Tragedy struck a little to close to home yesterday. My adopted nephew served a tour of duty in Iraq/ He now is a training officer stationed at Fort Hood. He was not hurt or injured in yesterday's shooting. He is my brother-in-law's son. My sister's stepson. My Mom and I just talked to him Tuesday night to with him a happy birthday. He has always been and will always part of our extended family. Here are his messages from his Facebook account yesterday:
At 2:05 PM Pacific Time:
"12 dead and 31 wounded. 1 shooter is dead and 2 others in custody. all are soldiers. shooting took place at 1330 today"
At 3:06 in response to someone asking about a common friend.
"I just spoke with Jen and Bryan was in the field and not on post"
At 4:42 in response to a question.
"just that there was 1 shooter and 2 other suspects."
At 6:02 PM
"It's been a crazy day."
We are pleased to no end that Robert is safe. The shooting is just to tragic for words. The information out of the base was sometimes confusing and sometimes incorrect. Fort Hood is the size of some cities being so it is understandable about some of the confusion. I read somewhere that Fort Hood covers 338 miles. Here is a pretty good news article about the suspect who after reports that he was dead is alive, in the hospital, and in custody:
http://news.aol.com/article/troubling-portrait-emerges-of-fort-hood/755538?icid=main|htmlws-sb-n|dl1|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fnews.aol.com%2Farticle%2Ftroubling-portrait-emerges-of-fort-hood%2F755538
There have been so many reports on the shooting suspect. One said he hired an attorney to see if he could break his contract with the Army to get out of the service early. The attorney basically told him that even if he paid back his education that he would have to honor his contract with the Army. There were reports about him posting on the Internet that suicide bombers were as brave as the warriors that fell on grenades to save fellow soldiers. He apparently was harassed for being a Muslim. However, that must have been before he was an officer or been by other officers because I just can't imagine enlisted men harassing officers. The one common thing about all the stories was that there were warnings that he was troubled, didn't support the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan, and was extremely frightened that he would be deployed to one of the wars. Makes you wonder if they shouldn't have let him leave the Army early. It also makes you wonder if he would have endangered other soldiers had he been sent to war. He certainly showed us yesterday that he was a danger to soldiers here. I hope he is convicted, gets help, and spends the rest of his life in jail.
Now onto what isn't really a good story but a cool story. Well maybe not so cool as I wonder about him being able to drive safely. His response time definitely has to be slower than the average driver.
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/05/video-chevrolet-camaro-attracts-all-types-including-101-year-o/?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl4|link6|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.autoblog.com%2F2009%2F11%2F05%2Fvideo-chevrolet-camaro-attracts-all-types-including-101-year-o%2F
Questions for the day. Should a 101 year-old man or woman be allowed to drive? What is a good reason to allow a soldier out of his contract with the military? Do you think we all need to pay a little more attention to each other to look for warning sings in others whether they be friends, relatives, coworkers, students, teachers or soldiers? Maybe if we all pay more attention to others around us we can prevent the next tragedy whether it be at a college campus, a post office, a fast food restaurant, a military base. a high shcool, or the next unknown place where someone goes off the deep end. Maybe the authorities also need to pay more attention to warning signs. Do they?
TODAY'S TRIVIA:
Yesterday's answer: Harriet (Hattie) Wilson.
Today's Who Am I?
I was born in 1921 and died of bone cancer in 2004. I grew up in a small town in Iowa where I read voraciously in the town library and wrote poems secretly in notebooks from her grade school years to her high school years. I earned a B.A. degree from in 1942, and an M.A.in 1943, the year I married. He and I studied in the Ph.D. program. In 1946 I was hired as an instructor at the University o'f Louisville when my husband became an assistant professor there. Together we began "Perspective: A Quarterly of Literature." In 1987 I was invited to be a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters. I won every major U.S. prize for poetry. Despite my accolades my career fluctuated between praise and obscurity. My views of love and marriage ranged from the scathing to the optimistic. I wrote the following verse: "It is the absolute narrowing of possibilities and everyone, down to the last man dreads it." I later wrote: "Love is finding the familiar dear." In 1993 I was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame. I was the first woman appointed to a valued position by the Library Of Congress. Who Am I?
About Me
- William J.
- First, I think the birth sign is wrong. 6-21, some papers say Gemini, some Cancer. Guess that means I have so many personalities that I can do group therapy alone. For those that don't know how to read Google profiles I have put what I really mean in ( ). Hot (Good looking enough to be in movies(if I buy at ticket). A body like a God (Buddha). Romantic (Thinks begging is foreplay.) Physically fit (Heart trouble. Put 911 on speed dial before we get initmate.) Good Provider (has good life insurance in case you forget to put 911 on speed dial.) Loyal (has reference letters from Mom and parole officer.) Intelligent (scored 1600 on his SATS but you have to total the scores of the four times that I took the test.) Looking for someone compatible (Be between 30 & 99 and not inflatable.)
