The Realities of War

When I was a little girl, I read, "The Diary of Anne Frank" twice. When I read the book, I found that I had to re-read it because I just could not figure out how someone who had experienced so many terrible, horrible things could be so positive in the face of hate and horror. Even after I read it a second time, I found that I did not understand well. Years later, as an adult, each month, I receive an e-mail update from our little Cadet from West Point, John. Although he is at war, it is always uplifting and amazing to receive a positive email from him. The notes always put life in perspective. Especially, on the seventh anniversary of 9/11, this note was a positive and pleasant reminder that we all have much to be grateful for. Following is the September note:

Since my last correspondence nothing much has changed in the life of John. I am flying less, getting more sleep, and working out more. I like this formula! I finished last semester with a 4.0 and look forward to completing the first year of my masters course with similar results at the end of this semester. Michelle and I are still going strong. Time and time again we have to force ourselves to hang up or sign off with the other in order to pursue such trivial matters as sleeping, eating and using the bathroom. It blows my mind that after over 10 months apart we can still talk for hours and write for days. I praise the Lord because He has enabled us to grow together though we are physically apart.
I am in a mood of reflection today. Please, bear with me.
Many of you, particularly those of you who graduated high school circa 1999, might remember "the Sunscreen Song/Speech". Erroneously credited to Australian film director Baz Luhrmann, Mary Schmich's "Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young" was actually published in the Chicago Tribune as a column on June 1, 1997. In her introduction to the column, she described it as the commencement address she would give if she were asked to give one. The essay reads as follows:
Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of '97 Wear Sunscreen If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.
The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth, oh nevermind, you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now, how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked You are not as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about the future, or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.
The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scares you
Sing
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts, don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss
Don't waste your time on jealousy, sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind, the race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults, if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life, the most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't, maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't, Maybe you'll divorce at 40, Maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary What ever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's.
Enjoy your body, use it every way you can, don't be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it's the greatest instrument you'll ever own Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them. Do not read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings, they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on.
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard, Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you'll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, Maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it.
Advice is a form of nostalgia,
dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth. But trust me on the sunscreen Among all of the great words of wisdom dispensed by Ms. Schmich, on this day, one line in particular jumps out at me: "The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday".
Remember that day? Remember the day that there were no democrats or republicans just Americans? Remember the day when there was no black, white, or hispanic, just red white and blue? While I do not miss the circumstance that got us to that brief moment in history, I do miss the brief silver lining borne from the dark cloud of such a tragedy.
Never Forget
Most of us can't take the day off of work today. Most of us won't watch a television special. Most of us are not going to visit a memorial but it is still too easy to take one moment to remember a promise.
Reflect, but don't dwell.
Reflect back on the day that started it all. Where were you when "this" all began? I was in Major Basso's Economics class 45 miles north of New York City in a room full of other cadets who would eventually lead this nation's best into battle as Army officers.
Since that day 4,158/583 have lost their lives in Iraq and in Afghanistan respectively. While 13,513/1,561 of the wounded in Operation Iraqi Freedom and in Operation Enduring Freedom left each of those campaigns lesser men than they arrived. As a result of that day, many soldiers' lives have been reduced to statistics. Their lives, homes, and families changed forever.
What's changed in your life?
Are gas prices still a worry? Maybe it's hurricane season? Could it possibly be the economy? The elections perhaps? Regardless of your worries I encourage you to do due diligence to your dreams and to your health alike. On this day of reflection Ms. Schmich's articulate yet humble offering of prose must stir us to the cores of our beings. We must seek to take advantage of the life and the times and the loved ones and the limbs and the breath that has been stolen from so many so early. We must take the lessons of our past to achieve balance between hedonism and self-denial in order that we may enjoy every moment that God has given us without bankrupting the future that He may bless us with. So, for the victims of 9/11, the soldiers, their families and for yourself, keep your promise. Never Forget. Take care, really. And go out of your way for someone else today because at least 19,815 people have gone out of their way for you.
Be blessed. I love you all. Four more months… J