War. Why?

I cried on the way to work this morning.
No bawling, streaming tears.
But my eyes welled up and my heart was filled with sadness as I listened to Herold Noel tell his story on NPR.
Mr. Noel is a veteran of the Iraq war, struggling with his actions in battle. He is attempting to return to humanity and embrace the simple joys of life.
As I watch the events in London (a day after I posted on the attitude of al-Qaeda) and listen to stories like Mr. Noel's, I pray for the end to war. I wonder how people become so rigid in their attitudes that killing another human seems like a good idea. Then I think about how I deal with my kids and realize we all have some of that rigidity in us.
And I would be willing to defend our country from direct threat (which I understand al-Qaeda to be).
But it still makes me sad.
I want to say, "Sorry God. We don't get it yet."

I miss the Friday Random Ten

Annamaria is on vacation (what's that?) so there is no posting of the Friday Random Ten (see link at right or in the title). But it has become something I really look forward to, so I'm doing it here until she comes back.
Rules are simple - she got them from another blog site. Basically, fire up your digital music device, create a random playlist and list the first ten songs it generates. I use Yahoo Music as my player, since I am not wealthy and have two teenagers (hence, no iPod).
Here's my list
1- Bob Marley - Soul Shake Down
2- Pat Metheny - James
3- Everyday Sunday - Lose It Again
4- Relient K - Failure to Excommunicate
5- Moody Bluegrass - Legend of A Mind
6- PivitPlex - Overshaken
7- Judy Garland - The Trolley Song
8- Jennifer Knapp - Undo Me
9- Dinah Washington - Manhattan
10- Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds
It's cool to learn about new artists this way.

Catch a ride on a rocket

Los Lonely Boys
These boys are hot! After seeing all the commotion about this band and that group, I thought it might be worth putting this out there. I heard about Los Lonely Boys in March 2004 (gracias Joe, mi cunado). He loaned me their CD and I didn't play it right away. But when I did, wow! Turns out I missed them in Dallas by one day. Next time they came through, we went.
They played The Gypsy Tea Room in Deep Ellum (near downtown). This is a standing room only venue that was perfect for the show. I haven't been to a concert like this in years! Two plus hours of tear-it-up energy.
If you've only seen the video, or heard the song Heaven, you've only scratched the surface.
Check out this site (from the band's official web-site forum) to download a live show.
Awesome. And they sure look to be having fun.

I don't get it...

It reminds me of a four year old arguing with a parent. Logic is irrelevant, facts don't matter, and only by getting their way will they be happy.
Such is the attitude exhibited by al-Qaida in discussing Iraq and why it is justified in killing and terrorizing the populace.
I'm not a pro-war Bush devotee. But it seems to me that it would be immoral now to just leave the country to the "insurgents."
My brother sent me an interesting link last week from the NY Times Op-Ed pages. It proposes a winning strategy for Iraq.
This may be worth it to stop the killing on all sides.

Yipes! She's going to Spain!

University of Alcala, Spain
Well, I hope this works out...
I purchased air fare today for my daughter to head to Spain for the Fall 2005 semester. Having never done any of this before, it is sort nerveracking.
Somehow we managed to get her to college, but this overseas thing seems more complex. $1,100 for round trip seemed ok, but it is sort of a Catch-22.
In order to get s student visa, you must have completed itinerary. But if the visa doesn't come through, you are out the cash for the ticket.
Plus, the visa application seems to easy. Which is the trick question?
Then you wonder if you are doing the right thing. All our friends' children are going with groups from their schools. My daughter IS the group from the University of Alabama!
Small questions like who picks her up at the airport kind of nag at me...
How does she meet the host family?
At least she is too young to take advantage of the free overnight hotel stay in London that British Airways offered.
Check out Best Fares for a good deals on travel. At least it looks that way to me.