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Svarog
Honorable
Supreme Hero
statue-loving necrophiliac
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posted January 18, 2005 03:52 AM |
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Executioner and Man
“Guilty.” – says the jury and sends Man in his cell, his last home before he leaves the world. Man wasn’t guilty. Man was found guilty.
Speaking of finding, if you want to find something, the first thing you need to do is to start looking for it. What are the chances that you’d find something, once you’ve lost it? It could be practically anywhere. For good or worse, God knows we can’t find it, so he gave us another option – just pull a trick and pretend we found it. After all, it’s not important if we have really found it or not; it’s important that the trick works.
Man sits alone with the time and stares at the clock. There is not much of it left. Charon awaits him. Man is terrified of his meeting with the boatman. He needs a coin, or his soul will stay forever to wander this wretched world. Man dreads this possibility. If his soul doesn’t join the ancestors, all is lost. The crime, of which they accuse him, was done in the name of the ancestors. He cant risk not having a coin on that moment of destiny, on the banks of the Styx. All his hopes lay in the hands of his loved ones after they retrieve the body from the morgue.
Meanwhile, Executioner also sits alone with the time and stares at the clock. There is not much time left. Work awaits him. Executioner is indifferent to the tedious working day in front of him. Seven executions for today, slightly less than the usual. The company that hired him expects good results, and if he’s to stay up to the proffessional level that is required of him, he needs to follow his duties and show some more enthusiasm in the work. There’s a lot of competition for his workplace lately, and in order to keep it, he needs to be the best Executioner as he can be – ruthless, stiff and monstrously cold-blooded. Executioner puts on the cowl-shaped black mask with holes just around the eyes. His face mustnt be seen. The face, they say, is the playgroound for emotions. They all must be hidden behind the thick cloth of blackness. The shame in front of God needs to be hidden. Maybe it will wear off if he wears that mask. Maybe God wont recognize his true face behind the mask. As if the mask was the one doing his job, not him. Still, Executioner feels protected behind the odd cloth, which is supposed to absorb the sins and not let them reach his soul. If not God, at least the crowd watching the blood, wont know who is behind the mask. It will be a secret only he and God will share.
It is time. Man climbs up the stairs to the place. Below is the crowd, some protesting, others shouting euphorically and eagerly waiting for the moment. Executioner approaches Man. Executioner proffessionally lays Man’s body on the bench, and carefully places his head in the specifally determined location, newest design developed in the long tradition of experience and effectiveness in the field. Man shakes from fear in expectation of the final meeting with the gloomy boatman. Executioner recieves his axe from the blacksmith, as sharp as dragon’s teeth, and comes closer to the shaking body.
“Any last wish?” – he asks man.
“Would it be too much to know the true name of the man who takes away my life?” – says Man.
Executioner doesn’t want to reveal his identity in public. That is why he wears the mask. He raises both hands holding the razor axe, but changes his mind. He leans near Man’s ear and whispers:
“It’s Charon. Charon is my name.”
Few moments later, Man’s head rolls down on the ground, eyes glittering with tears.
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The meek shall inherit the earth, but NOT its mineral rights.
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Khayman
Promising
Famous Hero
Underachiever
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posted January 18, 2005 06:27 AM |
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(see above)
Svarog,
Did you write that yourself? That was great.
My thoughts: In today's world, somebody must be the Executioner. The 'dirty work' of the jury that convicts the Man needs to be carried out. It is necessary, it is inevitable, and it is evolution. However, as I wrote in my post...Someway, someday, and somehow, the Executioner's time shall also come, and he too will face judgment. Will the authorization and consent of the jury in the living world be enough to relieve him of his inevitable guilty verdict?
~ K
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"You must gather your party before venturing forth."
