Facing My New Decade - On National Women's Day - With New Thoughts, Concerns, and Joy - Open Memoir

 

As I completed reading my latest book, I found several revelations about myself... I have been picking up too much of the "DJT Syndrome" that many of us have been infected with during the last decade. How did I realize that? I had early on chosen my villain in this book simply because he was rich... I was wrong... My logical mind would not normally have consider this as a point of discrimination for individuals in my life--close or distant--but for the last decade there has been so much garbage assimilated that my thinking patterns have been affected. I must work to ensure that I take some major remedy to ensure I am cured...LOL Know what I mean???

When one man's actions can blind us to the joy of living, we must certainly not allow it to affect us. But, in my opinion, it takes more... We must make sure that we are immunized against future infections! Note how some of the garbage actions are entwined in that recommendation? If we, specifically, women (and men) do not act to rid our world of whatever group of, I am sure, white men who are attempting to move us back to a time when white men were seen as leaders of all things, we need to admit that we have allowed it... and, for some, actually gladly accepted it.

I am not one of those and don't intend to continue to change with still another birthday...

I recently found the abundance of songs by Josh Groban and love this one as well as others I've recently shared. However, I am learning, also, that there is a real meaning behind God's request to love our neighbors... and what that means in our daily lives... I don't think we can sit passively, anymore, as we have done for over 2000 years, and allow wars and violence against anybody else... Yes, it may continue, but if you believe and place your life in God's hands, then you need to also start allowing God into your brain!

Placing videos of Josh Grobin, a video about the Iran/Israel/Trump war, and calling for Christian Soldiers to be marching together does not necessarily mean something different. For instance, here's another song by the same group... SEND the Light!

Now let's look at the totality of the juxtaposition... carefully...

• God sent His Son over 2000 years ago.
• It was said that Jesus Christ was to die for All of Us.
• Jesus died on the cross, Rose Again, and Abides in all of us through the Holy Spirit.  With me so far? Because while I recognize that not everybody in the world has accepted Jesus as their Savior as Josh Grobin and I have, that does not negate the plan that God had made. Indeed, to ensure people KNOW what Jesus had done, we who come to know Him were asked to go across the world and tell of Him and His Love, that He died. And INTRODUCE HIM to those we meet...

• Note that Jesus spoke to a Samaritan to offer His living water--His Salvation... The Samaritan was a NEIGHBOR to whom He was to share God's Love.
• And, just as the Samaritan, it was ALL of us, just like the Samaritan who was, after learning of His Love, who were to share and tell of His Love! To All Neighbors!
• Instead, what did we do? The great monuments of gods/God which had existed from the beginning of time, were built. Crusaders were sent NOT telling of His Light, but Rather with a sword of violence, of force... You will become a follower of what we call Christianity--or Else... That continued even into the discovery of the Americas when indigenous peoples in these lands started to be forced to accept and attend schools taught by Christians...
• And for over 2000 years, people have continued to divided themselves into this church, or that synagogue, or this mosque, or that street ministry...on and on and on... Further dividing us up into racially centered churches, mandated national religions, or some such similar nonsense as was dreamed up by this man or that man.
• Until we have reached another step of forced division. Again... But, now, we have sophisticated tools of violence that can blow up buildings, with or without people in them...death is considered just a part of war as we have heard since the War on Iran was started... Another war that nobody wanted...  A war that nobody can really explain what it is about... or they attempt to manipulate what it is they are hoping to do without telling you!

Who did We--meaning any autocrat who has initiated war for power for thousands and thousands of years--think we were when we chose to divert from the teaching of Jesus to love our neighbors? Did we not understand that over 2000 years ago, God was once again sharing His Love as Our Creator? Surely wondering why some chose to ignore His wonderful gift of a Greater Love...

Was it out of ignorance that we chose not to listen when He told us to put aside rules and regulations outlined from ancient scrolls, of how to accept and EARN this gift of love that was already available to us as His Children? All we needed to do was Love as He Loves Us... Or was it that, even then, there were some, as Jesus pointed out of the Pharisees, that turned away from His Love to choose their own path, which ultimately led to death not only for the individual but for so many others? 

