Despite what you may have heard, the demise of Valour-IT has been greatly exaggerated. We're still plugging away, albeit very, very slowly. The needs of Hurricane Katrina victims pretty much wiped us off people's charitable-giving map. And with such gargantuan time-sensitive needs, it wouldn't have been right to push something (Valour-it) that is not about life-threatening concerns, of course.
But the question now is, when do we start increasing Valour-IT visibility once again? We don't plan to push it online until the fundraising competition in October, but there are opportunities for local community organizations, businesses, media, etc. We now have a lot of materials available for everything from motivational presentations for a club that may like to do a fundraiser for Valour-IT, to materials for approaching corporations and media outlets.
So, what sense are you getting of the lay of the land where you are? Do you think people are almost ready to listen to non-hurricane charity requests? What might be a good way to frame this? Let's pool our info/perceptions and see if we can answer these questions...
19 September, 2005
The Return of Valour-IT?
18 September, 2005
Caption Contest!
Neffi kindly offers up the following photo for comic relief...
Note: Castle rules apply (the PG-17 is on patrol).
And speaking of caption contests, check out the hilarious one Greyhawk hosted, if you didn't see it a couple days ago.
On a totally unrelated note... I was rifling through the site meter stats and discovered the following:
"We're number one!" Well, I am, that is. Go to MSN Search and enter "why 'september 17' 'united states' birthday," and Fuzzilicious Thinking is first in line. Whoot, whoot! ...still trying to figure out why someone would use that as a search string, though. Hey, I'm still number one!
17 September, 2005
Consuming Fires (addendum)
The reason for this post is found below.
Reading a poem, book or essay is always a collaboration between the reader and the author. The author has tried his best to communicate his ideas (with varying degrees of skill), but the reception of those ideas is always colored by who is receiving. We all bring our individual experiences, or lack thereof, and mental or emotional biases to every text we encounter. In fact, that's one of the fundamental conflicts in any religion--the question of what the holy book(s) really mean.
As to the specific question of whether or not Lex is romanticizing war and killing in his short essay, he can defend himself. I however, do not believe he is. If I did, I would not have linked to it and praised it. I know many of my friends have come to different conclusions on that question. If anybody wants to know how I've come to my conclusion, I'd be happy to discuss the details via email.
As a civilian and a sheltered American who has never had the battlefield come to my front door, I'm a prime candidate for the accusation that I am ignorant of and insensitive to the horrors of war. There is some truth in that, of course (and it is the American warfighter himself who allows me the luxury of that ignorance). But I am also unusually empathetic when at my best, and I believe I have been the recipient of a great deal of education at the hands many military friends and contacts. And so, I would be horrified to think that I was seen as some starry-eyed idiot who thinks war is just a video game with dashing pilots, big strong infantryman, and lots of glorious equipment that makes things go "boom." As Lex wrote in the essay in question, "We can wrap it up in the cloth of duty, honor and country (which are no less true even for our having thus used them) but we cannot escape the naked truth beneath, that all war is a kind of savagery." It's still all about killing. And that is never romantic. It's a tragedy. A tragedy for all involved, and a tragedy that we live in a world where at times it is necessary.
And on a very personal note, it hurts my heart to see my friends talking past each other. Almost as much as it hurts to think that I have alienated some of my friends by endorsing a text that we read with such different eyes.
Read More......16 September, 2005
Direction? (aka navel-gazing)
I've written two posts this morning that I have since taken down. They were both highly political, though one also contained what I discovered to be a significant error only minutes after I posted it. But today is not the only time I have started a political post and then abandoned it.
I think I've been dancing around this for awhile now. I didn't set out to do a political blog. I'm not even sure why I started blogging. Beyond the friendly encouragement to do so, I think I saw it as a fun way to interact with my online friends--most of whom seemed to be bloggers. And it's been kind of fun to be able to link to something important myself, rather than try and shop it around to a blogging friend. Additionally, once Valour-IT became a part of my online presence, I found myself worrying about the impact of strong political statements in this blog on my attempts to run a charity project free of strong political association or entanglements.
Among certain close family and friends I do not hesitate to discuss politics and I vigorously and fearlessly defend my views. I feel comfortable because we understand each other and trust the values and heart of all who are assembled and debating their views; we are free to disagree without being slandered or attacked or labeled narrowly. But debating in a public forum means opening oneself up to the possibility of divisive misunderstandings, stereotyping of character and personality (because of lack of personal interactions), and worst of all, the trollish types so common in such forums.
No, I don't shirk from standing up for my beliefs for fear that I will be rejected. I believe (and think) what I do, and you can take or leave it. But I think the ugly blowblack that can come from such a stance is probably not something I really want to deal with. It's dark and depressing, and rarely productive. Yes, I suppose that's kinda wimpy...
But yet, the more personal writing I have done recently, like Friends? and It's That Date Again... seem self-indulgent and are almost more revealing than I'm comfortable with.
But then, where to go with this? Should I let this become a substantially political blog? It could certainly make things interesting around here, haha! The alternative seems to be simply a personal diary and linkfest (both of which are perfectly fine in and of themselves, but feel self-serving for me). So, what direction shall I take? Where from here?
Read More......Consuming Fires: Eros and Bombing
Inspired by an email from a reader, Lex has written a short but very profound essay on love and war, and where the two intersect. It's definitely one of his most thought-provoking and eloquent offerings, worthy of the widest distribution.
Go read it! And be sure to take your brain with you. :)
UPDATE: I did not elaborate on what I found profound about Lex's post becuase I felt I couldn't say it any better than he had. However, I find than several online friends have come to very different conclusions about the meaning of his essay than I did. That concerns me because I do not wish to be seen as endorsing what they think Lex meant.
Yes, I'm being vague. I will tackle it tomorrow and explain what *I* think he meant.
15 September, 2005
Quiz Time!
A a bit of a brainy one this time...
| C+ |
 You tend to notice the big things in life... But the details aren't exactly your forte |
Ha! Ain't that the truth!
I'd be very interested to see how various blog buddies would rate on this. Please do try it. It's interesting to stop and realize how often we don't notice everyday details...
Read More......12 September, 2005
Friends?
I've tried to write this post for days, but I just can't make it come out right. Here goes...
Though I have been an active user of the Internet since sometime before 1996, and have read blogs since at least 2003, I never did the chatroom thing, and I only jumped into commenting in the blog world about one year ago. I think my introduction to it coincided with my discovery of Anysoldier.com, as I began looking for information that would help me understand the experiences and needs of the personnel I was "supporting." So naturally, it was the milblogs I gravitated to, and it was milbloggers with whom I first made personal contacts. And it was among the milbloggers that I found people I would like to consider my friends. I enjoy and value their company, and a couple of them have had a profound effect on my intellectual and/or emotional life. I've met one of them in person and spoken to three others on the phone. But are they really my friends?
Merriam Webster OnLine says:
Main Entry: friend
Pronunciation: frend
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English frend, from Old English freond; akin to Old High German friunt friend, Old English freon to love, freo free
1 a : one attached to another by affection or esteem
_____
4 : a favored companion
What parameters signify a relationship among more than acquaintances? Which leads to the question, can people who only interact via online text be considered truly friends? Can you honestly know a person when you've never seen the body language, heard inflections of voice, or seen how they treat others? Does the distance of electronic text give people the confidence to be themselves, or does it allow them space enough to construct a facade?
This is not a new topic in the blogosphere. ALa wrote, a number of months ago:
Am I who I present here? (I think I am) Are you? Are we friends even though we have never met? Can we be friends if we've never met? Many of you I speak with more than people in my 'real' life...so what's 'real'? [...] And what about when this world crosses over...on the phone, on IM or over dinner...or a Blogger's Ball? Does it become 'real' then or was it 'real' all along?
Barb thinks she knows the answer...