4 comments:
There's no 101 y/o that I know that I'd want on the road with me, but I could say the same for some people a lot younger. Virgil seems pretty much with it, and he may be the exception to the rule.
What is a good reason to allow a soldier out of his contract? How about insanity? How about terrorist sympathies? With Hasan, they should have followed up on the obvious warning signs that apparently they were aware of. If they didn't want to let him out of his contract, maybe they should have assigned him some other duty. He was, after all, trained as a medical doctor. Clearly not a guy you'd entrust with your mental health, but maybe he could have worked in a field hospital or something.
Yes, we should probably pay more attention to warning signs from people around us. Of mental instability, or even of physical limitations. Maybe some could get needed help before they blew, or before an avoidable health problem or accident.
The authorities should definitely have paid more attention to warning signs in Hasan's case, but hindsight is 20/20. I suspect they may be more careful in the future.
Thank goodness your nephew is okay. Ft Hood was such a tragedy and, sadly, another instance where it seems that if people had paid attention to warning signs/red flags, could have been avoided. It'll be interesting to see what the shooter has to say, if such can be reported clearly and honestly, without political spin and media hype (okay, I live in a dream world).
As to the 101 y/o driver... like Pat, I'm not sure I'd want to be on the road with him. OTOH, there are several in their late eighties and nineties where Mom used to live who drive and are probably as capable, maybe more so, than younger drivers, simply because they're more cautious and observative. I have folks in my aquacize class who are driving in their mid to late nineties and are probably safer than most drivers. Then again, there were some in my pen and ink class, who were driving at the same age, and should never have been allowed on the road. Here, they road test anyone over the age of 85, I think, before they renew their licenses. Once you hit either 65 or 70, your DL is renewed for only a few years, rather than the standard ten.
As to your questions... I don't know that there's a good reason to let a soldier out of his contract, but I do think there are issues that need to be reviewed and evaluated before he/she is allowed to go overseas on combat duty, where other's lives depend on his emotional/mental/physical capability and stability, rather than finding a useful post for him stateside. While I'm not defending the major's action, by any means, a little piece of my mind does ask... "You have a man who's spent "x" years listening to the horror stories of men who've come home from Iraq with major psychological problems and horror stories and now you want to send him over there to go through these same experiences... how do you expect him to react?" Then add in the fact he's a professed Muslim who, allegedly, has been harrassed about his beliefs. How ambivilent is he going to be about facing and fighting his religous brethren? I know we have many Muslim soldiers, who are fighting for the freedom from the oppression of those who are fanatics and have twisted the issues of Islam, but it sounds as though this guy was more than a little confused bout what HE considered right and wrong.
Yes, I think we all need to pay more attention to those around us. Not necessarily because we think they may be terrorists, although that's probably a good thing to watch for. But for more humane reasons. The neighbor across the street, who seems reclusive... why? Because he/she is ill, frightened for some reason, in the beginnings of dementia, needing someone to reach out? The teenager who acts out... why? Abusive home situation, ADHD, parents too busy to take an interest in him/her or listen to concerns? The nasty or rude co-worker... having problems at home, concerned about keeping his/her job, maybe a pending substance abuse problem, if someone doesn't listen. A sibling or spouse, who is distant, defensive, whatever. A cry for help or understanding or just at case of him/her feeling alone and unloved and wanting some reassurance?
Perhaps the Ft Hood incident (and the following Orlando incident) will help each of us to ask where the line is between being nosy or univolved, helpful or pushy, curious or concerned.
Hi Pat
I'm with you about the 101 year-old but of course I know some twenty year olds that I don't think should be driving.
I think insanity is a good reason for a medical discharge but terrorist sympathies gets the bring in my world.
Hindsight is always 20-20 but in all these shooting the common thread seems to be a plea for help long before the shootings.
Bill
Hi DR
Like the words of the old song, when will we ever learn my friend, when will we ever learn.
Looks like we all agree that 101 might be a little old to drive. The trouble with some older drivers is they really don't know they are a that bad, they refuse to listen. The ones that know they are a little slower make adjustments and can drive pretty well. My mom is a better driver then either my sister or my brother. We tried to keep dad from driving because he was awful.
I liked your answer to the out of the contract question, the trouble I see if you let some one of a military contract during war time it could lead to a mass exodus. So your solution has legs.
And I didn't take you explanation as a justification of the Major's actions and I completely agree with you.
Let's all here make an agreement that we will make an effort to watch out not only for each other but for those we come in contact with!
Bill
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