Or was it simply a matter of allowing our own will to take over, even that part of us where the Holy Spirit was abiding, waiting to talk to us... Had we, in ignorance, not really understood how the parables were meant to guide us as we fumbled through His teachings to guide our lives?

We have advanced in so many ways in this world... So many advances in science and medicine that we are living longer and longer... We have learned how to even go to other planets of our universe. But have we not advanced sufficiently to learn...to...share... to give freely of His love without us "demanding" obedience?

Let me add something that I just learned about this morning that affects all women. Uterine Fibroids are found in a high percentage of all women. 

Uterine fibroids are common growths of the uterus. They often appear during the years you're usually able to get pregnant and give birth. Uterine fibroids are not cancer, and they almost never turn into cancer. They aren't linked with a higher risk of other types of cancer in the uterus either. They're also called leiomyomas (lie-o-my-O-muhs) or myomas.

Fibroids vary in number and size. You can have a single fibroid or more than one. Some of these growths are too small to see with the eyes. Others can grow to the size of a grapefruit or larger. A fibroid that gets very big can distort the inside and the outside of the uterus. In extreme cases, some fibroids grow large enough to fill the pelvis or stomach area. They can make a person look pregnant.

Many people have uterine fibroids sometime during their lives. But you might not know you have them, because they often cause no symptoms. Your health care professional may just happen to find fibroids during a pelvic exam or pregnancy ultrasound.

As of now, doctors can identify it, but nothing can be done... This morning I learned that there will be requests for funding research into both the House and Senate... Did you know that women's health issues were not given priority until the 1990s... And, now with going backwards with the overthrow of Roe and loss of women's health support, plus the DEI mandate, reduction of medical support for things such as measles are now being ignored by our government, we MUST Act to save our people. God's People! Fighting violent wars over abortion should never be a global affair!

How can we worship somebody like movie or tv stars and follow them, encouraging children to enter contests to get money for recognition, when we have, as a nation, also placed the majority of His Children in Harm's way? Children are starving... Being bombed without explanation or reason... Made to appear as if war is just a game to be played

Right now, we are being taken backward. Some group somewhere across the world is wanting to remove all connections of His Creations from one side of the world to the other... They want to divide us by race again. They want to have women only be concerned with having children and meeting the needs of every man's desire... And they want to be Rich! With all the riches that are available across the world... claiming that whatever is "rich, beautiful, and desired" should be in the hands of only THOSE WHO ALREADY HAVE RICHES AND CAN USE IT FOR...STUFF... Yeah. That was purposely written with a bit of sarcasm...LOL

But the cruelest thing about wanting to be richer, is that every once in a while, a claim is made by some man that it is God's Will that they take up arms and destroy all those who are different from them, the Elite... Whoever they are... Perhaps they represent the world-wide secret Epstein Cult who use the name of Baal in their activities? I've refused to follow this trail I learned about because I know that the Great I Am is Greater than any false god or prophet, including those already owning and buying riches of gold, that can be worshipped and used for Stuff of destruction for others! 

But, folks, if we are indeed dealing with the supernatural aspect of power, it will never be overtaken by violence, guns, bombs of destruction. If we cannot replace that Hate that governed Iran for so many years, how do we expect to conquer it through the same type of destruction, murder of children and war after war after war... As Spock would quickly point out "That is Illogical..."

Who gets to "claim" the latest loss of children by bombs of war... How many years will it take to rebuild over $1B worth of daily destructive action that God's children Paid For

and which God's Children Are Dying From?

It has now been announced that it was a bomb from the US that killed all those children! Forgive us Lord; we are fighting to rid those guilty from our government!

Got your kool-aid ready?

Is Christian Nationalist just another Jonestown

THIS TIME WITH BOMBS 

DO YOUR RESEARCH!

Donald J. Trump is NOT God's Light of Love!