First of all, friends are friends - whether we met first through the internet or in person matters not. Secondly, I think that not only can we form true friendships without meeting one another, it may lead to a purer form of friendship.We didn't form these friendships because we happened to work together, live next to one another, etc. [...] As long as we have been honest, then the bonds between us are not based on age or physical parameters, or on other accidents of location. Instead the bonds are based on how we think - and that is a better, stronger bond to me.
I am a naturally intuitive person; intuition is my preferred way of operating in the world. Interacting via bytes and pixels short-circuits a lot of that. So, I'm not going to rush into believing a couple of long chat sessions make for an emotionally-intimate relationship and demonstrate a person's trustworthiness (or lack thereof).
But over time, I think one can see a lot of a person's character through their comments around the 'sphere, their postings, how they deal with conflicts that may develop, etc. As in any extended interaction, character will "out." That's certainly been my experience (both positive and negative).
I had noticed my first "online-friend-to-be" around the blogosphere for quite awhile before he made a particularly beautiful comment on a deployed soldier's blog. I emailed him without introduction and asked if I could "steal" his quote and send it to the deployed guys I was writing to. He turned out to be a combat veteran himself. That started a long conversation about military psychology, combat, the social contract between soldier and civilian, etc. Much to my shock and embarrassment, he seemed to think I was worth corresponding with on these subjects. After several months, it branched into more general discussions of psychology and sociology, along with a bit of teasing and friendly banter.
But it was still a very intellectual and impersonal interaction. Then one day he sensed something was wrong. It was. He did not push, but offered himself as a brother to lean on, a shoulder to cry on, and a coach for the future. He said I had been supporting his brother warfighters and now it was time for him to support me. I was shocked. But he meant what he said. He waded in, offered me his arm, and dragged me back out of the mess.
I know today I could trust this friend with my very life. Does it matter that though we speak on the phone and know what each other looks like we've never met face-to-face? Is it less real? Is what I've learned from him any less a part of my daily life?
He's just an example of several fine people I've gotten to know online, to varying depths. Yes, I've met my share of people online I wouldn't trust further than I can throw them. It's been interesting that most of those people I had a bad feeling about from day one, but had managed to talk myself out of it (which I lived to regret).
Another online correspondent wrote the following to me when I took a chance and shared some (at that time) recent re-evaluations of my life:
The world has shrunken, it has been cramped into a crowded city street. We "meet" people, and come to know them in virtual space, but are now nearly assured that we will never meet in life. We can take chances, we can open ourselves. We can suspend fear, offer hope. We can share, we can become (almost) intimate. Perhaps in some respects more truly intimate than in the "real" world. Here there are no warts, here we are all beautiful.
I think maybe the anonymity of the Internet may encourage people to be more "open" online than they would be in person. But if we are smart and cautious about our interactions, real friendships can develop. We may even discover our online correspondents have warts!
I think I've found some "real" friends online (warts and all, haha!). Recently, for the first time in my life, I was able to move and take my friends with me; our interactions are no less than they were before I moved. It's been a joy to still have my online community, even out here in the boonies.
And as I look back on what is nearing a year's worth of online interactions, I feel incredibly blessed to count some members of the online community among my friends--people I am attached to "by affection or esteem," people who are among my "favored companion[s]." I've met people who by their very background or career (or simply their extraordinary intelligence) would never have crossed my path were it not for blogs. And from them I've learned a bit about what it's like to serve your country in wartime, a bit more about myself and my values and chosen role in this world, how the human spirit can maintain sanity in the most insane circumstances, a bit more about this wonderful country I live in, and that I'm not the only marginally-sane, never-married 30-something woman around.
W, you were my lifeline and my pivot point. I am deeply honored to have been welcomed into the brotherhood; T, your intuitive gentleness touches me and your courage inspires me (no, no pity there); CLL, I've learned so much from reading and conversing with you--about living the life I want, about what I have to offer, and about things I had never fully appreciated; K, we'll just be two spinsters, growing old together; And J, one of these days I'll figure out how to talk to you without driving you up the wall! ;) And how could I forget to include S?--for shared laughter is one of the greatest joys of friendship.
And if you don't recognize yourself above, know that if you have helped untangle my blog, listened to me rant and rave (and cry), or opened the door to a world I didn't see before, I count you as real (or more so) a friend as any other.
I am constantly amazed at the diversity of experience, skill, knowledge, and background that I've found online. But the consistent thread is people of great intelligence and courage who have deigned to give me a peek into their lives... and sometimes even their hearts. I count it all a humbling privilege.
UPDATE: An interesting discussion on friendship and levels of intimacy is developing in the comments.
Read More......11 September, 2005
Thoughts on 9-11
Many of my favorite bloggers have written wonderful posts on this 9-11 anniversary. Please go and read them, if you haven't yet. They're so good that I'm glad I finished my own thoughts before I was humbled by reading their remarkable writing.
In a must-read, Lex puts the last four years in perspective with"Four Years." If you click on only one link, make it this one.
Cassandra shares her heart-felt wish for 9-11-05 in "Just for One Day." It's mine, too.
Sgt. B lights candles of remembrance and reminds us of American heroes.
BCR fearlessly discusses the anger.
Kat explains why it's personal.
John ties past and present together.
Barb offers her memories and a roundup of big and small bloggers' 9-11 posts.
Read More......It's That Date Again...
Though a student at a Midwestern music school, I have more in common with a typical absent-minded professor. On that infamous day, I got confused about the starting time of my first class, which involved learning the trumpet. I had left home before 9:00 eastern time and arrived via public transportation early for my class, so I had heard no news. I settled down for a little practice before classtime. I had no watch, but after a while I sensed that class should have started already. I stuck my head out the door and asked someone what time it was. Suddenly a professor came running down the hall very agitated because her computer was down and her radio was broken. She said something about hoping to find information in the library. I thought this was a little strange, but I was still very focused on practicing. I returned to the classroom. When my teacher arrived, she apologized for being late (as was the only other student attending) by saying, "It's been a strange morning." I said it had been the same for me (referring to my time confusion). She said, "It's unbelievable, isn't it." Neither I nor the other student (who had been in a 9:00 eastern-time class) knew what she was talking about. She then told us a plane had hit one of the WTC towers. We were both horrified and said, "What an awful accident!" She said, "Wait, there's more." She had seen the second plane hit live. As we were attempting to wrap our brains around that, she said, "There's still more," and told us about the Pentagon. Then she told us about the rumor of a bomb at the State Department, and of the several planes that were at that time still unaccounted for. My classmate and I were literally speechless. We couldn't form coherent sentences. We just babbled and stuttered and stared at each other. None of us knew what to do other than to somehow keep moving. So we picked up our instruments and started to play. Concentration was almost impossible, but we plodded ahead, stopping occasionally for incoherent exclamations of shock. It was over an hour later before I had access to a campus computer to find more information. The first headline I saw said, "WTC Tower collapses." I stared at it trying to understand what that meant. The picture of it in mid-crumble did not make it more real. As I clicked on various stories and began to read, I kept going back to that picture to make sure I hadn't imagined or misunderstood it. As I read, the story of the other tower's collapse was posted. At first I thought it was another story about the first tower. It was all more than I could comprehend. I printed out several articles to take with me so that I could find a quiet place to try to read. Professors in the rest of my classes either gave us time to talk or cancelled classes compeletely, knowing our minds were elsewhere. By midafternoon I could no longer bear to keep my attention on anything other than the attacks. I went home and sat in front of the TV. That evening I worked as a personal aide to a naturalized American citizen from Germany who has clear memories of being a child in Germany during WWII. I walked through her door and just dropped my backpack on the floor. I did not say hello--that somehow seemed trite. We just looked at each other. "What an awful day," I said. She agreed. I went through the motions of preparing her meal and caring for her needs, but I felt disconnected from my body and my surroundings. Neither of us said much. As I prepared her for bed later that night, she began to talk. She said that it reminded her of the bombings of her town in WWII. She said that she couldn't bear to watch anymore. "I know what those rescue workers are experiencing", she said. "I remember what powdered buildings and dead bodies smell like. I didn't know I remembered the smell, but I can smell it as I lay here." (In the weeks ahead, she began to have nightmares and found that she had never dealt with the trauma of the war.--"I just stuffed it away, like all the Germans did." Many times over the next year, she would talk about the war). That night I watched TV until my eyes wouldn't stay open. The next weeks were one long blur. I know I attended classes, but nearly every other waking moment was spent sitting cross-legged in front of the TV. I don't remember there being Halloween that fall, and I don't remember the change of the seasons. I would sit in front of the TV to watch the news and lose track of hours at a time. When I would become aware of myself and surroundings, I would find I was rocking back and forth with silent tears falling down my cheeks. I cried for those who died. I cried for those who survived. I cried for our national loss of innocence (or ignorance?). I cried because in order to protect me, soldiers were leaving their families and doing things that I myself did not have the courage to do. Though I no longer have as intense feelings today, I still mourn and still worry, and I still feel the ground of our country shifting under my feet. The status quo no longer exists, and what we will become is still unknown. I will forget neither the losses nor the lessons of 9-11-01. I will teach them to others and I will forever honor the sacrifices of those who work to keep it from happening again. UPDATE: Kat writes about the part I left out in describing my experience: the thoughts and feelings that began that day, and continue to resonate.Unlike someone who either watched the news as it unfolded, or awoke on the West Coast and pieced together the news bit-by-bit, I received almost the whole news in the span of about 30 seconds.