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Defreni
Promising
Famous Hero
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posted January 18, 2005 04:56 PM |
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Quote:
My thoughts: In today's world, somebody must be the Executioner. The 'dirty work' of the jury that convicts the Man needs to be carried out. It is necessary, it is inevitable, and it is evolution. However, as I wrote in my post...Someway, someday, and somehow, the Executioner's time shall also come, and he too will face judgment. Will the authorization and consent of the jury in the living world be enough to relieve him of his inevitable guilty verdict?
~ K
Wow Khayman, that is indeed scary, if you truly believe that it is necessary in a "Natural law" kind off way.
Nothing in human society is inevitable, it is a matter of choise. There is no "Natural law" for the way power is distributed through any given society.
Regards
Defreni
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Peacemaker
Honorable
Supreme Hero
Peacemaker = double entendre
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posted January 18, 2005 05:38 PM |
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Khayman's not talking to me. Could he be miffed? We used to be such good buddies...
Svarog that was really beautiful. I will be curious to hear if you wrote it. It is deserving of a qp IMHO.
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Consis
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Of Ruby
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posted January 18, 2005 06:15 PM |
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Yes.....But.....
It is a good post/work of prophetic fiction. This is, however, clearly not written by Svarog. If you compare (as I did) it to any of his previous writing styles you may conclude there to be distinct differences in paragraph format, vocabulary usage, punctuation, and thesis delivery.
But this is not to say he shouldn't receive a Qp for it. Many other Qp's have been given to people for simply linking/copy/pasting inspiring articles to this forum. Perhaps the credit is sometimes given to the person responsible for sharing such inspiration with the rest of us. That is to say, had he not posted it for us to read, would we have found it ourselves? I know I would not have read this piece, known it to exist, or have been motivated to look for it had Svarog not posted it here.
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Roses Are Red And So Am I
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Svarog
Honorable
Supreme Hero
statue-loving necrophiliac
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posted January 19, 2005 01:49 AM |
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Yes, its my work. Nothing compliments it more than the disbelief that I wrote it. Thanx. (although that doesnt compliment me much, i see  )
The alegorical story was originally meant to be a reply to khayman, but I decided to expand it a bit and touch elements of the bigger picture. Some mythical sybolism in there, but I'm pretty sure those of you who should get it, will get it.
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The meek shall inherit the earth, but NOT its mineral rights.
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Consis
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Of Ruby
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posted January 19, 2005 06:51 AM |
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Edited By: Consis on 19 Jan 2005
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Strongly Disagree
Quote:
Yes, its my work.
I refuse to degrade your person even though you seem to beg for it. I will, however, emphatically and categorically disagree. Not only do I think it isn't your style of writing but I would go even further as to suggest that the story wasn't even your idea. Svarog you have talent, skill, panache, pizazz, and posess an air of invincibility about you but this is not your work. To admit otherwise would only serve to place unwanted expectations on you from readers.
I have no reputation or credentials with which to base this conclusion on therefore it is clearly only my opinion.
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Roses Are RedAnd So Am I
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Peacemaker
Honorable
Supreme Hero
Peacemaker = double entendre
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posted January 19, 2005 05:34 PM |
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Shame on you Consis
-for doubting the word of a fellow Hero. I suspected it was Svarog's all along. While the style may be different than you are accustomed to, there are two reasons not to doubt that it is in fact a work by Svarog.
First, anytime there are consistent misspellings in any post you can pretty much assume that the work is original and not cut-and-paste. For instance, Svarog spells the word "proffessional" thus twice, adding an extra "f". Seems like I've seen him do that before even. Certain misspellings by certain people at times become somewhat of a signature, you know.
Second, unusual style aside, the substance is clearly consistent with Svarog's entire spiritual stance from the totality of his posts.
Consis, you yourself have more than one writing style. When writing poetry you have a style that is unique and separate from your normal posting style. As a lawyer, my professional writing style is dry and totally uninteresting when compared to my illicit prose. One would never suspect two such of my works, when placed side by side, would have come from the same person.
Anyone who develops their writing capabilities in more than one genre, particularly those as talented as yourself and Svarog, are likely to develop distinct styles for each genre of writing. And when a talent becomes inspired by an idea and runs with it, there's no telling where the inspiration may take the style of any given work.