His Actions Speak For Him

Choose Endless Worry and Chaos

or Love and Joy

All it Requires is that You Allow God's Love to Flow Freely Through You

Are you willing to allow that to occur to save a child bombed today?

A student murdered by a gunshot today?

A woman to die or a student to die because of reduction of funds for proper medical care already in existence?

Are you able to give up your pride of always being a member of this political party or another and start seeing what devastation occurs through, for example, the implementation of JUST the ICE program now underway, and Say "No More!" And we all know that the majority of Americans have polled AGAINST that violent group...

(And I found this 30-year update of the Second Act!)Have You Chosen...JOY?!!!

Thank All of You for Spending My Birthday With Me!

Gabby!

Stand Together: A Collection of Poems and Short Stories for Ukraine - Seeking Support!!!! Spotlighting - The War That Was Not A War by A. L. Butcher

 The Stories and poetry are in a mix of US and UK English. The authors, editor, and cover designer have given their work and time for free to support those people fleeing war in Ukraine and its terrible consequences.

All royalties raised will go to humanitarian charities.

YOU GOT TO BE FREE!

The War That Was Not A War A.L. Butcher

Never forget those who fell, 

In a war which they said was not a war.

 

Never forget those who will fall,

 In the war which is not a war.

 Never defeated, never cowed,

 In the war which was not a war.

 Never broken, never afraid, 

In the war which was not a war.

 Never giving in to those who spilt blood, 

In the war which was not a war.

 A people stood, defiant, proud,

 Against the war which was not a war. 

