So now is not a good time to be a Wysocki if you like your legs. About two weeks ago my brother sprained his ankle while jogging. While he was nursing it back to health my mother broker two bones in her foot by kicking my 100lbs. dog. She didn’t do this intentionally. The dog was running laps and ran into her foot as she was taking a step.
She went to the podiatrist and finally got her foot x-rayed. He confirmed that she had broken it and she’s now in a cast for several weeks. Then there is me. While carrying my great grandmother’s milk glass vase out of my grandmother’s house, I trip over some bricks. I sprained my ankle and cut up my other leg pretty badly. Don’t worry; I saved the vase from destruction.
It was my body that I couldn’t save. So Joey, my mother and I all look pretty pathetic sitting in the living room together with our feet up. My father even made a special phone call to my sister to see if her legs were ok. They are just fine…for now.
This is a letter I wrote to President Obama today. Feel free to swipe it from me for your own use!
Dear Mr. President,
Your, and our, Iran policy is being challenged by the current realities in the country. In the past week, the Khamenei-Ahmadinejad government has disregarded the aspirations of the citizens and their basic rights. The students and the youths of the country are being killed, injured and imprisoned. Iranian citizens are calling for change, inspired to a large degree by the message of hope that you, Mr. President, gave them in your Cairo speech.
There is now a compelling new factor that needs to be added to process of normalization of relations with Iran: the government’s handling of the largest social and political movement in the history of the Islamic Republic. Our government must demand the government in Tehran to guarantee the safety and security of its citizens during their peaceful demonstrations against the outcome of the election.
Normalization of relations with Iran needs to recognize the realities on the ground, which have changed radically in the past few days by a social movement with historic proportions. The normalization process should proceed in a way that will not alienate millions of young citizens whose call for change was inspired by your message of hope. We cannot and should not limit the process to nuclear and terrorism issues. The Iranian people are crying out for change, reminiscent of our days of campaigning here in this country. We must take a moment to remember the broader principles of our democratic society, and support the millions of Iranian citizens that seek to acquire them.
I am asking the international community, and particularly the United States government, to restrain from accepting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the president of Iran. In the absence of independent journalist and newspapers, there are reports, photos and videos on social networking websites that show brutal treatment of the dissidents during peaceful rallies held in Iran. I am asking the international community to pressure Iran’s government to let its people hold their rallies and protests in a peaceful environment.
Please reamain silent no longer and stand up for this injustice. The people of Iran are begging the West for assistance (notice all of the signs at protests are in English). They are crying out for help and we must stand up as fellow human beings and assist their fight for democracy. Please do what is right. Deny Mahmoud Ahmandinejad as the president of Iran.
After an election, where the results were tainted with corruption, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner of the Iranian Presidency. Though time may never tell us how the votes really played out, I truly hope and pray, for the sake of every Iranian, American, and person out there, that Mir Hossein Mousavi will be declared the winner and become the next President of Iran. Many Iranians and members of the international community have considered Ahmadinejad’s most recent electoral victory to be fraudulent.
A very moving set of portriats is gathered here: Iran’s Disputed Election. It shows what the pains of revolution can look like for a country.
Jake has joined the Air Force! He is waiting to leave for basic. Sad to see him go but happy that he got in because he worked so hard for it. Well done, Jake! I’ll miss you so much! (And work on getting stationed at Ellington!)
What is the definition of an air disaster? I was reading this article today (http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090601/D98I16480.html) and I was shocked that they didn’t count any of the deaths from 9-11-01 as air disasters.
At first I assumed they left the September 11th flights off the list due to the fact that there was a human interaction that caused the disaster. But then again, there was on flight EgyptAir Boeing 767 in 1999 too, and it made the list.
Remember to say a prayers for those who lost loved ones in the Air France air disaster. This must be a very difficult time for them. Also, pray that the investigators are able to find the black boxes swiftly as they only have 30 days to find them in some very deep water. May they be able to understand what went wrong so the families who lost loved ones have some closure.
The Beatles make me happy. Don’t they make you happy?
I’ve been really awful about blogging lately. I mean, I’ve blogged, but I haven’t really blogged about my life or what is going on. Sorry!
Memorial Day weekend was fun for our family. We were supposed to take a nice cruise down to Mexico but thanks to the ridiculous swine flu scare (oink, oink) our cruise got canceled. Being that is was Joe’s Bon Voyage Cruise before he left for life as a Marine, and we all had the time off from work and school already, we decided to make a vacation out of that weekend anyway by renting a $250,000 houseboat on Lake Ouachita in Arkansas.
The houseboat was swanky and Lake Ouachita is gorgeous. Too bad it is in Arkansas. Oh how I dislike that state. How do I loathe thee? Let me count the ways! Even though we were in Arkansas, and not in God’s Country, we had a blasty blast.
We ran, skipped, drank, hopped, swam, splashed, dunked, slid, cannonballed, batman dived, napped, ate, watched too much tv, played cards, and spent waaaay too many hours on the road. It was a ton of fun and full of memories that will last forever.
Now we are all back in Houston and on to every day life. Joe continues to train up for his departure date. (We still aren’t sure when they will take him from us.) Everyone else is remains busy working. I have a friend coming in from out of town and I think we are going to make a day trip to San Antonio just for fun! I’m looking forward to it.
What else?
Have you ever noticed how the news is always depressing? So how about something to make you smile? This is a car commercial but I could seriously watch this all day. Fun stuff!
To celebrate my brother becoming a United States Marine, we are taking a family vacation. Thus, I will be out of town for Memorial Day. But I wanted to make sure to mention all of the fallen soldiers that we are to remember on Memorial Day. They have secured our freedoms, and given us peace. We can sleep in our own beds at night without concern for our safety. Many of our soldiers have given the ultimate sacrifice and it is so important that we honor them.
Maura finally made it to Heaven this morning. She left this earth surrounded by family and friends, with Handel oratorios playing in the background. What a way to go! Maura always did do everything with style and class. May she enjoy singing in Heaven among the believers! Praise God that her death was swift. And may God be with all of us who must live our lives without her.
Please keep Maura and the entire DeSouza family in your prayers.
Maura is home now on Hospice and resting. Sleeping, sleeping, sleeping. Maura’s kidneys shut down last week after her tumors returned with a vengeance. There are no more effective treatments that she can take. Any other measures taken now would just prolong her suffering. She does not want any extraordinary measures taken. She is at peace; she is not afraid to die; and she is absolutely sure that she will soon be in Heaven.
What a blessing it is to have peace in our LORD and Savior. She is such a strong and amazing woman and is facing death with a profound confidence that I hope to have someday. She is so lovely and when she is gone we will miss her so…but be glad that God let us share in a little part of her life. And I know that we will all take comfort in knowing that she is out of pain. (And we will all be a little bit jealous that she gets to sit in Heaven with God. She will be Home.)
To her family I offer up this prayer…
O merciful Father, who hast taught us in thy holy Word that
thou dost not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men:
Look with pity upon the sorrows of thy servant for whom
our prayers are offered. Remember him, O Lord, in mercy,
nourish his soul with patience, comfort him with a sense of
thy goodness, lift up thy countenance upon him, and give him peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Keep praying for Maura! She needs your prayers more than ever right now. Grab some Kleenex and watch her graduation. It is amazing! I’m so proud of her!