Consis, my friend, I respectfully suggest that you are mistaken in your challenge of Svarog's claim.
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Svarog
Honorable
Supreme Hero
statue-loving necrophiliac
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posted January 20, 2005 03:12 AM |
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LOL. Fine, Consis, have it your way.
As if the rushed accusation wasnt enough, you accuse me of lying also. Private suspection is one thing, bringing wishful unfounded judgements and taking them out in the public is another. You'd accuse ur wife of cheating on you based solely on your infaliable wild hunch, wouldnt u.
I wont bother with you anymore. Think as you will.
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The meek shall inherit the earth, but NOT its mineral rights.
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Khayman
Promising
Famous Hero
Underachiever
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posted January 21, 2005 03:23 AM |
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Current Location...Reality
Defreni wrote:Quote:
Wow Khayman, that is indeed scary, if you truly believe that it is necessary in a "Natural law" kind off way.
Nothing in human society is inevitable, it is a matter of choise. There is no "Natural law" for the way power is distributed through any given society.
Defreni, my eFriend, I must respectfully disagree with you when you state that "nothing in human society is inevitable, it is a matter of choise." I disagree because there are countless things in human society that are not a matter of choice. For example, does a child born without the use of her eyes choose whether or not she can see? Do we choose what echelon of society we inhabit in our earliest years? Can we choose what we want to become later in our lives without the ways-and-means necessary to pursue our dreams? The fact of the matter is, there are some areas in which we create our own destiny, while there are others where our choices are limited (or perhaps even non-existent). Regardless, any choice that we make involves a consequence, both good and bad. So in some ways, we can create our own destiny, but we cannot change the original hand that we were inevitably dealt.
I do agree that there is no "Natural Law" for the way power is distributed in society, but there is already a system that is in place that is very solid and extremely resistant to change. You said that my viewpoint is "scary"...and rightfully so...because REALITY IS VERY SCARY. Sitting behind my keyboard in my warm home with a nice cup of coffee is very comforting to me, and gives me a feeling of power, control, and even a strange contentness...but I understand that I am one of the fortunate ones. You and I may have our own little haven or personal Utopia, but for every one of us that experiences this contentness, there are countless others who would die for what we have. Of course, deep down, I believe that everyone would love to exist in a Utopian society; however, I am not foolish enough to believe that type of society will be achieved in my lifetime (nor in many generations to come). I honestly believe that the human race will never achieve world peace and harmony. IMHO, unless Communism is adopted as the world's choice of government, humans will never experience world peace. (Just for the record, even if Communism is adopted and accepted by the people, there will still be a hierarchy and a need for leadership...so the struggle for power will be continuous.) I just feel that people will always have needs that must be met, which means that they will take the necessary actions to secure whatever resource it is that they desire...whether that resource be be food, shelter, clothing, wealth, power, and yes, even the need for love and affection. Humans can be peaceful, loving creatures given the right opportunity and environment; however, there are too many self-serving, greedy individuals existing in our world to allow peace to flourish...and those people will continue to reproduce just as quickly as the satisfied, peace loving ones. As always, those are just my humble thoughts and opinions...
Peacemake wrote:Quote:
Khayman's not talking to me. Could he be miffed? We used to be such good buddies...
Jo, how could I ever be miffed at a woman who can put down a bottle of wine all by herself (in less that an hour) and still manage to be able to read the dessert menu? 
My apologies. I was just so focused on the topic at hand that I went right into my response mode and skipped over your post. Let's do lunch again when I come back out to Boulder in May. I would say that "I'll bring the wine," but taking into consideration your tolerance level, I am not sure it is legal to transport that much alcohol.
I will try to keep in better touch with you, as I continue to try to keep in touch with reality.
EDIT: Too many misspellings, grammatical errors, and yes, way too much coffee. 
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"You must gather your party before venturing forth."