The whisper became a cacophony, 

Against the war, 

for it was a war.

~~~

Months ago in a discussion with my best friend, I had identified my opinion of the "Who," the people who are involved, separately, in where we seemed to be heading... but believed they would not succeed.  I pinpointed Donald Trump of the United States, V. Putin of Russia, Netanyahu. Prime Minister of Israel, and Ali Hosseini Khamenei of Iran as fanatical dictators who would, if allowed, destroy the world as we know it. Other than perhaps Putin, all of these leaders were in some way attached to religion as a seeming partner in the desire for control, to ensure "their" way was the only way. I do not believe this as God's Plan. Yes, He gave His Son. But what has many of those who accepted Christ done with that? America, now has more murders than in other country in the world. America has had the first and only Insurrection in our Nation. America has more guns, my guess, than any other country in the world. 

Yet, Our Democracy is based upon Freedom. Freedom to be who you are. Freedom to love and be happy. Freedom to simply...Be... That's why, under Joe Biden, people are flocking to America. But Trump has stopped Congress from doing what is necessary to Implement Plans for Routine Management and control. Biden's plan was presented early in his administration... the republican party has prevented action... A new bi-partisan bill was presented within the last year and would have surely been accepted. Trump prevented it...

I applaud Stand Together! I will be reading the book and talking about it as time goes by... I pledge to keep it visible... I support Ukraine's freedom because it is a Democracy. I believe that His Second Coming will be when the entire world--earth--will be Free. Until then, we who Know Him, rejects violence of all kinds. We reject Men who want nothing more than their own power and use violence in any form to achieve that goal. God is Love; God is Truth! Seek Out the Truth in All Things... When somebody tells you that an invasion of Ukraine was not a war... It is a Lie. When somebody tells you that the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol was not an Insurrection. It is a Lie. To support Ukraine, is to support America... To support any peoples who are acted upon with violence, does not require total annihilation of a group of people. Violence begets Violence. Wars begin with hate. Wars begin with Lies. Wars Begin with Greed. War, What Is It Good For? Absolutely Nothing!

 

...To take each moment, and live each moment, in peace eternally, let there be peace on earth...and let it begin with me, you, writers, readers, whatever God's talent you have--artists, doctors, nurses, wives, mothers...all of us who God Created... We Are All God's Children! From America, From Ukraine, From Russia, From Israel, From Iran, From Brazil, Fram Argentina, From Mexico, From Canada...

And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 2:4).

Read Yeats? Somehow The Words Got Twisted in my Mind...for Today's World...

When You are Old

WHEN you are old and gray and full of sleep

And nodding by the fire, 

Sleeping homeless man set ablaze by 

three white men with shaved heads on a California beach

take down this book, And slowly read,

and dream of the soft look 

Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

Nashville police found a woman who was forced into prostitution and not allowed to eat for two days on Friday night, leading to a sex trafficking charge against a Nashville woman. Vice detectives arrested Fenshan Quan, 55, on a charge of felony sex trafficking.

How many loved your moments of glad grace, 

And loved your beauty with love false or true;

But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,

And loved the sorrows of your changing face.

Street Prostitutes

And bending down beside the glowing bars, 

Murmur, a little sadly, how love fled

And paced upon the mountains overhead,

And hid his face amid a crowd of stars. 

I was trying to find a picture of an old man in front of a fireplace, when the first picture above came up... old man + fire = a headline of a man being burned alive...

It seems I could not go on to celebrate the words of Yeats this time...

Instead it became the reality we all know is happening all over the world...

Many do not live long enough to become old...

May God forgive us...

Sorry, Yeats Fans - will do better another day...

Letty's Story - Could you Present Your Life in Fiction? Follow Leticia From Age of 5 Through Married Life...

It was nighttime and a little girl about five years old was sleeping peacefully in her bed, with gentle breezes from an open window caressing her smiling, angelic face. The night was warm, and all was quiet, giving way only to the chirping sounds of a tropical night, with myriads of birds and insects cavorting in their usual manner of mating.
The little girl lay in a deep, untroubled slumber, hugging a cherished old rag doll with a repaired tear in its head where the family dog had once tried to wrestle it from her arms. All seemed well on this quiet night on December 7, 1941, for an innocent little girl so unaware of the unstoppable events into which she would soon be plunged, sleeping away the last peace seconds of her young life...
Closer and closer the sounds came, growing ever louder and determined, causing the little girl in peaceful repose to begin tossing and turning in bed.
Suddenly, the constant droning sound gave way, mingling with many high-pitched whistles that began to scream as they got even louder.
The startled little girl abruptly awoke and almost immediately was forcefully thrown from her bed as if by a huge unseen malevolent hand that entered her life with a loud- thunderous crash, followed by another and another, each violently shaking her house as the cool blackness and soft melodies of a serene night suddenly gave way to a deafening cacophony of sounds, accompanied by bright flashes that lit up her small room as brightly as daytime.
She froze in terror being unable to move--casting a wide-eyed state out the open window fixated on the flashes now engulfing the homes of her neighbors and friends.
"My dolly, where's my dolly" she cried, frantically looking for the little cloth ragamuffin she loved. Finding the doll amid some debris now coming in through her window, she clutched the doll to her chest and began to cry.
The noises got still louder, the shaking of her house more violent making it impossible for her to stand, and amid her uncontrollable tears and sobbing, she pitifully cried, "Mama, make it stop! Please, Mama, make it stop! Stop it! Stop it! Please!"
But it didn't stop...

~~~

Letty's Story:

Hell to Heaven

By Leticia

Leticia has written her story in a fictional third-person format that makes it so much easier for readers to enter her world. For instance, Leticia is a beautiful woman, but with the story written as it is, Letty is just the main character and is described as any character would be. She is able to share her pain, inner turmoil and feelings in an open, more realistic fashion. Readers will learn that this is a true story, written under a pseudonym for protection of the real people involved...

I found the novel very believable, so much so that I had/have a question for the author. Why did she subjugate her own story under her husband's in the second half of the book? Perhaps as a single woman, this was much more apparent to me, but since we are about the same age, it immediately struck me that her life was lived much more traditionally than my own. While I was troubled that Letty did not continue her wonderful work as a nurse after marriage, or if she did, it was not covered, I realized that in the role she was then in, it was, perhaps, entirely appropriate... Still, readers should be aware that the second half, in my opinion, which, of course, is not an appropriate way to evaluate the book, is really the story of Letty's husband, Ron. While her husband led a extremely challenging life, I personally would have like to have seen the entire story from Letty's perspective. Perhaps since my life has never been merged into one, it does make a difference...LOL??? Still, for many professionally involved women who are leaders and innovators, this is pointed out for their benefit as well... And, it makes the third-person choice a brilliant alternative to a true biography.

