Memorial Day 2007

These are ATCs of mine and a friend. The theme
was War. These were done about the time the
Iraqi War started. Mine the one on the left is
one of the most subtle things I have done.
My friend's on the right is titled, "War Tears".
what is not evident in the scan is that there is
a tear coming from the corner of the eye. Also
notice the torn upper right corner. Think about
both of them. There is a lot going on in these
two little pieces of paper.





Being a daughter and neice of WW II veterans, sister and cousin to Vietnam veterans and now mother of an Iraqi Freedom veteran I sometimes question the need of war. Just sometimes you might ask? Yes, just sometimes. And this was one of those week-ends. On a Sunday morning program I saw a story about two young American women who were wounded in combat in Iraq, one lost a hand and the other her whole arm. Both were very pretty. One was a mother of a 9 year old and the other was single. Both had been fitted with prothesis but they chose to wear them only at certain times. Neither of them were whining or crying about their injuries. They were going about their business of daily life. Both were proud of their completed military duty and said they would do it again knowing what would happen to them.

Then sometime on Monday I watched a news story about the curious revelation that people who serve in the military and saw combat have a 60% chance greater then people who did not of developing Lou Gehrings disease, ALS. It is a wasting away of muscle tissue. The man who was being interviewed is a Vietnam Veteran. He survived the jungles of Vietnam only now to be slowly wasting away.

And of course there were the pictures of row upon row of white head stones in cemeteries from around the country. In one cemetery they were 'celebrating' the erection of several new head stones. I was only half listening to the TV when the word 'celebrating' caught my attention. It seems that time had erroded some old head stones from Veterans of the Civil War and that the locals in the community had had fund raisers to replace them. And it was done on this Memorial Day.

So many dead, so many hurt and wounded. Why? And for What?

Ah....that's the question!

It is so we can sit in front of our computers and write in our blogs or play stupid games. So that we can picnic and bar-b-que on a Monday in May winding up a three day week-end. Drive our cars and cut our grass with now very expensive gasoline. Mindlessly going about our trivial daily lives. Being able to open a small business. We are so lucky to live in the USA. Even with all of its problems this is the place to be. Thank a veteran. And remember some of them are Females.

I know this doesn't have anything to do with the Artfull Hand and rubber stamping. Sometimes you just have to think about somebody else rather then yourself. And don't forget to question -- somtimes.