UPDATE II: The name I wore.
08 September, 2005
Art for Soldiers
Are you a lover of the visual arts? Do you know someone who is? Holly Aho has something for you!
Holly Aho is a professional visual artist whose paintings normally sell for $150 to $2000. She is offering steep discounts on original, specifically-commissioned paintings in exchange for donations to Soldiers' Angels General Fund, Project Valour-IT, and SA's Operation Hurricane Katrina Soldiers Relief Fund. The paintings will be part of a gallery showing to raise more money for these Soldiers' Angels funds, then shipped to their new owners.
Visit her site and a gallery website for samples of her work.
Holly is a Soldiers' Angel (volunteer), and has done great work for Valour-IT (among many other activities as an Angel), while facing some serious challenges of her own. So, please go check her out and help get out the word on this artistic way to Support Our Troops.
Read More......07 September, 2005
American Character
Soldiers' Angel Holly Aho has a wonderful letter from an Air National Guard pilot (and Iraq veteran) helping to evacuate the injured and ill in the aftermath of Katrina. He describes the pace of air evacuations on Friday and the action at the New Orleans Int'l Airport, which was open only to relief/evacuation flights:
...These pilots were practically landing and taxiing on top of each other. They came in fully loaded with sick personnel. Many right from the rooftops....The helos would unload and then take right back off. It was not uncommon for a helicopter to be on the ground less than two to three minutes and then blast back off...These helicopters were immediately met by ground personnel who helped the people off the helos and if they couldn't walk, they put them on a stretcher or just flat carried them.
What makes it so extraordinary is when I realize that these ground personnel were just the airport workers, airline employees, cart drivers, fireman, and then the staff of all the emergency teams...They just stepped up to the plate and did it.There were literally so many helicopters coming in and out of the triage area that I do not understand how the tower guy could see through them all to control the planes once they landed. The little baggage trailers and tugs that you normally see zipping around the airport were being used to move survivors out to the airplanes. They can best be described as mini ambulances. The terminals at the airport were triage and staging areas. The airport vehicles that are usually operated by airport managers and security were leading airplanes and helicopters to newly created parking spaces. Then the huge thunderstorm hit to make matters even worse. Thunder, lightening, and driving rain pounded the airport and surrounding area for over 1.5 hours.
The helicopter pilots and crews never stopped. Everyone was so determined and working with such purpose.
It just was incredible. Absolutely incredible. There is no way the helos should have been flying in this weather. If this was just some regular mission or training flight, you can bet your kids Super Play Station that they would not have been flying. It would have been easier and probably safer to floss a shark's teeth them to have gotten these guys to stop flying. The same thing went for everyone working to organize and evacuate the sick, hurt, and elderly inside the airport.
As he wrote in his introduction, "[What I saw] filled me with pride and reminded me again why we are such an amazing and successful country." Well, what I read did the same for me. Read the rest here.
Read More......06 September, 2005
"Call to the Nation"
Soldiers' Angels and American Young Heroes have a big idea for showing our military how much we support them...
Call to the Nation: Support the Troops
We invite ALL Americans who Support Our Troops to Publicly demonstrate that Support in small or large gatherings in hundreds of cities and towns across America at 11:00am on September 17, 2005...
..All of our Troops deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan, in the Gulf Coast of America, and around the world deserve and need to hear loud and clear from the "silent majority" that we in fact do support them.
It is time for our troops overseas to be able to talk about how their families, friends and fellow Americans back home all got together to show their support and appreciation. It is time that we do something together to build up their spirits.
Let's do it, people. We've vowed, "never again..." Let's be part of making sure that vow is kept.
[Soldiers' Angels is the organization managing Valour-IT, and I found this on Holly's website. I imagine she's very involved with this...]
Administrative Note
Yes, I've deleted some recent posts. Yes, I know they are available via Google if you want to bother. I was just tired of looking at them.
Read More......05 September, 2005
Sheepdogs, Part Deux
A few months ago, Blackfive and his commenters had some great stuff about sheep and sheepdogs vs. wolves. This is even better. Go read it. Now!
Update: The link to Blackfive now goes directly to the relevant post.
Read More......04 September, 2005
Katrina and Valour-IT
I'm torn between helping those with immediate need, and those who will need help for the long haul... I hope we can help both...
-Sgt. B, on The Gun Line
I've been pretty quiet about Katrina, both from feelings of helplessness, and the conflict I felt between the needs of my Southern fellow citizens and the Valour-IT program that is so near and dear to my heart.
With the great need in the South, I expected literally zero donations to Valour-IT this week. It seemed almost obscene to raise money for anything other than hurricane relief, so we hadn't vied for attention. The last time more than one or two people posted on Valour-IT was Monday. Since then, it's been mentioned by bloggers only in passing (if at all).
But something surprising (to me) happened... people gave to Valour-IT anyway. Not many--only about 10, and the donations were smaller than average--almost all under $20. But that was with no project visibility. Of course, this is just speculation, but I envisioned a donor giving a healthy chunk of change to disaster relief (maybe $50?), then thinking, "Hmmm... I bet Valour-IT is going to have trouble getting donations. I'll send them a little something, too." And so they sent five or ten or even fifteen dollars to Valour-IT.
Those donations added up, bit by bit. But the impact was more than that. It showed that people hadn't forgotten the wounded warriors Valour-IT is helping; they'd found a way to help both.
I hadn't expected it, but the desire to support Valour-IT was obviously still out there.
And then I discovered something else. A blogger (I can't remember whom) pointed out how much could be raised for relief efforts and Valour-IT both, if every reader gave just five dollars to both. Imagine how many laptops (and components) we could buy if every person who gave a significant donation via a blog link to the Red Cross or other charity for hurricane relief also gave just three to five dollars to Valour-IT...
It's an old cliche, but oh so true; It's amazing what we can accomplish when we work together. When we look into our wallets and see that we can't give large amounts to every organization we want to help at times like these, we tend to forget that a single dollar given is one more dollar a charitable organization didn't have before, that each dollar combines with other gifts until together they have the power to make something happen.
Well, how about it? Three five-dollar donations would be more than enough for one more laptop bag; 12 would buy one copy of Office XP... Some of the bloggers on the Valour-IT blogroll get a thousand hits a day; at only $3 each, their readers alone could supply four more wounded warriors with the computer access that can have such an impact on their recovery!
So, let's not let Valour-IT fall by the wayside. We can continue to accomplish great things if we work together, a couple of dollars at a time...
I've got links to both donation opportunities set up on the sidebar to help you get started. Pick your charity for hurricane relief and then send a couple dollars Valour-IT's way, too.