Another thought that crosses my mind in thinking about the book is that the title is probably not the best choice. Leticia was never a Letty-type of person and you will quickly ascertain that. She's intelligent, ambitious, street-smart--a survivor, and a very determined woman of God...

She was just 5 when her home was bombed by the Japanese and her world changed completely. At first she was all alone as the building was struck and it was only later, after the bombing stopped, the planes left, that help came to rescue her from her room...

She had endured everything alone, hurt, until the loud sounds left, so that what she now heard was bells, sirens, and...never-ending screams! Innocently as she went looking for her lost doll, she found herself right in the midst of those that we walking the streets, looking for love ones, and more...

...as if awakened from a dreamlike state,
she said, "Where's my dolly?"
...She slipped out of auntie's house and started to walk home but was able to only walk slowly, partly because her legs hurt and partly because there was scattered debris and crumbled houses everywhere and that smell that now was mixed with smells of ask and charred wood.
There were many of her neighbors milling around, some of whom had their faced locked in blank expressionless stares and who just gently pushed her aside when she asked if they had seen her dolly, and still others who
were crying and either didn't answer her or became angry with her when she asked...
Then, she saw something shining through the haphazardly strewn boards and debris, the bright sun glittering in all directions off it...She moved the wood away and saw a beautiful golden bracelet on a woman's wrist that did not move. Somebody was in this large pile of wood! If she could get the woman out, maybe she would help her find her doll. Excited, she began to dig and move the debris, and then she grabbed the woman's hand--it was stiff and did not respond to her touch. She pulled harder, and suddenly the hand and bracelet were free, coming straight to the little girl and landing in her lap as she fell backward...The little girl screamed incessantly, panic-
stricken. There was no one attached to the hand! Her sobs were uncontrollable...
~~~

It was after it was announced that MacArthur was leaving Manila, that Leticia's story changed again...

First, the Japanese came and school became a place to learn the culture, and demands, of that country. Bartering was the only way to keep alive and Leticia quickly became adept at both making bargains and then, as she called it, "taxing" the Japanese for what food they were taking from the family... Soon, though, her father decided they needed to leave and go to their parents' farm. But then, Leticia was left alone and both parents had left to go back to the city.

The only thing that saved that time for Leticia was that she had discovered the desire and power in reading... As well as a grandmother who loved her...

There were family issues that kept coming up and Leticia found herself being shipped around to the homes of various relatives. She was able to pick up some knowledge of nursing, which was to lead to her future career...but, even that, had a tragic incident to overcome. She was only 11 when her aunt started sending her out to homes needing health assistance--the need was too great for just one person. But she was told to first visit a family with a very ill child. It had died while she tried to save it...and the parents knowing how hard she had tried, asked her to baptize the baby! Even then she was wise enough to know that it was more important that it be done than who was saying the words, so she repeated what she'd remembered from the one baptism she'd attended...

Leticia looked upward and raising her eyes to heaven said, "Please, God, forgive me for everything that I have ever done to displease you, and please allow me to help this little baby come to you without sin." Leticia then put her thumb in the water and with it, made the sign of the cross on the baby's forehead, saying at the same time, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. May God have mercy on your and receive you into His loving arms free of sin, amen."

Almost at the moment Leticia finished, a last breath was heard from the baby, its body went limp in her arms, and the tiny hands and arms that had so desperately clung to Leticia's white coat slowly fell away to dangle lifelessly toward the floor. The little baby was dead...

After she left the little cottage, Leticia began to walk faster and faster, and then she started to run, dropping her medical bag to run still faster. Eventually, she could run no more and just flopped down to sit on the roadside. With tears still streaming down her young face, she just sat there looking down in the dirt.

Then, she looked up into the sky, her eyes searching the clouds for the face of her God. Her own face slowly became contorted in anguish, her mouth hung wide open for many seconds without uttering a sound, and then letting out a long, pitiful cry of pain that came down from the very depths of her soul, she screamed, "Why-y-y" that seemed to hand onto the wind, echoing in the countryside forever.