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Peacemaker
Honorable
Supreme Hero
Peacemaker = double entendre
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posted January 21, 2005 05:34 PM |
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To Khayman --
ROFL
Hey there, Khay! You're coming again in May? Is it for the same race?
Can't wait -- keep me posted.
Sorry to the rest for our off-topic digression.
Back on topic:
Iraqi elections in nine days. I for one am sitting on pins and needles waiting to see what happens next. I suspect there to be quite a few blotchs of violence at the polling places, and a low Sunni turnout.
What's that phrase -- "self-defeating prophecy?" I find it ironic that the Sunni leadership is calling for a boycott of the elections when the very thing that drives the boycott (and the insurgency to begin with) is their fear of being under-represented in the new government.
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I have menopause and a handgun. Any questions?
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Svarog
Honorable
Supreme Hero
statue-loving necrophiliac
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posted January 30, 2005 03:40 AM |
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Iraqi elections tomorrow! 
Arent you just wet from the excitement? Poor people the Iraqis. Election turnout is indeed of much importance, but i'm afraid the security conditions dont allow it to happen. If I was an Iraqi, I wouldnt go out to vote. It's easy to sit in a nice American armchair and speak of the bravery Iraqis should show tomorrow, but if you lived there, when every day the terrorists kill several soldiers and civilians with the likeliness tomorrow that number to reach hundreds, I dont think you'd be as excited about the voting as Bush was. Would you tell your wife to vote, if you knew there's a reasonable possibility that she may not come back alive? On top of that, even having a new government wont dramatically change things, seeing the internal political chaos.
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The meek shall inherit the earth, but NOT its mineral rights.
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Wolfman
Responsible
Supreme Hero
Insomniac
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posted January 30, 2005 05:21 AM |
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Way to look on the bright side, Svarog, good job!
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Khayman
Promising
Famous Hero
Underachiever
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posted January 30, 2005 02:27 PM |
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Say It Isn't So
Quote:
Iraqi elections tomorrow!
Arent you just wet from the excitement? Poor people the Iraqis. Election turnout is indeed of much importance, but i'm afraid the security conditions dont allow it to happen. If I was an Iraqi, I wouldnt go out to vote. It's easy to sit in a nice American armchair and speak of the bravery Iraqis should show tomorrow, but if you lived there, when every day the terrorists kill several soldiers and civilians with the likeliness tomorrow that number to reach hundreds, I dont think you'd be as excited about the voting as Bush was. Would you tell your wife to vote, if you knew there's a reasonable possibility that she may not come back alive? On top of that, even having a new government wont dramatically change things, seeing the internal political chaos.
So much for my hero who wanted to take on capitalism, globalization, and imperialism.
I guess it is easy to sit in a nice Macedonian armchair behind a keyboard and write about defiance and changing the world, but then when an opportunity actually arrives, well...
Now I know. Where has my hero gone? 
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"You must gather your party before venturing forth."
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Wolfman
Responsible
Supreme Hero
Insomniac
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posted January 30, 2005 04:39 PM |
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I'm so glad there aren't so many people like you in Iraq, Svarog.
Iraq officials report high voter turnout
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Polls have closed in Iraq's first free election in a half century, with the independent election commission reporting a 72 percent turnout of registered voters nationwide by mid-afternoon amid attacks and threats of violence.
Insurgents carried out more than a dozen attacks across the country on Sunday, killing at least 25 people and wounding 71 others.
At least eight suicide bombings took place during the voting. There are reports of a ninth, but CNN has not confirmed those reports.
There were eight other types of attacks as well, including one in which insurgents identified Iraqi civilians as having voted -- based on the ink on their fingers -- and threw grenades at them, killing them.
A Hercules C-130 British military plane also crashed Sunday in Iraq, the British Ministry of Defense said. There was no immediate word on location or casualties.
However, U.S. commanders expecting a greater level of violence said they were pleasantly surprised that their massive security operation had paid off, CNN's Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour reported from the Iraqi capital.