Read More......02 September, 2005
A Different Kind of Relief
With apologies to my three readers for not posting...
I haven't felt like I had anything to offer on the issue that is foremost in everyone's mind. I trust that anyone reading this has already done (and will continue to do) what they can to help in this terrible situation. My heart hurts when I think of the hell so many people are going through. And the pessimist in me rises up and demands time and energy in contemplation of how far-reaching and negative the impact of this could be on our country. And at the same time I (like others) feel torn between different groups who have such need of our help.
So, I've done what I can on both counts, but feel rather helpless about it all. My readership is too small to be an effective clearinghouse for information or a source of assistance. And I don't have the ability to pull together a heart-rending post that will send everyone to the nearest charity to donate all their worldy goods; I don't have a meaningful role in this. So instead, here's my small (and largely insignificant) contribution to all this:
I think we all need to laugh. So, I'd like to collect the funniest PG-13 (max) jokes or stories* you've stumbled across lately (put them in the comments). Sometimes all we can do is laugh in order not to cry...
*John of Argghhh! has kindly lent me the latest version of the PG-17 to patrol the comments, so keep it nice...
29 August, 2005
Looking for Levity
Feelin' a bit blue today, so I thought this might lighten things up around here (But you still have to read the post below, okay?).
According to The Classic Dames Test, I am...
"You are the fabulously quirky and independent woman of character. You go your own way, follow your own drummer, take your own lead. You stand head and shoulders next to your partner, but you are perfectly willing and able to stand alone. Others might be more classically beautiful or conventionally woman-like, but you possess a more fundamental common sense and off-kilter charm, making interesting men fall at your feet. You can pick them up or leave them there as you see fit. You share the screen with the likes of Spencer Tracy and Cary Grant, thinking men who like strong women."
"Quirky and independent?" I'll buy that. "Fundamental common sense" and "interesting men fall at your feet?" Ha! Must be in a parallel universe. ;)
Not so fast, gentlemen! There's one for you, too. Let me know what kind Classic Leading Man you would make.
UPDATE: as if there were any doubt...
My life is rated PG.
What is your life rated?
H/T Miasmatic Review
Read More......More Than Just a Laptop
Many articulate bloggers have detailed why Valour-IT is such a special project. They've described it in emotional, practical, and patriotic terms. But today (thanks to Kat, The Middle Ground), I've found some scientific terms. While it's touching to think of wounded warriors being able to chat online with their loved ones or email guys still in the fight, right from their hospital beds, access to a computer can even affect the healing process.
Anyone (civilian or military) who suffers a traumatic injury or experience is going to have significant emotional issues to deal with, issues that will affect his or her ability to do what is needed to recover. In the short term:
Real and symbolic damage in the form of injury, separation or death of significant others, loss of property, destruction of social networks etc., result in feelings of loss and damage to esteem and identity.In the long term, if these "feelings of loss and damage to esteem and identity" are not addressed and mitigated, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can develop.
Now, stop and think about how many of the traumas, described in the quote above, an injured warfighter lying in a hospital stateside may have experienced.
- Injury: from moderate (i.e. burns, broken bones) to severe (i.e. loss of a body part or its function).
- Separation or death of significant others: including survivor's guilt, concerns about having reacted correctly in the fight, etc.
- Destruction of social networks: before the injury, almost every aspect of life was centered around the warfighter's military unit; the bonds were probably unlike anything he'd ever experienced, but now he is stateside and his unit is still "over there."
Talk about a double (triple!) whammy! The article goes on to discuss how these traumas can be coped with successfully:
Coping styles vary from action prone to reflective and analytical, from emotionally expressive to reticent. Clinically, response style is not as ultimately important as the degree to which coping efforts are successful as defined by the survivor's ability to:
--Continue task-oriented activity
--Regulate emotion
--Sustain positive self value
--Maintain and enjoy rewarding interpersonal contacts
Look carefully at that list above. If you are a survivor of a multi-traumatic event (severe injuries, battle, death/injury of fellow warfighters, separation from your brothers, etc.), lying in a hospital bed, how could a computer help you cope successfully?
With access to a computer, you could:
- Continue task-oriented activity. This could be anything from maintaining a blog (as CPT Z does), to making sure your bills are paid, to planning that awesome vacation you're gonna have to celebrate your recovery.
- Regulate emotion. Of course, a great deal of that is personality-related. But being able to find things to amuse and encourage yourself when you are upset or discouraged is much harder to do when you are confined to bed. But with a laptop you could lose yourself in a down-loadable book, laugh yourself silly on the South Park website, or reach out to the friend who always lifts your spirits.
- Sustain positive self value. This is where the words like "independence" and "freedom" pop up. When you can do the kinds of things described in numbers 1 and 2 above, you are reclaiming a bit of the independence your injury tried to steal. You are taking care of yourself and your business. You have a least one corner of your life where you are in charge. That's huge.
- Maintain and enjoy rewarding interpersonal contacts . This is the other huge one. Ask anyone who's been through terrible trauma; they'll invariably mention at least one person who "made all the difference." But what happens if that person (the buddy who saved your life or the sweetheart who can't afford to drop everything and come to you) is on the other side of the world? That's where the email, IM, and even voice chat come into play. It's your lifeline.
Then someone places a voice-controlled laptop in front of you and turns it on. Your entire world shifts. You have a powerful tool for your emotional and physical recovery now open to you.
Voice-Activated Laptops for OUR Injured Troops: It's a whole lot more than just the "warm fuzzies."
I'll leave you with Rachel again:
This project will make a massive difference to the lives of wounded soldiers. Giving them access to the outside world, as well as the independence that voice-activated computers will bring, is such an honourable way to thank them for the sacrifices they have made for our well-being. [bolding added]Click here to donate. Done it once already? Do it again.
Update: minor editing for clarity Read More......
28 August, 2005
A Special Bond
Much is made of the "Special Bond" between the U.S. and Britain. But one of our most stalwart allies in Afghanistan and Iraq has been Australia. I told you about Rachel and the donor from Australia last week. The donor had posted the "thank you" from Valour-IT (no, I didn't write it). We received the following letter in response to our "thank you":
Hi there!Thank you for the email. I wanted to draw your attention to the last two paragraphs...
Our information shows you to be located in Australia. It is heartening to know that news of our efforts has travelled so far.
If you are a citizen of Down Under: "Good on you, mate!" Your support of this project spotlights the strong bond of friendship between the peoples of our two countries, for which we are equally grateful
Believe me when I say it is us (the huge majority of us anyway) who are greatful to our US friends for their help in WW2. If not for you we would be speaking Japanese, this is a fact. Our government of the day had already planned to concede half of Australia to the Japanese. They had planned to call all troops in Australia to defend us accross what became known (I think) as "The Brisbane Line". Basically handing half the nation to the Japanese.The US saved the day, most of the old timers will tell you this with little encouragement. Unfortunately we, just like you, have left wing sad cases who try to rewrite history, and try to belittle all we two nations stand for. I do not believe there are two other nations on earth seperated by so much distance who share so much in common.
I will go to my grave supporting the American alliance. It was actually my mother who made the donation through me. She has no credit card or paypal.
Thank you for such a great cause and God bless your great nation.
Hats off to our courageous Allies, and to the great generation (of both our countries) who fought so hard for freedom, ultimately making our Special Relationship today possible.
Read More......26 August, 2005
Valour-IT Update
Dear visitor, if you are dropping by due to the kindness of Captain's Quarters or Day by Day (or many of the other bloggers that have recently linked)... Welcome to my very humble corner of the blogosphere. I had barely started blogging before Valour-IT took over my life. So, there's not much here that isn't on that subject. And what isn't may or may not be worthy of your attention. So, browse around as you will, but the only really important link is on the right--the link for Project Valour-IT's main website (and donation page). If you doubt the good your donation can do, see this and this. If you want to know more about the history of Valour-IT, try this.
Now to the Valour-IT News...
