Wednesday, May 18, 2011

The Vietnam War Memorial

Visiting the Vietnam War Memorial, "The Wall", is tough for me. Standing in one place you can easily see the names of four boys who were important to me:

My best childhood friend David Bryant (lived right across the street from us on the corner of Donora and Spartan, moved in 4th or 5th grade. I only saw him once after they moved.) was killed on February 8, 1968.

My cousin Daniel Meade, killed the same day as David, February 8, 1968.

My good friend George Youngerman (Vandalia-Butler High School Class of '68, lived on Westhafer) was killed on April 1, 1971.

His cousin Joseph Youngerman (I didn't know him), who was killed the very next day, April 2, 1971.

It's possible to read all four names easily from the same spot.

You can touch both David and Dan's names with one hand.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Hiroshima & Nagasaki

The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have been controversial almost since the moment they occurred. Some interesting thoughts on these acts are at the following pages.

Very interesting discussion here too, scroll down.

The Value of Work

The job everyone looks down on is "burger flipping" -- working in a fast food restaurant. But, as Theodore Dalrymple once said "There is nothing dishonourable or dishonest about stacking shelves. On the contrary, it is a socially useful thing to do."

There a many useful things a young person learns in such a job -- being on time, following directions, being neat and presentable, respecting customers and your coworkers, etc. Many have gotten their starts in work life in these types of jobs.

It does our society no good to denigrate any work, no matter how seemingly menial.