with Victor for his chemo treatments. Returning from one, he becomes very ill & distraught, lashing out in his pain. Hillary asks what she can do for him & he tells her, "Nothing." He curls on the floor in his pain & she joins him there, placing her arms around his shoulders to comfort him.
She faces his illness poorly, at one point crying on the phone that she doesn't know how to help him & doesn't feel that she is able to give him the help he needs. She is packing her bags as she is on the phone, about to run away from a situation she feels unable to face, as she has in others. He has her bedroom door cracked open, listening to her end of the conversation & later apologizes for not having told her what the chemo treatments would do to him. He had several over the past 10 years. This honesty helps Hillary decide to stay.
In one very emotional moment, the young man, drained from chemo & the emotional turmoil of his lonely life, asks Julia if he could lay with her for the night (no sex). From that time on, their relationship changes from one of nursemaid & patient to one of companions & eventually lovers.
For a while, their relationship is one of ecstasy while he is in remission. When he learns the cancer has returned, he becomes deceptive, hiding that fact from Hillary, as well as that he is using drugs to ease his pain.
I don't believe this movie got a fair rating of only 2 stars by whatever system the DishNetwork uses. Both Scott & Roberts performed their roles with much enthusiasm, drawing in the audience.
Patricia Neal, as Hillary's mom, carries her role with poise & grace, as typical of her performances in everything I have seen her in. My mom idolized her as a strong woman; one who had recovered almost completely from a stroke she suffered many years ago. It amazes me that as of 1991, when this movie was made, Neal was still going strong; still with the appearance of a powerful woman without additional aging.
This movie is well written & performed. For one of the human factor of dealing with issues around a terminal illness in the prime of life, it is deserving of accolades that it apparently didn't receive. The only complaint I have of this movie is that when Roberts & Scott are in the most emotional scenes, his words are barely breathed out, unintelligible to someone with some hearing loss & other distracting noises around (in my case, the beeping from my son's room, where he's playing a video game, along with raindrops popping on my roof! I guess I should wear headphones the next time I watch it). Otherwise, a movie well worth seeing.
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