"Oo-Rah"

http://marines.dodlive.mil/2011/06/10/recruiting-norm-anderson/

I don't like being clueless about what my boyfriend does. He's a Marine and has been for 2 years now, but something about our upgrade from best friends to couple has me more worried. I used to be able to push it back, or just think about him returning but now I feel his absence more acutely.

So I've been reading, nothing in particular but anything that I find.

The link above is to a story I found on the Marine Corps base Camp LeJeune website. It's a story about a Marine who recruited 2 kids straight out of H.S and heard of their deaths. It reminds me of the human side, to see that he was remorseful and valued human life. It's a tough decision to be a Marine, and to some extent it requires de-humanization in the way you view life's value in a Them vs. Us mentality. An emotional disconnect and de-humanization is a fear I've had for Alex since he told me he wanted to join USMC.

I find that reading the actual human stories gives me perspective, even if it does scare the living daylight out of me. Unlike Victoria though, I'd be angry. Inconsolably so. And for a long time. Not because I don't believe in what he's fighting for, I value human life, rights and our freedom. But he is my heart, and everything I ever prayed for and hoped for silently. I don't want him to be taken from me.

***

Currently watching Lord of the Rings ... Love this quote.

Samwise Gamgee: I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo; the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end... because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was, when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you, that meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.

Frodo Baggins: What are we holding on to, Sam?

Samwise Gamgee: That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.