Posts Tagged ‘Afghanistan’
AFGHANISTAN
Following 9/11, President George W. Bush sent American troops into Afghanistan when the Taliban refused to turn over Osama Bin Laden. Twenty years later, we’ve all but pulled out. Have we learned anything? The Twin Towers turned rubble, Bush made countless mistakes. Defeating the Taliban was easy. But he refused to send American troops after…
Read MoreWARRIORS AND WARRIORS
I have nothing against athletes making upwards of thirty million dollars a year—or more. The NBA champion Golden State Warriors’ payroll (equivalent to 15 full-season players) came to $101 million. I don’t mind fans idolizing players. But I’m uncomfortable when people see athletes as heroes, and especially when athletes call each other “warriors.” Where does…
Read MoreSTORY POWER
During the past week, two signs from the heavens got me thinking. This is all a bit subjective, of course, but my train of thought led me from a red-tailed hawk and white, storybook clouds to our over-busy lives, one of my all-time favorite TV shows and the function of fiction. On a recent walk…
Read MoreHEROES SEEN AND NOT
Check out the news, and you can’t help taking a grim view of humanity. Yet heroes walk among us. Some we see. Many we don’t. After an Asiana Airlines plane crashed on landing at San Francisco International last Sunday, heroes got to work. The flight crew and first responders removed passengers from harm’s way. That…
Read MoreFOOTNOTES TO HISTORY
Last week, I asked a question: “What if you looked in the mirror and couldn’t see yourself?” An event last Sunday reminded me that that question might be asked in a different way: “What if you walked down the street in broad daylight and everyone looked right through you?” The event I referred to was…
Read MoreTRUTH AND FICTION
They—whoever they may be—say that truth is stranger than fiction. As a novelist and a lover of satire, I’ll go along with that. Because based on what recently transpired in Afghanistan and what I’ve recently experienced with my novel Slick! truth indeed can make us wonder, “How did that happen?” As to Afghanistan, we know…
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