Great news! Thanks to Ed Morrissey of Captain's Quarters, and Chris Muir of Day by Day, things are already hopping around here (Three donations before 7:00 pacific).
AND Chris Muir has generously made Valour-IT the subject of his cartoon today! Be sure you take a look at it. Thank you, thank you, Chris!
And maybe it was Chris' cartoon that made Ed Morrissey take note of us. Whatever the inspiration, he has an excellent post on the subject. He also gave a link to this humble little blogger (*eyes bugging out*)! Thank ye kindly, Captain, for both. :)
And now it's back to the sickbed for me... *waving feebly*
Bubble, Bubble...
Toil and trouble... (Yeah, I probably misquoted that). Anyway, the toil and trouble are affecting Valour-IT.
Been sick all week. And then my computer apparently caught the disease; in its case, it was fatal. I came into work early this morning, to allow for a little computer time before work, and am now discovering that the work thing wasn't really wise (Oooh, look at all the fuzzy shapes and swirly colors!). So, I'm headed home to a weekend that will likely not include much computer access. Thanks to my generous employer, I will have a laptop for the weekend!
If you have any Valour-IT questions or issues, please look to John Donovan or Barb Way for assistance (thanks, you two!). They know how to contact me, if necessary.
24 August, 2005
Valour-IT: It's a Small World...
Seawitch has been blogging in support of Valour-IT since the very beginning. It turns out she's had quite an effect on her corner of the blogosphere, which includes a group of Australian bloggers. When Valour-IT recently received a donation from Australia, I was able to trace it back to Seawitch's Australian friends. And this led to my discovery of a vivacious, young, Australian blogger named Rachel, of Legless in Perpetuum. She posted this in response to Seawitch's request to spread the word about Valour-IT:
For all the times I've tried to speak or write about why this project is so important, I'm sure I've never said it half as well as Rachel just did.Seawitch, that is an absolutely amazing and bloody important cause that you are supporting. As I have a high-level spinal cord injury I also use a voice-activated computer. I have my little microphone that I speak into, and because I can move my arms I have a trackball mouse[...]I know what it is like to be stuck in hospital for a long time with nothing to do and no access to the outside world[...]
This project will make a massive difference to the lives of wounded soldiers. Giving them access to the outside world, as well as the independence that voice-activated computers will bring, is such an honourable way to thank them for the sacrifices they have made for our well-being. [bolding added]
Excuse me. I think I've got something in my eyes... While I'm gone, you can use that "Donate" button on the right.
Read More......Political Gamesmanship vs. Support
A tale of two Chucks...
The Gamesmanship: The big political story of the weekend was Republican Senator and Vietnam veteran Chuck Hagel's statement that, "We are locked into a bogged-down problem not unsimilar, dissimilar to where we were in Vietnam...The longer we stay, the more problems we are going to have."
If you think that was anything more than political gamesmanship, consider what else he said, "We should start figuring out how we get out of there...But with this understanding, we cannot leave a vacuum that further destabilizes the Middle East. I think our involvement there has destabilized the Middle East. And the longer we stay there, I think the further destabilization will occur."
I know my brain's fuzzed up from illness, but it sounds like he just said that we can't leave because it would destabilize the Middle East, but we need to get out because we're destabilizing it. Thanks for the help, Senator. It's awful easy to stand on the sidelines and take potshots, isn't it? Especially when you've got "prospective presidential contender" affixed to your name these days.
Fine, that's the dirty business of politics. But it's also a betrayal of what the Senator himself learned by hard, personal experience 30+ years ago...
Froggy nails it in a very un-PC rant:
A commenter at Froggy Ruminations raised the spectre of the Senator as a Blue Falcon. I'm not sure, but it's pretty darn close.Twenty years ago Chuck Hagel probably would have the lesson of Vietnam burned into his soul. That lesson being, of course, that the United States cannot be defeated on the battlefield, but is vulnerable only when politicians back home lose bowel and bladder control and start defecating on the mission and urinating on the public’s support for the war. But to have committed the same sin that doomed his comrades and him in decades past means he must have sold out those principles long ago[...]
[...]The implication in making the Vietnam analogy is that the United States should somehow follow a similar path that failed completely in Southeast Asia… pull our troops out now. Not only did we shamefully and unnecessarily lose a war, we subjected millions to torture, re-education camps, and genocide.
Shameful beyond words.
And now for the support: For a very different kind of Chuck (one who knows how to keep the faith with his fellow warfighters), check out Barb's great post on Valour-IT: what it does and why it matters so much.
Read More......A Different Angle on Fundraising
Well, I think the crud that's gotten me sick has now turned to eating my brain. Since I've got nothing meaningful to say, here's someone who does...
Huntress has some excellent suggestions for fundraising, at the bottom of a very nice post about Valour-IT:
...find some creative fun exciting ways to raise donations; how about a bowling for donations tournament, or a neighborhood car wash, or a bake sale...
I hadn't thought of this kind of fundraising at all. It sounds like the perfect project for a Scout Troop, a church youth group, or a school. Now that Huntress has gotten me thinking, how about a "Dance-a-thon" or a reading competition at your local school (students collect a small donation for each book a classroom reads).
So, how about it, all you Valour-IT supporters? I know you can only make your personal dollars stretch so far, but there are great opportunities out there for groups! And this is a wonderful learning activity for school-age children, whether they're doing a reading competition or learning about what it means to serve simply by their association with the project.
Finally, Huntress closes with an excellent suggestion for the media:
And to all those in media that spent WEEKS chasing after me for interviews, why not give the George Smith story a rest, and help draw attention to this wonderful project by giving it some coverage. [link added]Read More......
22 August, 2005
My Twenty-four Minutes of Fame
Well, all my adoring fans (Neffi, Boquisicio, that means you!) can now enjoy the dulcet tones of my angelic voice right on their own computers. ;-)
Seriously, Holly Aho (Valour-IT's awesome webmaster) suggested I do an interview for one of her podcasts so that we could draw attention to Valour-IT. I was happy to do it with that goal in mind, so here's the result [ 23 MB; don't even bother trying to download it via dialup].
Holly has truly been a Soldiers' Angel, as she's done so much for Valour-IT. So, huge thanks to Holly for giving the project a further boost through this interview, hosted on her blog.
Read More......Linky Love
Well, I've found the solution to lack of time to do what I need/want these days... get sick! Taking the day off from work today ($#%@ little, darling, lovable Germ Factories on Legs I work with!) gives me the chance to post some linky love. There's too much good stuff out for me to share it all, but here are some high points...
The San Diego milbloggers (so close, yet so far!) had a bash last night, and Sean included pictures! Now we know what everybody looks like, though it might require a bit of detective work.And speaking of San Diego bloggers, Lex exceeds his usual level of high quality with a post on the "Arab mind." He may not have the answers, but he's definitely got all the right questions. Also, if you haven't been following his "Rhythms" serial story, you've been missing out! Start here (heart-quickening) and here (heart-touching) to get hooked, then go back to the beginning.
On the Valour-IT front, Bloodspite of Techography has put up an excellent post in support of Valour-IT today.
Ok, imagine you're injured. Lying flat on your back. You can't write. You can't type. Your hands are bandaged so you can't use a phone. Your family is over 12,000 miles away and you're in a bed surrounded by folks in white.In other Valour-IT news, we're about halfway to our Bethesda goal, after only 12 days of operation. In fact, 10 laptops and software, etc., are in the mail already (a couple will be pushed over to Walter Reed for urgent needs there). If you want to volunteer your skills in various areas, check out the opportunities.
Where do you draw your support from? Who do you turn too? What about your wife/husband/kid back home?
We have a solution. And you can help.
On a related note, CPT Z and Soldiers' Angels were featured in a Washington Post article. He even has some good things to say about the reporter! He's been doing a lot of great posting. Just go to the top and scroll on down (don't miss the awesome pics!). Read More......