~~~

Leticia pushed herself hard and finally made it through nursing school and quickly moved up until she was charge nurse...That's when Ron, her future husband entered her life... Her

reaction at that time was to call him an idiot... But he persevered and soon they were spending all of their time together, ultimately marrying. Ron's story becomes predominant at this point, with him going through years and years of schooling, each time completing everything successfully and gaining a professional reputation that was hard to match... But then his parents and his brother died from illnesses that he could not cure... What should have been many years of a successful practice and marriage changed into another world... When the stock exchange collapsed, the couple was faced with bankruptcy as others in the nation. It was clear that Ron was a brilliant man--Leticia was his greatest fan and supporter... The ideas came rapidly and continued...and some readers may benefit from some of this part of the story regarding "Money..."

Truly, this is an amazingly inspirational book that will touch individual readers in different ways, I am sure.  One thing that is undeniable was that this couple was totally committed to God, each other, and to having a loving successful life.

If you enjoy reading real life stories, biographies or memoirs, you should check this out right away... An unbelievable revelation of a woman who  tackled every obstacle that was thrown at her, and kept playing defense on behalf of her husband whenever he needed--and vice versa, as well! A truly romantic and heartwarming love story!

GABixlerReviews

Leticia is a registered nurse who was trained at Hahnemann, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Martland Medical Center, Newark, New Jersey. Her current residence is Missouri. She has been married for 44 years.

A Vision of Angels--A War Against Wars--Out July 3rd by Timothy Jay Smith Easily In My Top Ten for 2013!

"May War Rest in Peace"

"The chant grew until it echoed off the surrounding concrete buildings.

"Policement rushed the demonstrators, who fell back still changing.

"Peace NOW? Peace NOW? Peace NOW?

"A cop punched Mishe on the shoulder to hasten him into the back of the van, and he tripped, hitting his head on the edge of the metal bench. Blood ran into his eyes and down his cheek. Nina helped him up. "I'm okay," he said to her worried look.

"Fucking pigs," Dvir grumbled through his gag.

"Gershon rocked the van when he slumped on the bench. Peace NOW? Peace NOW? Peace NOW? The shouts grew louder.

"Eitan, the last to climb in said, "It's like a fucking police state."

"Now he gets it," Dvir joked through his gag.

Mari start weeping.

Roz said, "Don't be afraid, they can't hold us for long.

"I'm sad, not afraid."

"Shots rang out. They could hear panicked screams, and moments later burning clouds of tear gas drifted over the van...

..."The door slammed and the driver pulled into the street. The square retreated through the van's tiny back window. White smoke rose in the blue sky as frightened demonstrators fled in every direction.

"Roz inspected her glum companions. "Lift your eyes with hope," she said.

"Yeah, I feel real hopeful," said Eitan.

"Life your eyes with hope..." Roz tried again, that time with a lilt.

"Nina was the first to recognize The Song of Peace. "Not through the rifle sights," she said, reciting the next line.

