8/13/2021

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            It’s Friday the 13th. I started the day by listening to Verde’s Requiem Dies Irae, because my friend told me he wanted it played at his funeral. Don’t worry he’s not terminally ill. He was just talking about what would happen if a tree fell over & landed on his abode. Anyhow, that music was ominous!

As a faithful Catholic, you probably know all about Dies Irae, but it’s new to me. Apparently, as a “masterpiece of Latin poetry,” it’s often part of several different kinds of masses.  As you know “The first seven stanzas fill the soul with holy fear and consternation” through their "graphic description of the end of the world and the judgment that is to follow." At least that’s what the Catholic Culture website says. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my loved ones hearing about that at MY funeral.

            The music is fitting for today’s news about the situation in Afghanistan which is disheartening & demonstrates the futility of war. We have been trying to use violence to stamp out the Taliban & it has only strengthened their resolve. The Afghans have been resisting foreigners who have tried to boss them around for the last 40 years. I knew that the Taliban was profoundly confused when I heard that they destroyed their giant Buddhas in Bamiyan. If nothing else, those statues were tourist attractions that could generate revenue. Why ruin that?

            While I support your decision to pull out our troops, I’m worried about the Afghani women & girls who may have to go into hiding. I’m sad that the next couple of weeks will remind us of April, 1975 when Operation Frequent Wind evacuated 7000 people from the rooftops of Saigon. I’m afraid that many who are left behind there will feel like those in Myanmar – orphaned by the rest of the world, left to fend for themselves. I hope they feel the presence of God in their lives & can find a moment of joy in their days.

            BYBS,