21 August, 2005
The Press and Chickens (It's not what you think)
We here at Valour-IT were all a-twitter this weekend, expecting at least a mention in the Washington Post. A reporter had sat with the Ziegenfuss family and a Soldiers' Angel volunteer for hours, and Project Valour-IT had reportedly been discussed quite a bit, among other topics. My phone number and name were given to the reporter, and spelling and pronunciation were checked with me. Everyone involved and those of us at Soldiers' Angels and Valour-IT had high hopes for a busy week, based on the article.
The article went out today and Chuck and family and the Soldiers' Angels volunteer were painted in rather nice terms, fortunately . But, no mention of Valour-IT... not even a hint. *sigh* It's a funny quirk the press seems to have--they get to choose write they write about, haha! And it read a bit like maybe the editor had taken a chainsaw to it, so who knows...
At least they gave CPT Z's website address. His current top post is about Valour-IT, so maybe we'll get some spillage from there.
But, back to the press drawing board, I guess. And something about chickens and counting...?
Blog Filler
The best thing about online quzzes? They make for eye-catching posts with almost zero effort... perfect for brain-dead people like me! :)
| Much More Emotional |
47% SCIENTIFIC INTUITION
85% EMOTIONAL INTUITION
| The graph on the right represents your place in Intuition 2-Space. As you can see, you scored well above average on emotional intuition and about average on scientific intuition.Keep in mind that very few people score high on both! In effect, you can compare your two intuition scores with each other to learn what kind of intuition you're best at. Your emotional intuition is stronger than your scientific intuition. |  |
Your Emotional Intuition score is a measure of how well you understand people, especially their unspoken needs and sympathies. A high score score usually indicates social grace and persuasiveness. A low score usually means you're good at Quake. Your Scientific Intuition score tells you how in tune you are with the world around you; how well you understand your physical and intellectual environment. People with high scores here are apt to succeed in business and, of course, the sciences. | |
This quiz was quite interesting to me because I've always been told I had great emotional intuition, but sciences have always been a struggle for me ("struggle" meaning I actually had to study for an "A," haha!). I would have hoped to get more than 47% scientific, though. I suppose I could could comfort myself in that I'm "average" in that category, haha! But "average" these days seems to be an ever-lowering bar. Oh well, can't be perfect... ;) then I'd be an intolerable egotist--which I guess would then make me imperfect! Hmmm... Life's such a balancing act. ;) *GRIN*
And yes, John, this is further proof that I am an emotional, non-linear, verbose and squishy female. ;) And without girls like us around to bug you, you guys would be a bunch of grunting geek engineers! :D
H/T Cassie
UPDATE: Apparently, I didn't notice the ads accompanying the quiz; NOT WORK SAFE! My apologies for anyone who may have discovered that the hard way. Read More......
20 August, 2005
Musings
Well, as you can see, I haven't posted in six days. I couldn't come up with anything that didn't involve Valour-IT! I thought that if I moved all the Valour-IT news off Fuzzilicious Thinking and put it on the project blog, I would "get my blog back." Maybe so, but I didn't get my brain back to go along with it! My brain's still filled to the brim with Valour-IT. No matter where I post, I fear it's still gonna be Valour-IT.
So, my 4 or 5 dear friends who actually care if I write: it's gonna have to be "Valour-IT (almost) all the time, (almost) every time--at least until the Project gives me my brain back!
Yesterday I saw that CPT Z had posted for only the second time since Project Valour-IT began. One of his posts today was the first time he's written about Valour-IT. Suddenly it was all real. I mentally went back to 15 days ago and couldn't comprehend how I'd gotten to to where i find myself today. As I said in comments at CPT Z's blog, "Had you told me 3 weeks ago that I would be involved in this way, I would have thought you insane." (Either that, or that he'd been chewing on the fentanyl lollipops again!)
No one could ever have convinced me I would EVER be in a position called "Project Team Leader" for a charitable project. Sure I lead at my job--I lead classrooms full of little children! (Although, that's a lot more like herding cats than it is leading anybody, haha!) But outside the classroom I have usually stayed quietly in the background. I even tried to keep my involvement in this project anonymous (Silly, I know; I'll probably be publically "out of the closet" after the Washington Post article this weekend).
The only answer I have to the above paragraph is that I'm not really leading. Somehow I got caught up into this amazing project with people of great enthusiasm, creativity, and skill. They just needed someone to "stir the pot" and give them a place to put it all. So instead of leading anything, I find I'm desperately trying to keep up as I attempt to wrap my brain around volunteers' big ideas, and master Soldiers' Angels organizational structure, PR/media, marketing, non-profit procedures and concepts, management of adults, fundraising, negotiation, and basic business practices all at once, so that I can understand what they want to do and keep them from trampling each other in their exuberance!
The first week was insane, but I think it's finally starting to settle down, as the "lift-off" work is done and it's "running itself" a bit. But as I look at the parts of myself I've discovered in the last few weeks, I know this will be one of those before/after points in my life: a time when I can see so clearly that I'm no longer what I thought I was before.
And the other thing I've learned from this is that I have some extraordinary friends: from John's organizational/management skill to Sgt. B's heart-touching writing, BillT's quiet passion, Beth's idealistic courage, and Lex's marvelous use of the English language. Plus, the rest of the amazing Castle Denizens, all the other bloggers who have put their excellent skills and connections to work on this, and the other amazing volunteers who've lent themselves to the cause. And of course there's CPT Z, our visionary and inspiration. How did I get so lucky to know such wonderful people?!
You know, I'm gonna avoid it like the plague, but if the day ever comes that someone tries to thank me for what I've supposedly done, I'll gonna be one of those terribly cliched people who says, "I didn't really do it; it was the wonderful team that gathered around a shared dream." Because that's the truth. And why I was blessed enough to be swept up into this amazing project, I'll never know. But I'll be forever grateful for the opportunity.
But the best outcome of all of this is that our wounded warriors are going to get a piece of their independence back. And that is truly "what it's all about." I haven't focused too much on that fact in this little meandering essay because looking too closely at that brings almost more emotion than I can handle. Yes, it's paradoxical, but to think that I had any hand in helping those who will use these computers is humbling beyond my ability to express. As I wrote above, I'm so grateful to be along for the ride.
What strange roads life sweeps us down...
14 August, 2005
All About Captain Ziegenfuss...
Holly Aho (Soldier's Angel, and Valour-IT's Webmaster Extraordinaire) will be posting a podcast interview with Alice, Carren, and CPT Chuck Ziegenfuss on her blog this evening.
CPT Ziegenfuss was the inspiration for Valour-IT, so be sure to go listen as he talks about how he's doing and what having a voice-controlled laptop has meant to him.
Update: Greyhawk has an excellent summary of CPT Z's story, for those who don't already know it.
Update 2: The podcast has beeing delayed for (hopefully just) one day. Keep your eye on Holly's Blog for more details.
[cross-posted at Valour-IT Blog]
Read More......13 August, 2005
How to Help
So you want to help? Here you go...
How to Help Project Valour-IT:
- Donate here (ask if your employer provides matching funds)
- Send the project homepage link to friends and family
- Blog about it, and ask your fellow bloggers to do the same
- Join the Fusileers
- Contact your local TV, newspapers, and radio stations with information about Valour-IT (watch here for recent press releases, etc. Get tips here.)
- Organize a church, school or youth group fundraiser
- Ask if you can put up a flyer at your work, place of worship, and club or community organization (or give a presentation, if that's your skill--email for materials)
- PLEASE contact FbL or John if you want to approach a major media outlet/figure or a large company, so that we don't overwhelm anyone.
Note: This list will be updated continuously as opportunities develop.
(After today, most of the day-to-day information relating to Project Valour-IT will be posted on the project blog. I will post updates about the project here at Fuzzilicious Thinking every few days, or if there is particularly exciting news. The links to the project website and the project blog will remain in the upper right hand corner of the sidebar.)
Read More......All About Project Valour-IT
If you're looking for the place with everything you'd ever wanted to know about Soldiers' Angels Project Valour-IT, you've found it!