"Roz sang the first verse alone...

~~~

Powerful     Compelling     Inspired     Inspiring     Dynamic     Eyeopener     Riveting     Revealing

A Vision of Angels     

By Timothy Jay Smith

This novel, which won the Paris Prize for Fiction is one of the most memorable books I will ever read... I cannot think of sufficient adjectives for it, but the above are a beginning...If you have not already seen my blog entry from Sunday, please consider my "prelude" to learning more about this fantastic novel...

Before this novel, the reality and proximity of the people living within the location above had not made a "big enough" impression on me. But when you read individual scenes in a new story, one of the main things you do is begin to know your characters. Smith has done that routinely. However, when you realize that each scene takes you into a family who is either Jewish, Muslim or Christian, it makes an additional factor in your learning curve--at least it did for me. In fact, I wondered whether the author did it for impact--you just must pay attention to this book!

Was I reading about a Jewish child, a Muslim soldier, a Jewish military leader, or was he both a Christian who was now living in a Muslim family environment through marriage trying to learn Muslim ways?

"The scene was all too familiar to David. Somalia,
Bosnia, Congo, Iraz, Afghanistan. He'd covered their
wars--wars all nourished by ancient carnage.
Unexpectedly war had become the story he was
destined to tell. Mogadishu had been his first story--
the shittiest assignment given to the cub reporter--
where he discovered the broken humanity that the
war had swept over. Children lost to their mothers.
Farmers lost to their land and families to their
livelihoods. The young men forced to fight and the
girls forced into prostitution. David had been telling
war stories ever since, not afraid to explore what
others were unwilling to find behind the front lines--
though he'd been there enough times too. Wars
only stopped when they became too personal and
David had decided to personalize each one. He
prowled hooker allegs, drug dens and black markets
using his reporter's camera to capture the images
that would wake up the world to each war's own
misery; not its carnage--that was ancient news--
but its toll on people taking detours to survive.
When it got back to headquarters that he had been
prowling Kabul at night masquerading as an
Afghani deaf mute, his editor ordered him home
and David balked. He had his own war to fight:
the war against wars, and he decided to cover the
one that had spawned so many others. The war
for the Holy Land. A war so old that it had lost
its human face. David had decided to give it one!
~~~

I loved the main character (if there was one), David Kessler, an American Journalist--but so much more...

He had decided to go freelance and was spending more time as a photographer, perhaps hoping to catch that vision of angels amid hatred, terror, killing...and people just trying to live...

Especially in Gaza, where there was barely any food...

Kessler did indeed  catch the angels--it was a picture of a soldier walking away after shooting a young boy, whose mother immediately ran to hold him--as well as another soldier and a Peace Now member who was reaching, trying to save the boy...

The picture made world-wide news...but...

The mother was not permitted to go to the hospital to be with her son...
The boy died without having his mother there...
The soldier and student carried him to the hospital, but could not stay, of course...
And a bomb had gone off in a bus, flames engulfing its unlucky passengers...

This is...living...in this forever-fighting zone...

Kessler had chosen to have his own war against wars and he was staying in the Holy Land area to do it! He was right there "clicking" when that perfect example had occurred. A mother now with empty arms, her child being carried by strangers after another strange had shot him...

But others also were nearby that day the bomb exploded. The young student who had tried to reach the boy--who was a member of Peace Now--was also the son of Major Jakov Levy...

And it was the order of Major Levy that, in its own way, led to everything that happened after that, including the death of his daughter and his son in jail... Would he had made the same decisions if he had known?

And did he know that his Muslim counterpart thought of him, praying, placing a candle in the window, even though the peace vigil had not happened...

Of course, the bomb had been placed by a young man, so I took the time to read a little about those 72 virgins that are always promised... Even after I read a little, I still didn't get it...LOL...but it did remind me of something that was discussed in this book...

