But Stephanie Dolgoff, the author of a new book, “My Formerly Hot Life: Dispatches From Just the Other Side of Young” (Ballantine Books), is undaunted. According to Ms. Dolgoff, women in their late 30s and early 40s fall into a “new category of person: adult ’tweens, not quite middle-aged, but no longer our reckless, restless, gravity-defying selves.” Their new moniker: Formerlies, as in formerly hot.
via www.nytimes.com
ARGHANDAB VALLEY, Afghanistan – The Afghan soldiers look like they belong. They wear beards, carry Soviet-era rifles and stride confidently through fields of wheat, melons and okra. In one village, a young girl brings them a jug of milk to drink under the shade of a tree.
via news.yahoo.com
They became instant war heroes by foiling a suicide bomber trying to sneak into US soldiers' quarters in Afghanistan, and as a reward, they're getting homes -- and lots of doggie treats.
via www.nypost.com
BAGHDAD – The U.S. Defense Department is unable to properly account for over 95 percent of $9.1 billion in Iraqi oil money tapped by the U.S. for rebuilding the war ravaged nation, according to an audit released Tuesday.
via news.yahoo.com
DH's shoulder surgery took nearly 3x as long as they predicted, the damage was extensive. Why was the damage so bad? Well let's see it could be:
a. the fact that the wound was received over 15 months ago and was never treated?
b. the fact that his command refused to respect his profile and made him ruck, do field exercises, and use his shoulder in ways he was not supposed to?
c. the fact that when, as a medic, he knew it needed attention and he wanted to go get it looked at and he told his command he needed to see a doctor they called him a shitbag and told him to suck it up?
d. all of the above
Yep you guessed it! The correct answer is d.
So here we are, 15 months later, hoping that he will be able to keep some of his range of his motion and won't end up permanently crippled just because his command are complete petty tyrannical douchebags.
On a less happy note, this weekend I hung out with a close friend whose husband just left for his 3rd or 4th deployment, I can never remember which. My heart breaks for her, and I know that I'll have to go through that again soon. Ugh. And when my friend asked "What do I do now?" I told her what I tell myself whenever DH goes away, what we all tell ourselves when they leave:
You do what you did before sweetie- what we always do - you lean on your family and friends, accept that there will be a constant knot in the pit of your stomach until he walks in those hangar doors, and you hang onto the idea that he WILL be walking in those doors in a year's time and that he loves you as hard as you can.
My husband said he had never considered what it's like for us when they go on deployment and I told him:
You often say that we don't get to see what the soldiers go through and while that's true, you don't see what we go through either. It's not easy to have your partner volunteer to go away and do dangerous things while you stay home and take over doing everything that you used to have a partner to help with.
Knowing someone you love is in danger is, I think, harder than going into danger yourself because most of us would willingly sacrifice ourselves for the people we love. To sit by, on the other side of the world, knowing someone you love could be hurt or dying or even dead is like having a needle pricking your heart and soul every moment you're awake.
Trying to function like everything is normal while dealing with that worry, and the pain of being alone, is not easy. But we do it. We do it over, and over, and over because loving someone who has the courage to stand for their convictions and risk everything to make the world a better place, and to make a real impact on the lives of people they don't even know is worth that pain and sacrifice. But don't forget that you're not the only ones who serve.
TACOMA, Wash. – A 27-year-old Army sergeant from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state has pleaded guilty in federal court to sex trafficking of a child and attempted sex trafficking of a child.
via news.yahoo.com
KABUL, Afghanistan – Officials say two U.S. service members are missing in eastern Afghanistan.
via news.yahoo.com
In his fight against British imperialism, Mahatma Gandhi described the life cycle of successful civil disobedience: "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." Mikey Weinstein, the 55-year-old founder of the Albuquerque, New Mexico-based Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), likes to quote it, knowing full well he's crossed the line into a bloody-knuckle brawl. Over the past year, Weinstein and his organization have recorded a tremendous string of victories in the fight against Christian supremacists inside the armed forces.
via www.alternet.org
Fanfreakingtastic. Have been a fan of AlterNet ever since I was the Managing Editor of a weekly Arts and Culture paper a long long time ago.
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