Project Valour-IT Websites:
Official Website (Full details, donations, etc.)
Blog (Daily updates, planning, and current needs)
History and Development of the Project:
Software for Soldiers
Software for Soldiers (update)
He's Baaack (Inspiration)
Why it's Important
A Tale of Two Fathers (Motivation)
Project Valour-IT Begins
Castle Argghhh! Posts and Links:
OPORD 1
Castle Argghhh! Fighting Fusileers for Freedom
Notable Posts by Various Bloggers:
Fusileers: Project Valour IT Needs YOU (Righty in a Lefty State)
Valour-IT (The Gun Line)
Operation "Valour IT" (Blackfive)
(For additional bloggers who have posted about the project, see the Project Valour-IT Blogroll on the right)
Clarification:
Project Valour-IT is in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, beloved father of CPT Charles "Chuck" Ziegenfuss, at the younger Ziegenfuss' request. CPT Ziegenfuss was injured while serving in Iaq, and is currently recovering. His experiences trying to blog despite serious hand injures were the immediate inspiration for this project, in which he continues to be involved.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact me, using the "email me" link in the upper right hand corner of this page. Thanks!
UPDATE: Donations to Soldiers' Angels Project Valour-IT are tax-deductible and eligible for matching funds (if an employer provides that option). For questions about the IRS standing of Soldiers' Angels as a charity, click here to open the IRS search page for Registered Charities. Enter the exact text "Soldiers Angels" and select "all the words." If it's there, it's a registered charity.
Read More......And Now for Something Completely Different...
Surfing the local blog waters in a zombie-like fashion last week, I found the following quiz. Turns out it's based on actual personality tests. Only a week ago I would have laughed at the results, but working on Valour-IT has shown me I have skills I wouldn't have expected. But I guess it's like I said when I started this blog, "If I get passionate about something, the words come pouring out." Maybe that's how this whole wonderful insanity of me heading up something as big Project Valour-IT got started in the first place...I must've talked my way into it!
Anyway, I am...
Harry Potter Personality Quiz
Take it for what it's worth...
H/T SWWBO Read More......
Valour-IT Update
In the news today:
Project Valour-IT has its own blog! For daily news updates, the latest fundraising totals, volunteering, Fusileers activities, and more, go here.
Yayyy!! We have more than enough donations to purchase our first three (or four) fully-equipped laptops for Bethesda, and expect to be able to ship them out next week.
We've had some wonderful donors, including one today who wants to give enough to purchase one complete laptop system.
Soldiers' Angels has offered to help us purchase the first 25 laptop carrying cases. Thank you, Patti!
We now have a blogroll of bloggers who have made posts in support of Project Valour-IT. (If we missed you, or you would like a copy of the code, email Fusileer 6).
Several people are working their big-time media contacts to improve project visibility. Keep your fingers crossed!
Read More......10 August, 2005
Project Valour-IT Begins
I'm far too tired to make this eloquent or beautiful. The Castle and Barb say it so much better than I could, but here are the bare facts...
Project Valour IT is now up and running at Soldiers' Angels. No link from the homepage yet, so go directly to the project webpages.
There's been a bit of a stumble over the PR handouts. They should be available before noon today (knock on wood). In the meantime, visit the Soldier's Angels project website for general info, background, contacts, and most importantly right now... donations. Please don't hesitate to email me with any questions or suggestions you have.
So many people are involved in this in such important ways that I am overwhelmed by the possibilities of this kind of creativity, generosity and knowledge put to such a noble use. Particular thanks go out to Holly Aho for her marvelous website design and programming skills, and the men of Castle Argghhh!, who are pretty much coordinating the Internet/blog side of things. Deepest thanks, beyond my ability to express, go to all the wonderful people who continue to help make this happen.
Speaking of which, several very big big wigs are already expressing sincere interest in Project Valour-IT, simply from hearing of it by word-of-mouth. I will let you all know if/when anything comes of it.
Now, for more than 3 hours of sleep tonight... *exhausted grin*
UPDATE: added links for Holly Aho and Argghhh!.
Read More......09 August, 2005
Project Update
I'm running on adrenaline at this point (sleep? food? Yeah... I think I may have a passing familiarity with them, haha!), up to my eyeballs in final planning and coordinating for the Wednesday kick-off. Corporate suppliers have been lined up, and wonderful, providential things have been happening. Check out Castle Argghhh! for a little more info.
An official webpage will be up on the Soldiers' Angels website by Wednesday morning. If you have any questions, suggestions, or offers of help before then, click "email me" under the picture on the right. I will be checking my email all day, and have a package of background info I can supply to anyone who wants it.
In the meantime, huge thank yous to the amazing people already involved. Why don't you join us? We're saving a place for you...
UPDATE: Go here to offer graphic design assistance.UPDATE: As of 8/10/05 we are up and running at Soldiers' Angels
Read More......07 August, 2005
Project Name Update
We have one nomination for a project name:
The SFC William V Ziegenfuss Heroes' Electronically-aided Reach to Text Project, aka "The H.E.A.R.T. Project" (thanks, Boquisucio!). I like it a bunch. I'm concerned that it's quite a mouthful, but it's up for consideration.
Please keep the suggestions coming. We've got to have a name by Monday night.
And More Project News:
Once again, Holly Aho is proving her title of Soldiers' Angel. She has offered her services in design of the project webpage on the Soldiers' Angels server. She's a genuine expert on professional webpage design and I'm sure she'll be a tremendous asset in getting the word out effectively.
UPDATE: We have another nomination! Getting Injured Veterans Electronically-connected, aka "Project G.I.V.E." Or a variation on that--Operation GIVER: Getting Injured Veterans Electronically Reconnected.
UPDATE 2: CW4BillT of Castle Argghhh! has kindly sent his readers here to help choose the name. All ya'll please feel free to comment, suggest and opine on the matter.
And please check out the post below to learn why, whatever the name, the project will be in honor of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, beloved father of CPT Chuck Ziegenfuss (and drop by CPT Z's place to encourage him as he deals with hearing-related surgery that seems to have him uncharacteristically out-of-sorts).
UPDATE 3: As of 8/10/05 we are up and running at Soldiers' Angels
Read More......06 August, 2005
A Tale of Two Fathers
As you know if you’re a regular reader, the experiences and blogging of injured CPT Chuck Ziegenfuss have been an inspiration for the project we've been developing, as Chuck and I discovered we had a shared vision of providing voice-to-text software to any injured soldier who could benefit from it. It turns out we share more than that...
This morning I received an email from Chuck in which he wrote of his hope that the project could be named after his father. He wrote with great affection and humility about a man he obviously respected and loved very much. Here’s the story...
Sergeant First Class (SFC) William V. Ziegenfuss was a career U.S. Army medic, and served in Viet Nam. After seventeen years in the army he was given a medical discharge because the ravages of Agent Orange-related cancer in his digestive tract made him undeployable. Throughout his life he was devoted to the army and his fellow soldiers, helping them in every way he could. Sixteen years after his army career was over, his final gift was his personal collection of over 100 videos to soldiers and veterans in the cancer ward to break up what he knew from personal experience was the monotony of surgeries, therapies, and chemotherapy treatments. He was obviously a very loving and generous man.
This touched me because I have been remembering my father lately, too. He enlisted and volunteered for Viet Nam as a surgical tech. He was placed in the hospital in Da Nang, but due to some administrative restrictions/foul-ups, he ending up fulfilling his last months of enlistment working at Walter Reed, where Chuck is now recuperating. He went on to become a Christian minister and was dearly beloved by his congregants.
To my knowledge, no one ever connected it to any exposure to Agent Orange, but my father contracted leukemia and died from a related condition when he was 34 years old and my sister and I were both under the age of twelve. Though he pastored just two small congregations, his memorial service was scheduled for the largest church in town, and on that day the facility was packed with people of all religions and walks of life. Even the local gas station attendant knew and loved him, once saying to him in my presence, "No way you’re a minister...you’re just a regular guy!