The commission's Adil Al-Lami and Safwat Rashid did not release figures for Iraq's largest province, al-Anbar -- west of Baghdad, including Falluja and Ramadi -- or the northwestern Nineveh province, which includes Mosul.
"There has been a vast turnout in Iraq," Rashid said.
"The news is freedom has won," Al-Lami said. "We have conquered terrorism."
The commissioners reported turnout as high as 95 percent in some parts of the capital, Baghdad, but did not offer total numbers of voters.
U.N. election organizer Carlos Valezuela told CNN that while he was "happy with the turnout," it was too early to report numbers.
"I would rather until we have much better reporting to be able to come up with figures," he said.
CNN correspondents earlier reported that turnout was sporadic across the nation after 30,000 polling booths opened at 7 a.m. on Sunday (0400 GMT) under the watchful eye of Iraqi security forces and U.S. troops. Voting ended at 5 p.m. (1400 GMT).
In former president Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, polling stations were virtually empty. But in other parts of the country booths were packed with people casting their ballots, many of them for the first time in their lifetime.
In the northeastern town of Baquba, CNN's Jane Arraf found a polling station where a long line of Iraqi voters chanted and clapped their hands in front of the camera.
One voter told Arraf that Sunday's vote was a "bullet in the heart of the enemy."
Further north in the Kurdistan town of Salamanca, CNN's Nic Robertson reported seeing a 90-year-old woman being taken to a booth in a wheelbarrow. Others came on crutches to cast their ballot.
In the southern city of Basra, ITN's Juliet Bremner reported that turnout was almost 90 percent. She said voting was peaceful and orderly with elated Shias -- oppressed for decades under Saddam -- "determined to cast their votes in their desire for freedom, peace and food."
A statement posted on several Islamic Web sites, purportedly from a group headed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed responsibility for Sunday's attacks on polling areas in Baghdad as well as attacks in other areas of Iraq.
The statement said the group had promised to conduct the attacks "to make fun of those that demand democracy."
Insurgents in the capital had earlier distributed flyers warning citizens against participating in the election, claiming they would "wash Baghdad streets with voters' blood."
Eight suicide bombers struck in Baghdad, leaving 11 dead and at least 47 wounded. Other attacks, including the Sheikh Mar'rof attack, killed 10 and wounded six in Baghdad, Mosul and Balad, 50 miles north of the capital.
Another blast killed three and wounded 14 on a bus near Hilla south of Baghdad.
Leading the way
Sabah Kadim, a senior advisor in Iraq's Interior Ministry, shrugged off the string of attacks in a CNN interview.
"We have (terrorists) today, we had them yesterday, we will have them tomorrow," he said. "The difference will be that the Iraqi people have elected a government that is legitimate that will be much stronger in dealing with them."
Ashraf Qazi, the U.N. special representative for Iraq, said most, if not all, the country's polling stations were open and functioning -- and even at the ones where explosions occurred, voting resumed quickly.
"It's still early to predict what the ultimate outcome will be, but the initial reports coming in indicate, nationwide, a very good response," he told CNN.
Interim President Ghazi al-Yawer was among the first to vote on Sunday, saying he hoped the vote would be the first step towards a democracy that Iraqis will be proud of.
"Deep in my heart, I feel that Iraqis deserve free elections," al-Yawer said after voting in Baghdad.
He was followed hours later by Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, who cast his vote donning his glasses and smiling as he dipped his finger in ink.
As the voting began, the looming question was how many of the 14.2 million Iraqis registered to vote would cast ballots amid vows by insurgents to "wash" the streets with "voters' blood."
Of particular concern was the turnout of Sunnis in central Iraq, where the violence has been most pronounced in the past few weeks.
Iraqi officials had urged voters not to let the threat deter them from exercising the democratic right to choose their leaders.
