TIME TO GO

TIME TO GO

The tragic shooting of an American doctor and two other Americans in Afghanistan by an Afghan who was suppose to be protecting them is sad beyond belief. Who knows the motives of the shooter. A zealot who thinks that if he kills Americans, somehow he will gain status with God, the Taliban. Who the hell knows. The doc, a physician dedicated to helping the people of Afghanistan: training docs, women and children's health. 

I don't know him. We know only about him, I am sure that his memory will live on and some courageous person will take his place. 

I heard the statement read my his wife, incredibly inspiring and obviously trumpeting the voice of her husband. In heaven, there has to be a special place for Dr Jerry. God bless him and the work he was doing. God bless his family, all those people he loved and helped. What a loss for them! 

There is a sobering realization in the Doc's death. Do we want to continue to be present in Afghanistan. I don't think so. Dr Jerry and those who follow him are civilians and can make their own choices. However, I think it is time for the military to leave. We can't right Afghanistan. The Russians failed while being brutal. We have tried it by attempting to impose our brand of democracy. In some pockets, we may have made some progress but too many obstacles and this shooter sadly is a perfect and deadly example. There is only more to follow. Time to go. Will we? F..K No. What we know better than anything else is how to be stupid.  

BASEBALL

God is in his heavens, baseball is back and all is right with the world. There is something about baseball that is indescribable. My favorite baseball movie is "Bull Durham." Maybe partly because it calls to mind my home state. Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon fit. The movie is about the love of baseball, the strategy, the philosophy. 

Annie Savoy, Sarandon's character, spouts Walt Whitman. Whether he said it or not doesn't make any difference to me, I love it and believe it. She said, "Whitman once said, 'I see great things in baseball. It's our game, the American game. It will repair our losses and be a blessing.' "  All my favorite people in the world love baseball. Thank you Lord. Baseball is back. ⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾⚾

Afghanistan and Vietnam

When Vietnam fell and war weary "Mericans"  realized that all this money, time and more importantly, lives had been for nothing, they had "hard hearts." Then came the first Vietnamese refugees. Most of us were braced for more of the same. We definitely had "hard hearts." Then we saw those little Vietnamese kids file off those buses. Our hearts melted. Now, we are experiencing the same thing. Our hearts are melting watching Afghans vote. What an incredible display of democracy. When we have 40% voting in our own country, here are these people under threat of death, determined to vote. 

I have been ambivalent about our continuing role in Afghanistan. My thought has been, "if we stayed a hundred years, we couldn't make a difference." Now, I don't know. Maybe. They deserve a chance and if we are it, we have to do it. F..K.