9/27/2024
JRB,
I’m sorry to hear about the loss of your childhood buddy, Tom Bell. I appreciated your sentiment that “he returned love with boundless loyalty. He was a man of honor, decency, & grace. A man of utmost character.” What a gift to have a friend like that!
I am becoming aware that a challenge of aging is losing one’s peers. I tend to minimize age differences & tell folks that we are all the same age, NOW, but I share a special bond with my friends who were also born in 1960. In addition to our personal intertwined histories, we share the same collective history. As kids we watched the Vietnam war on TV. As college students we saw Regan get shot. As 41-year-olds, we witnessed 9/11. As 60-year-olds we faced Covid 19. We “get” each other in a way a younger person can’t. As these agemates pass, we are left with fewer & fewer people who “get” us. My grandma tried to explain that to me in 1983 when she was in her 90’s & my mom is troubled by all the funerals she has to attend.
I will hold you in the Light as you attend Tom’s funeral today.
Thanks for resisting VOZ’s request to fire American-made missiles deeper into Russia. I wish you told him he wasn’t going to get any more weapons, but I appreciate that would be an about face you aren’t ready to make, YET!
Given that God is change, we know the situation in Ukraine is dynamic. Avoiding escalation at this time is prudent.
What do you think of the latest move by the junta to ask the rebels to participate in an election? The NYT calls it a “significant development.” The BBC used the phrase, “peace offer.” AJ’s headline was “ Myanmar military urges anti-coup forces to give up struggle & join talks.” The junta did not respect the results of the last election, so why would the rebels participate in another one? Do you think this is a step in the right direction or is Min Aung Hlaing just trying to appease XJ?
Let’s hold the folks in FL in the Light as they face the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
BYBS,