In Baghdad alone, 15,000 U.S. soldiers were on patrol amid travel and weapons bans, and sealed airspace and borders. (Full story)
Iraqi expatriates in 14 countries around the world, including the United States, had one last opportunity Sunday to cast votes, as the three-day window for out-of-country voting closed.
Pivotal moment
Iraqis were electing a 275-member transitional National Assembly, which will draft a new constitution and pick the country's next president and two vice presidents. The president, in turn, will select a prime minister.
Voters were also electing members of 18 provincial councils. In addition, residents of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region are electing a Kurdish parliament.
The election marked a pivotal moment not only for the Iraqi people, but also for U.S. President George W. Bush, who vowed to keep troops in Iraq after the vote. (Full story)
Due to security concerns, names of the 7,000 candidates vying for office were not revealed until the final days of January.
Two broad-based parties -- the United Iraqi Alliance and the Iraqi List -- were expected to lead the pack.
The United Iraqi Alliance is a Shiite-dominated slate of candidates backed by a leading cleric, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
While most of its support comes from the Shiite majority -- about 60 percent of the population -- the alliance also includes some smaller Sunni and Kurdish groups.
The Iraqi List is led by Allawi, who became the face of Iraqi government after sovereignty was restored in June.
Also likely to do well in the vote is the Kurdistan Alliance List, that includes the two main Kurdish political parties and nine smaller Kurdish parties.
Kurds make up less than 20 percent of the population, but they were expected to vote in large numbers because of a generally stable security situation in the northern part of the country, where they are concentrated.
Sunnis, who dominated Iraq under Saddam Hussein despite making up less than a quarter of the population, are likely to see an erosion in their political position after the vote.
Not only is the security situation tenuous in many Sunni areas, but also, two influential Sunni groups -- the Iraqi Islamic Party and the Association of Muslim Scholars -- are boycotting the elections.
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Svarog
Honorable
Supreme Hero
statue-loving necrophiliac
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posted January 31, 2005 04:40 AM |
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Edited By: Svarog on 30 Jan 2005
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Quote:
So much for my hero who wanted to take on capitalism, globalization, and imperialism.
Sometimes one of the problems this world has is precisely the faith in heroes and heroic deeds. More in fact, the faith in classical heroes, who would “take on capitalism, globalization, imperialism. What else was in that group? Ah yes, terrorism, tyranny, and dictators. The fake heroes, who liberate and bring freedom. I’m no such hero.
I guess I exaggerated grossly the threat from the terrorists. I see there were 25 deaths, and by the earnest of the reports, I thought there would be hundreds. 70% is a huge number, even for veteran democracies. Actually, especially for veteran democracies. Obviously the Iraqis still havent experienced how undemocratic democracy can be.
Anyway, I’m glad that people showed up in such big numbers, proving that the terrorists were just a pretentious rumour of the medias. The electorate was in a much more better position to assess the threat than we were here. Still, in the areas under Sunni control (and where terrorism actions were most feared) the turnout was disappointingly low (or non-existent). This also brings the legitimacy of the government in question.
These elections were one phase that had to come sooner or later. A phase, that at this point, was much more important to succeed to the Americans than the Iraqis. After the thrill of the elections will have passed, they will see just how desperate their position is. The country is fragmented, the governemnt will have no effective power in areas with Kurds and Sunnis as the majority, they will still have to listen to everything the Americans say, and on top of that those annoying terrorists again. I predict divisions will arise, both along political and ethnical lines, and the American military presence is the only thing that could keep the country together.
On the other hand, the elections were a huge victory for USA, because they can claim that they symbolically brought freedom and democracy to Iraq now. If one good thing, at least it can serve as a catalyst for democratic tendencies in the region as well.
To clarify a bit, in order not to spur any confusions: I was one of those who thought the elections would better be delayed for security precautions. I’m glad I was wrong. As I said, this is one difficult phase that had to come, but it’s far from the glorious victory for the Iraqis that we’ll hear all about in the following days. Only time will tell.
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The meek shall inherit the earth, but NOT its mineral rights.