Anyone who knew my father will tell you what an extraordinary man he was. A man of great social gifts with the ability to be at home in any environment, he was known for his humor, generosity, and compassion, among other laudable traits. And the most important thing he taught me was the value and dignity of EVERY human being. From the most unbelievably humble shack of the poorest family in our neighborhood to the Vietnamese war-bride next door, to the finest house in town, he taught me to see past the outside and recognize the deepest human needs and connections that make us all equal under the surface.
And so it hit me yesterday that this project would have been "right up his alley." He had a genius IQ, and so the curiosity-filled geek in him would’ve reveled in the mechanisms of the voice-to-text software. But the loving and compassionate person who recognized the humanity that binds us together would’ve loved the idea of using that software to reconnect wounded soldiers with the world around them. He would have instinctively understood the value of the project and been its greatest champion. The force of his amazing personal skills would’ve been put to work gathering volunteers and emptying pockets; he probably could’ve talked anyone into donating anything.
But like Chuck’s father, he only impacts the world from a distance now. And like Chuck’s father, his impact resonates through his children. So today, the children of two great men are working together to accomplish something that both men would surely be doing themselves if we were still blessed with their presence on this earth.
So, here's to a project in memory of two great men, to the benefit of many more of the same... May they all live forever in the hearts of those who know their stories!
*********
Don't forget! August 10 is the big day!
We still need some help, though! We’ve got the first part of the name, now--the “SFC William V. Ziegenfuss” part. But the name "The SFC William Ziegenfuss Laptop Computer Project" just doesn’t have any panache; that last part needs some work! ;) Please help us!
UPDATE: As of 8/10/05 we are up and running at Soldiers' Angels
Read More......05 August, 2005
It's Happening!!!
It's all but official! You are among the first to know...
A program to provide voice-based computer access to military personnel with hand and arm injuries at a variety of military medical facilities is being finalized under the auspices and guidance of Patti Bader and Soldiers' Angels. Program details and a website for donations and volunteers will be up by Wednesday, August 10th.
If you are interested in receiving the Soldiers' Angels press release on Wednesday, please email me and I will make sure you get on the list.
Right now we need your help in naming the program. "Software for Soldiers" isn't really accurate, since we intend to provide entire laptop setups. We need a short name that clearly communicates what it's about: giving soldiers with hand and arm injuries access to the communication and independence opportunities of computer use. PLEASE share your ideas in the comments, 'cause I'm drawing an absolute blank!
And to all of you who have already lined up to offer your time, support, and expertise: THANK YOU! I can hardly wait to see what we are going to accomplish together!
UPDATE: As of 8/10/05 we are up and running at Soldiers' Angels
Read More......04 August, 2005
Why it's Important
Fuzzilicious Thinking seems to be developing into an adjunct of CPT Ziegenfuss' TC Override. But what he is going through is such a wonderful example of why I am so serious about finding a way to provide all our soldiers who may have wounded hands and arms access to a computer that they can use.
CPT Z is obviously enjoying his "new toy" very much. His wife, Carren, has made another post, and she writes of what the newly-acquired voice-to-text software has already meant to her husband's continuing recovery:
I know Chuck is much happier now that he is able to blog, despite the fact that the voice recognition thing can be a hassle sometimes. He is very grateful to have it. He loves to see how many people comment when he posts. This blog is really an amazing thing for him and very instrumental for his healing. Alice and I can only do so much...
Not every soldier who needs the voice software is a blogger, of course. But I'd guess it's not the blogging itself that's the point with CPT Z, it's about the opportunity for self-expression and the way it allows him to reach far beyond the hospital walls. A soldier without a blog would still use a computer in much the same way: to communicate across the miles and maintain contact with a circle of people who are supportive of his recovery.
Speaking of... nothing is official yet, but things are falling into place. Mostly we're just waiting to communicate with the medical institutions potentially involved so that we can identify the extent of the need and how best that need would be filled. But as soon as that part of the picture is clear, we will be ready to hit the ground running with the PR and fundraising effort. Yes!! I can hardly wait!
That's why this developing project is so important.
UPDATE: As of 8/10/05 we are up and running at Soldiers' Angels
Read More......Software for Soldiers
WATCH THIS SPACE!
Amazing, wonderful, stupendous things are happening! Details soon, I promise (sorry to be such tease about it). Read More......03 August, 2005
He's Baaack!
The voice-to-text software that a reader gave CPT Ziegenfuss apparently arrived yesterday and he is no longer doing two-line posts.
As he says, the drugs "got to him" and made him all mushy (who wouldn't be mushy, when showered with the love and support he has received?). But if you think he's lost his edge, just check out the post-script, LOL! It's wonderful to have him back in "full voice."
Isn't technology grand? He can express himself completely and he doesn't need anybody speaking for him or taking dictation or otherwise doing something he can now do for himself. This is what we want to do for all the soldiers in his condition--give them some freedom and independence while connecting them with the rest of the world.
02 August, 2005
Software for Soldiers (update)
[I debated whether to make this post, since I have so little I can be specific about. But I'm so excited, and I wanted to let you all know that things are starting to become clearer.]
Lots of great things are happening in the developing drive to provide adaptive software and equipment to soldiers with hand/arm wounds so that they can use computers! Unfortunately, I can't be specific yet. But here's what's up (we still need more help in all these areas, as well as any ideas, assistance, and input someone may have):
- We have an offer for significant donations of basic software like Windows XP and Microsoft Office
- Several people in a position to offer assistance, advice, and contacts have stepped up
- A number of people have said they are very excited, and willing to pitch in whenever a specific need is identified
Best of all, an organization that assists deployed/wounded military members has offered to "help make it happen" (details haven't been discussed).
Now we just need to figure out what exactly what we want to do. But it's starting to gather momentum...
CPT Ziegenfuss is focused on helping out his fellow soldiers at Walter Reed, but hopefully we can reach far beyond just that location, and help a great number of our wounded soldiers feel more independent, as well as better-connected to their families/friends and their buddies still in the field.
This is so exciting! (Have a mentioned that yet?)
Read More......
Numbers Game
I'm sure many of you remember hearing that Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (the military hospital that handles nearly all the sick and wounded soldiers coming from Afghanistan and Iraq) recently treated it's 25,000th patient from the battles of the GWOT. I had never seen the breakdown of those numbers: how many were injuries vs. illnesses, etc. But Greyhawk has the details, and they are rather surprising.
Before you click that link, stop and think about what you would guess the distribution of those 25,000 patients is... how many combat injuries, non-combat injuires and how many general illnesses you think are contained in that staggering number.
Now, I almost hesitate to post the following because I don't want to diminish either the number or breadth of life-changing injuires to those wounded in combat. However, be sure to notice the statistics for amputations. Of course, these numbers don't include those who may keep a limb with severe nerve damage, those with severe head trauma, or those who suffer other limb injuries from which they will never completely recover. But the numbers are still quite surprising when one considers the vague impressions we receive from news coverage on the subject. (Now you can go read the link. Come back when you're done, if you would).
Keep those amputation numbers in mind as you read the following:
As Greyhawk points out, the media brings the cases of the most gruesome injuries to the forefront, and so we often read about soldiers who are challenged with these kinds of injuries. Usually they are quite heroic in their courage, determination, and sheer perseverence, which is inspiring to those of us who doubt we have what it takes to deal with what they face. But that seems rarely to be the point of the newspaper and TV profiles. As is often the case, we've been shown a rather distorted picture when it comes to discussions of injuries to those serving in Iraq and (less so) Afghanistan. I hesitate to throw rocks at the diverse and amorphous entity we call "the media," so I'll leave you the opportunity to decide why and to what (if any) end...
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I know how humbling it is, how humiliating it feels. And I know how much better I felt, how amazingly more functional I felt, after Soldiers' Angels provided me with a laptop.
--Chuck Ziegenfuss, wounded in Iraq and recipient of a voice-activated laptop while hospitalized (Valour-IT's inspiration)
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