Where I'm From

I am from painkillers

From Advil and Asprin

I am from the grass on our hill,

Wet, sharp; It slips under my feet.

I am from the tree outside my window.

The breeze in the summer,

which cools one faces,

on a scorching hot day.

I am from smart-assery and arguments,

from Colin and Thjis

I am from the witty bastards,

And the dumb fools.

From "Welcome Home,"

To "Good Morning, We've been robbed again."

I am from a squad of atheists,
Surrounded by an army of Christians.

I am from a small, miserably cold town,
Which I never even lived in.

I am from a line of settled people,
When I'm a traveler.

I'm from spicy food and churrascarias,
From the blood on our staircase,
the destroyed nerve in my fathers leg.

I am from the picutre books of my parents,
Filled with family faces,
And I'm from my father's computer files,
Just the four of us,
Happy as ever.

I'm from the branch
The branch that fell of the tree
The branch that stemmed.
I'm from the tree who's leaves

are far too distant,
But are always ever green.

That is where I'm from.

Japan Tsunami

Over the carnival break, word of a major disaster in Japan completely overwhelmed news stations worldwide. A 9.0 earthquake: 1000 times stronger than the one that hit Haiti, preceded a devastating tsunami which wiped out thousands of homes.

Refugees in copious amounts fled to nearby towns and cities in hopes to be taken in by the locals, and possibly housed and fed. The Japanese, adept in search and rescue after many years of practice, have already deployed teams from all over their nation to assist in the rescue efforts in the north. The Japanese- a proud people- have only asked for a specific amount of international help.

Everyone who is a part of the effort knows, however, that there will be many more bodies than survivors. With all the mud and debris it makes it very hard for their fastidious search dogs to differentiate the smell of a human and of a corpse. Bodies are being dug out under 1.5 meters worth of mud, so it is very unlikely that there will be many survivors.

And yet still the situation only gets worse; with power outages nationwide; refugees pouring in at all fronts; and now one of their nuclear power plants coolers decelerating and malfunctioning, all of this could lead to a very catastrophic second disaster. It's crucial that nuclear experts contain the radioactive fuel rods before the reactor melts down and explodes, a radioactive leakage could effect many people nationwide. With the roof blown off the reactors from explosions audible miles and miles away from the plant, the situation get's ever more worrying, especially since the many teams already attempting to grapple exactly what they need to do and nothing being done to help. This could turn out to be another Chernobyl.

Although help from Tokyo facilitates the recovery of the refugees, and capacious offices are being offered to roof many of them off, they will have many nights of fitful, worried sleep.

Lone Survivor

Marcus Luttrell is the "Lone Survivor" from Seal Team 10, he holds the memory of all his friends who died fighting along side him and trying to save his life. Being the "Lone Survivor" he has the hold all the weight of their deaths on his shoulders. He is the only one, he is the "Lone Survivor".

The memoir tells the story of Marcus Luttrell, and how his Navy SEAL training, Operation Redwing, and the death of his comrades changed his life forever. It is about how his determination, his will to live, and his faith in God and his country pushed him forward to survive against impossible odds. It speaks of how they were betrayed by the farmers they let live, soon a battle of four Navy SEALS vs over 150 Taliban insurgents began.

His vivid descriptions of the hardships he went through in training and in the fateful Operation make the reader feel like they are right there, in the heat of combat. Even things he only learned about later, like his rescue helicopter full of his closest friends being shot down he manages to capture his feelings about and get them down on text.

Although the book starts in New York, where Marcus is going on a tour around the country in an attempt to console his fallen team mates family members, it flashes back and then forward again. It goes backwards in time to the SEAL Training in Colorado, then to Operation RedWings, then back to his country-wide trip of the United States.

The book show's how Marcus was ultimately changed by these events in his life, how the training made him a stronger man both mentally and physically, how Red Wings turned his life upside down but strengthened his patriotism and determination to never give up. And how he feels that he can change the lives of the 16 families he visited over his state side tour.

Marcus Luttrell's "Lone Survivor" is by far the best military novel I have ever read, not only does it actively capture the intensity and the heat of the battle. He made you know and love every single one of the characters, and managed to portray how they fought to the death with extreme courage. Although he has very strong views against media, he never swings too far out to one side, making this story enjoyable for both liberals and conservatives alike, despite the disagreements over the war.
He makes it very clear that you can hate the war, hate all that it stands for, hate the president who started it, but he believes you have to pay respects to it's soldiers.


Lines we love:

"Any government that thinks war is somehow fair and subject to rules like a baseball game probably should not get into one. Because nothing’s fair in war, and occasionally the wrong people do get killed. " pg. 142

"You can’t negotiate with someone who is trying to cut your head off" pg 257