Well alot has happened since the last time I posted in my blog to actually say something. Of course, the most notable was the passing of Baby Meriah. She is my husband's niece, Jessica's, daughter. Let me tell you a little about Jessica. I met her 6 years ago at a family dinner. I believe it was Christmas. I am so shy when it comes to people I don't know. Ok, throw me in a situation with about 50 loud people who happen to be my new boyfriends family. I want to make a good impression and earn their respect. But this is like My Big Fat Greek Wedding shit going on! LOL But when I'm overwhelmed I shut down and hide. So I went to the couch. Now, don't get me wrong. He doesn't have a bad family. I love them all dearly, even though I'm sure there's a few who couldn't care less about me. Their loss, I still love them. Anyways... so I retreat to the couch. In comes this real pretty girl who is probably like 14, but looks 20. She sits next to me, sweet as can be and just starts chatting. Turns out we liked alot of the same things. Ok... I like this girl!! Although family gatherings continued to be intimidating to me I was always happy the few times Jessica actually was able to show up.
So imagine my surprise when 6 years later I find out she's going to have a baby of her own! Wow! If anyone can do it it's Jessica. I ended up finding her here on myspace and we emailed each other back and forth about a million times. It was so good to talk to her again. She traveled alot between Atlanta and Indianapolis so I hardly got to see her. Since my main drive in life is to be a Midwife I enjoyed talking to her about her pregnancy and reassuring her that "cesarean's are a breeze". Ok, it was for me both times LOL
I still remember the night I got the call from Marty's step-mother (Jessica's grandmother) that Jessica had her baby. I was on cloud nine!!! It was late at night, well, around 10 or 11. I couldn't sleep cause I had the adrenaline rush. I was so happy everything worked out good.
After she had her baby I would hear people talk about how she was a fantastic mother and I was so proud of her. Yeap. I knew she could do it. But then I got a call from Marty that Jessica's baby was sick in the hospital up in Indianapolis. Ironically she was sick with the same thing my cousin's (once again, ironically, named Jessica) one-month-old baby had. Strep pneumonia. I followed her situation over the last 2 or 3 weeks just praying that Meriah and Jessica would get a break. It never came. Meriah passed away Friday afternoon at 5:30pm.
It just pisses me off cause Jessica doesn't deserve this. I believe God has a plan and a reason for everything. But it just never makes sense. I hear she's not doing too bad considering. But right after a death is a weird time. It's like you're still in shock. You haven't really experienced life without that person not around. You're so busy planning the funeral that you don't have time to grieve. Everyone is there for you. There are flowers and cards everywhere. Phone calls galore. Visitors non-stop. Then everything quiets down. That's when it hits you. It's like the show is over and something is missing.
I HATE DEATH!!! It's so cruel and unforgiving. It's like evil in the pain it inflicts, but is still by the hand of God. Soon we find our comfort zone and find ways to cope. We turn out stronger and live to tell the tale. I guess just like I'm doing right now. I've endured the loss of my grandmother, my daughter, and a few other close family members and miscarriages. It never gets easier and you just wait for the next one to go.
Much love to Jessica and Meriah.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Friday, February 2, 2007
Vietnam Way - History Assignment
The United States became involved in the war against the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong in 1959 under the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower. The North Vietnamese were under communist control, which threatened South Vietnam, which was a United States ally. The United States was in a position to stop the spread of Communism throughout the world and soon took an interest in Vietnam. When Lyndon B. Johnson became president after John F. Kennedy’s assassination he appointed William Westmoreland to be the commander of the US army.
In 1965, the United States started a full-scale aerial attack on North Vietnam. By the end of the year, there were nearly 200,000 troops fighting in the war. By mid-1966, there were approximately 430,000. Westmoreland believed that the North Vietnamese could be defeated in no time at all, within a few years of that time. The final battle didn’t occur until 1975; long after President Johnson’s presidency was over.
Walter Cronkite was a well-respected journalist for CBS news during the Vietnam War, who, for a while, was in support of the war. But on February 27, 1968, he made a personal speech that would affect the president in a very profound way. After an attack on the US embassy in Saigon he felt that the United States was not able to win the war in the way that they wanted to. In fact, he felt that there was essentially a stalemate. Continuing would mean the war would escalate and the enemy would always match us.
Clark Clifford was the Secretary of Defense during the Johnson administration. He was very pro-war and was in support of the president’s decisions. He also gave Johnson advice when it came to the war, most notably regarding the request for more troops. Eventually, he pushed for the withdrawal of the troops.
There are also a number of similarities between the mission in Vietnam and the current mission in Iraq. For one thing, support for the war started out strong. Eventually it became very unpopular. Protests soon began and the nation was torn. President Johnson began with high approval ratings and found himself with low ratings with the unpopularity of the war. President Bush decided to run for reelection, and won, whereas President Johnson found himself haunted by the war and chose not to run for reelection.
Troops were having a hard time fighting the enemy because he blended in so well with everyone else. Killing innocent civilians became an ill effect of the war. Another similarity is that of the locals. The locals welcomed the troops and seen them as saviors. The same thing is going on in Iraq; the people there appreciate what our troops are doing for them. The news media’s front line coverage of the war was new. People all over the world seen up close the death and destruction of the war. It seemed very real.
The war finally ended in 1973, with the withdrawal of the last of the United State’s troops. Saigon eventually ended up succumbing to the Viet Cong in 1975.
In 1965, the United States started a full-scale aerial attack on North Vietnam. By the end of the year, there were nearly 200,000 troops fighting in the war. By mid-1966, there were approximately 430,000. Westmoreland believed that the North Vietnamese could be defeated in no time at all, within a few years of that time. The final battle didn’t occur until 1975; long after President Johnson’s presidency was over.
Walter Cronkite was a well-respected journalist for CBS news during the Vietnam War, who, for a while, was in support of the war. But on February 27, 1968, he made a personal speech that would affect the president in a very profound way. After an attack on the US embassy in Saigon he felt that the United States was not able to win the war in the way that they wanted to. In fact, he felt that there was essentially a stalemate. Continuing would mean the war would escalate and the enemy would always match us.
Clark Clifford was the Secretary of Defense during the Johnson administration. He was very pro-war and was in support of the president’s decisions. He also gave Johnson advice when it came to the war, most notably regarding the request for more troops. Eventually, he pushed for the withdrawal of the troops.
There are also a number of similarities between the mission in Vietnam and the current mission in Iraq. For one thing, support for the war started out strong. Eventually it became very unpopular. Protests soon began and the nation was torn. President Johnson began with high approval ratings and found himself with low ratings with the unpopularity of the war. President Bush decided to run for reelection, and won, whereas President Johnson found himself haunted by the war and chose not to run for reelection.
Troops were having a hard time fighting the enemy because he blended in so well with everyone else. Killing innocent civilians became an ill effect of the war. Another similarity is that of the locals. The locals welcomed the troops and seen them as saviors. The same thing is going on in Iraq; the people there appreciate what our troops are doing for them. The news media’s front line coverage of the war was new. People all over the world seen up close the death and destruction of the war. It seemed very real.
The war finally ended in 1973, with the withdrawal of the last of the United State’s troops. Saigon eventually ended up succumbing to the Viet Cong in 1975.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