http://wikiislam.net/wiki/72_Virgins...
"Where are the boys?"
"Sharif's asleep and Papa's giving Azziz a history lesson in the kitchen." Nadia applied ointment to his wound.
"A history lesson?"
"Azziz's teacher told his class that Muslims, Jews and Christians all believe in the same God because all three religions were founded by Ibrahim." Nadia finished taping a square patch of gauze to his foot.
"He's very confused."
"And your father is explaining it to him? That should really confuse him..."
"Issa slipped on a pair of thongs and limped after his wife, entering the kitchen as Azzedine was saying, "... the grandfather of all of the prophets."
"The boy jumped up and threw his arms around his father's waist. "Baba?" he cried.
"Issa patted his back while sniffing the air. It smells good in here...
"...Baba?..."Uh huh?"
"Today at school my teacher said that Muslims and Jews and Christians all believe in the same god, and grandfather says it's true. Is that true, Baba?
"In a way. Muslims, Jews and Christians all believe in one God."
"Then why not make only one religion?"
"You didn't explain that?" Issa queried the old man.
"I saved it for you."
"Issa considered his answer. "That's complicated. I suppose the best way to explain it is that we hear Him say different things."
"He doesn't say the same thing to everybody?"
"He does, but He uses different messengers, and different people interpret the messages differently..."
"My teacher says we're related to the Jews," Azziz persisted.
"It's true. We're very distant cousins.
"Don't confuse the boy," Azzedine said, "or he'll start believing that we're Jewish."
"Are we?" Azziz asked, intrigued.
"No, we are not Jewish," Nadia said. "Now eat your supper."
"The boy ate half-heartedly while pondering another question. "If we are all cousins, and we all believe in the same god, then why does it matter if you are a Christian and grandfather is a Muslim."
"It doesn't matter," replied Azzedine while directing his gaze at Izza. "The important thing is to respect Allah's--or God's--will..."
"By each invoking the other's word for God, they had begun to bridge the divide between them, and fell silent..."
~~~

Now you who routinely read me know that I'm not going to let that pass...LOL So my question to my readers is simply? What if God said different things to different messengers in order to see if we were able to act with reason and accept the differences, while working together for the good of all mankind? 

If so, all the wars have proven that we can't! How do you explain to the children living in our world that the grownups they are supposed to learn from cannot even effectively communicate with each other?

 There is so much in this drama--so many people who are affected by the actions of those in power to make decisions. For instance, Jakov Levy had agreed to give passes for a local farmer so that he could take his tomatoes to market exactly when ready. Because of the bomb, Levy reneged and the farmer lost his entire crop--while at the same time, giving all of the tomatoes to those in Gaza who had no food. But for that farmer, he committed suicide since he'd lost everything.

But that farmer, before he died, agreed to a plan to help smuggle a bomb through, ready for the next attack that was to happen...

Each action, each decision made, led to another... And Kessler, wanting to fight a war against wars, got caught right in the middle!

It was the countdown of days until Easter--Maundy Thursday...Good Friday...Easter... and...also Passover...

"Peace Now" had tried to have a peace vigil...The government denied it...Jailed the students... and the inevitable began

"Lift your eyes with hope

Not through the rifle sights

Sing a song for love

And not for wars..."

I challenge you - Read this Book... Not for me, but for our children...

GABixlerReviews

Timothy Smith Lived in Jerusalem for two and a half years during the roll-out of the post-Oslo peace process, assisting Palestinian businesses regain market access.

Raised crisscrossing America pulling a small green trailer behind the family car, Timothy Jay Smith developed a ceaseless wanderlust that has taken him around the world many times. En route, he’s found the characters that people his work. Polish cops and Greek fishermen, mercenaries and arms dealers, child prostitutes and wannabe terrorists, Indian Chiefs and Indian tailors: he’s hung with them all in an unparalleled international career that’s seen him smuggle banned plays from behind the Iron Curtain, maneuver through war zones and Occupied Territories, represent the U.S. at the highest levels of foreign governments, and stowaway aboard a ‘devil’s barge’ for a three-days crossing from Cape Verde that landed him in an African jail.

If life were a sport, Tim’s life would qualify as an extreme one, yet he’s managed most of it by working with people in personal, even intimate, settings. His professional life took him from the White House corridors to America’s harshest neighborhoods, from palace dinners to slum pickings, and these experiences explain the unique breadth and sensibility of his work.

Tim brings the same energy to his writing that he brought to a distinguished career, and as a result, he’s won top honors for his screenplays, stageplays and novels in numerous prestigious competitions; among them, contests sponsored by the American Screenwriters Association, WriteMovies, Houston WorldFest, Rhode Island International Film Festival, and the Hollywood Screenwriting Institute. He won the 2008 Paris Prize for Fiction and his first stageplay, which went on to a successful NYC production, won the very prestigious Stanley Drama Award.