( I cannot tell Kahlil that I wish for an I-pod that I may record sheperds music..he will think
I will use this on my watch like some of the others have done..he wants me to be more
like our uncle.)

I sat with a Macedonian who listened to sheperds music of his homeland
on an old cassette player..discussed the stars and the winds his loves
in a village worlds apart from my knowns then...an old wheelchair bound
veteran who cried about the dead greek..his older women flitting about him
on his runs downtown once prime specimens of beauty Now smitten with
age but in love with this old noble laureate of battles..I watched hours of
U Tube visions of battles...Until I could not watch any more...
We whom have lived the good life..the fat of the land cannot conceive of
what a day would be like to wake and walk with that fear of death that
moment of being marked for a cause..to handle weapons for offensive
tactical moves for defensive cause

because we are lucky to live here instead of there
during a time of peace here

I worked for block masons and we were living in dug trenchs
running mortar and shovelling and building scaffolds on
hilly perchs It was not a far off concept to think of us as building
sandbagged positions and bunkers I even bought army pants
to hold tools and had an old knock off designer vest that looked
like a flak vest I drew a cross on the back and wrote some
sayings I had long hair and drank beer and drove a huge
1977 Mercury Cougar shuttling the boys about It was hard
dirty dusty work from early dawn to after sundown somedays

we have never had much taken away from us in this country
nothing forced or put down with violence
a home destroyed by heavy equipment
Imagine a family member a teen in high school
having to fight just to have a country a land a belief
he knowing that his family could be rounded up
or dissapear in a bombing or shooting
and the family worrying if he will ever come
back

In some countries the women fight too
Russia during the world war had night fighter
women who bombed the germans
Knacht whichen Night Witchs they were
good in the slower bi planes that the ME 109 had
to fly circles around to try to shoot down And they
had a machine gunner woman in the back too
Young women defending their country while
the men fought at the front or in munnitions

Todays teens are lucky
they are sad because they cant get an I pod perhaps
or their parents enforce curfew for their protection
or expect chores

in some countries teens are lucky to stay alive
but only by being armed
by being drafted

sad stark and real Lonnie this is fiction but what
is going on is not!!

I felt bad for the teens then that were in Vietnam
in our childhood
and I see them on the street today and even
though they are loud sometimes and swear
etc who would want to see them dying for
some cause??

for oil??

I dont know
thats why I write this
to make people think about things
perspectives

Thank You Lonnie