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Khayman
Promising
Famous Hero
Underachiever
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posted January 31, 2005 05:30 AM |
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I think there were 44 reported deaths during the election. 44 out of 8 million is not that bad; nonetheless, 44 lives were lost in the process.
Savarog, believe it or not, as different as we are, I somewhat understand your points-of-view. Besides, you will always be my hero...unless, of course, you start treating me like one of your priceless statues or preecious aarvarks.
p.s. - I heard a rumor that "write-ins" were authorized on the ballots...and Hamsi received 5% of the popular vote!!!
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"You must gather your party before venturing forth."
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Svarog
Honorable
Supreme Hero
statue-loving necrophiliac
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posted January 31, 2005 05:43 AM |
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Quote:
Besides, you will always be my hero
Oh yeah? Then why dont i see you praising my name here?
u know what? You are my hero too. *throws in khayman's arms and cries from happiness*
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The meek shall inherit the earth, but NOT its mineral rights.
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Consis
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Of Ruby
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posted February 03, 2005 05:28 AM |
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This Is The Appropriate Thread
I feel like such an ass. I don't even hardly know what to say.
Tonight, as I watched the president make his state of the union speech, I was proud to have helped vote this man into office as the freely elected representative of my country. He is a great man for what he has done in Iraq but then I never agreed or supported his ambition to wage war in that country. I knew then, and still know now, that the war was wrong.
But something else happened tonight. Tonight I saw the faces of two people whom I had grown up with. Mr. & Mrs. Norwood went to my church when I was young. Mr. Norwood was my Deacon's Quorum teacher, my Boyscout troop leader, and my first ever girlfriend's dad. His daughter's name is Kristen. After calling her to ask if she'd be my girlfriend, not even 3 days passed before she told me she wanted to break up with me. I must've been 13 years old at the time. But she had a little brother named Byron.
And I can't remember his face...
When I was 12 and Mr. Norwood was teaching my sunday school Deacons class, I can still remember confronting him and calling him fat. He was instantly enraged and brought me before the church bishop who swiftly scolded me for my bad attitude. Not long after that, I was held back from progressing to the second level of boyscouts because he said I wasn't ready. He had apparently convinced the other leaders that I wasn't ready to advance in my boyscout troop.
Since that time, some 17 years ago, I have always thought of this man as arrogant, fat, wealthy beyond sustainable limits, and not living in reality. But not tonight. Tonight I saw the man I insulted; saw his wife's eyes; saw him hold back his tears, hold her tightly, and whisper comfort into her ear as she leaned forward to hug the foreign Iraqi woman whose father was killed by Saddam Hussein.
How stupid could I have been for always having thought this about this person? How arrogant was I instead of my historic prejudgments upon him? How could I have thought something so low about someone who is so completely human? Maybe I could have been nicer to him and judged less of the man I thought I knew. Maybe I could've hugged him and thanked him for all the time he spent taking us on camping trips. And maybe, just maybe, I would have the decency to remember the face of his son, whom is now lost in a war I never supported to begin with. Through my own arrogance, I can't remember his face for the life of me. I know these people and they deserve better than to have lost their son; this young man; son of the man who cared enough to take care of me when I was but a child.
"Where ever your paths are or where ever you may be in person, I want to thank you Mr. Norwood for everything you did for me. I pray for you and your wife. May your son's soul be granted passage by God into the heavenly kingdom. I am sorry for being a punk kid with no dignity or respect for my elders."
Sincerely,
Jacob Batchelor
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Roses Are RedAnd So Am I
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Peacemaker
Honorable
Supreme Hero
Peacemaker = double entendre
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posted February 03, 2005 05:14 PM |
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No insult to men intended here --
But Consis, I must say that I know far too few men who can actually open their mouths and say "I'm sorry. I was wrong."
This isn't the first time I've seen you do this. Just wanted to let you know I admire this trait in you tremendously.
Your post was extremely touching, man. Thanks for sharing this moment of synchronicity with us.
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