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Originally Posted by Me
I've just received word that a very good friend of mine lost his life on Tuesday in Lebanon during a bombing campaign. He lost his legs and part of his torso when a bomb hit while he and his family were hiding in a building, and died while en route to a hospital. He was on vacation with his family from Turkey about a month ago, but was apparently pinned down for a few weeks after the initial attacks. His parents and sister survived. His mother called me just before I went to work this morning and told me all she could. He was only my age (about 24).
I have to admit that until today, this whole thing in Lebanon has seemed like a history lesson to me. It was like reading about WWII or the Korean War in a text book. It's easy to stay disconnected, somewhat, from something if you are thousands of miles away and don't have any personal connections to it. I don't really have that feeling any more. I didn't lose anyone on 9/11. I did have a friend have his leg shot off in Iraq, but I've spoken with him since so it never really hit me.
To anyone who's lost someone in war or conflict, I'm very sorry. I know how it feels now. I don't know if this has anything to do with Politics, but this seemed like the right place to put it.
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I posted this a minute ago in Politics about a good friend of mine I've lost. It's a completly new sensation for me to have someone die because of war, and it's really effected me more than I thought it could. I feel like I myself have been wounded - not to be selfish, but this is new to me.
I realize this is a bit of a downer, but have you ever lost anyone to war or conflict? If you'd like to say some words about your someone, maybe this can be like a way to pay respects and share fond memories about those who made life better before they left.
I'll start:
My friend was the only skater I ever really got along with. I met him at piano camp (of all places) when I was younger, and we hated each other. It was rather odd having an ememy at the age of 9, but we were the best of enemies. We competed and such for the week we were at the camp, and eventually became great friends. We kept in touch over the years, and when he last visited the US, about 3 years back, I basically played the role of tour guide. We, me, him and a few of my friends, went on a road trip from San Jose to Miami. It was one of the best thing's I've ever done. I'll always remember when he tried to get the phone number of a stripper somewhere in Texas. She gave him a 555 number. It was hilareous.