LETTERS
Safety
There was a man, who played safety for a professional team,
he not only tackled, he hit so hard, milk would be separated from cream.
He was paid millions to play his boyhood game in packed stands,
buffeted by the waves of sound from cheers and clapped hands.
Too small for college, too slow for the NFL, but very, very intense,
never would you say this man held back or stood upon the fence.
Pac-10 defensive player of the year, football was his first draft.
225 men ahead, in a world of speed and strength, would intensity take hold and graft?
Franchise record for tackles, always at full, unchecked speed,
never one to follow, always, by example, lead.
Bright as well as intense, but more so loyal to his most inner core.
Even when the Rams offered his salary times 16, he shook his head and closed the door.
9/11 shook the nation, filled with grief, resolve and a desire to resist;
but only this safety walked away from 3.8 million and as a Ranger did enlist.
Not since Rocky Bleier risked his life and limb in Vietnam,
has an NFL player for country put himself at risk of harm.
But his nation was in a war of shadows and enemies of the night,
sworn to bring to her knees this nation of thousands of shining lights.
A safety who could today be safe waiting for training camp to dawn,
lies dead in Afghanistan waiting for transport to an eternal, tranquil Arlington lawn.
Freedom is never free, never has been, never, ever will.
Pat Tillman, a safety, joined the countless others who willingly paid the ultimate bill.
As we enjoy our comfort and safety, please stop for a moment, pause and reflect,
pray for the soul of Pat Tillman, who left safety, and died picking up our check.
Michael P. Ridley
Partner, Good, Wildman, Hegness & Walley
Newport Beach
Iraq
Recently I have been watching the melting of the “American Resolve.” Even the all-out-conservatives are sidestepping their support of the war in Iraq. The bad guys burned a few dead bodies in front of the camera and the manliest men in our country are so intimidated they all want to run and hide.
Apparently everyone expected for us to go in as liberators, pass out some candy and all would go perfectly smoothly in a country where the people have never in their history been in charge of their own destiny.
I guess most of us Americans forgot to focus in our history classes when they talked about what happened in Germany and Japan after World War II. Come to think of it there wasn’t much said about the occupation in my high school books. Let’s just say American culture has a bit of aversion toward the whole “occupation” concept and somehow reality about the difficulty of nation building has escaped our educational institutions.
We apparently cannot, or will not, recall the effectiveness of the Marshall Plan or maybe why President Truman found it necessary to drop the A-bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in order to break the resolve of the Japanese.
Truman understood human nature enough to know what most politically correct people do not care to comprehend, that to save them he would have to break them. Fortunately he didn’t have 400-plus news channels to deal with as George Bush does, and people of the 1940s were not of the soft X, Y & Z generations who have been raised by the even more coddled Baby Boomer generation.
I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that somehow we don’t civilize ourselves into oblivion much like the Germans have done.
As a naturalized citizen of this country, I am ever so proud to be an American. My only regret is the lack of a place in the fighting military for older women such as myself. My heart bleeds for every American life lost in Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere, but more than ever I am resolved to fight for our basic freedoms.
If only for a second you believe that by turning back from evil you will be saved, well then, you are already a slave.
Barbara Hiller Johnson
Cowan Heights
Deep Thoughts From Dr. Mike
& #149; The Spaniards used to be known for courageous bullfighters,now only for cowardly bull flingers!
& #149; There’s no full service anymore and gas prices are on the rise. Reminds me of healthcare. Let’s start calling it “managed car-care.”
& #149; Kerry is always in sharp suits, shirts and ties. His wife gives him a large wardrobe and cleaning allowance because he spills ketchup and mustard.
& #149; Regarding the Anaheim less-than-Mighty Ducks: Arte Moreno, do you have a rich relative that loves ice hockey?
& #149; How ’bout dem Angels and their Killer Gs: Guererro, Guillen, Garrett, Glaus, Gerstad, Gennedy, Geckstein, Golina, Galmon and Golon.
“Gichael” Glueck, M.D.
Newport Beach
