Thursday, November 13, 2008

Today


Welcome to a night where I would skip the ol' blog if it weren't November and I pledged to post every day, like an idiot. Starting to feel the burn...how about some current events?

So today? Prince Charles turns 60. And the people want him to succeed and not pass it along to dashing Prince William! Which he couldn't do anyway without like a new LAW so whatever. The word is--poor Charles has spent his life waiting for the crown. It seems like he has a pretty good deal of it, from where I'm standing. Those ermine robes seem a little heavy, if you ask me. Oh, and his mother is healthy, thriving, happily married, and adored. There's that. And who would want to follow in the footsteps of Queen Elizabeth anyway? Not I. She rocks. Well anyway, Happy Birthday, Your Royal Highness. Good work with the environment and all.

And today? Children are separated from their parents because of the violence in Congo. I can hardly bear it. That quote about once you are a mother you are everybody's mother? That. The truth is that I do bear it--I bear it because I can look away--take a break from the spiral into darkness that not bearing it would bring. I bear it because my own child sleeps safely ten feet away from me and so I am complacent, even as the intoxication of him makes those children's burdens both more and less real. Since I won't hop on the next plane there--and if I could I probably couldn't find their mamas for them--here.

"My mother's name is Alphonsine," the 10-year-old said softly, sucking her thumb. "She's short. She's very dark."

6 comments:

Mary Alice said...

That is soooo sad. I can only imagine the terror of not knowing where your child is.

Jenn @ Juggling Life said...

It's unbearable.

shrink on the couch said...

Poor Prince Charles. Kidding. I cant' let myself "go there" about the millions of devastated lives in that country called Africa. It's too heart breaking.

Anonymous said...

Oh.
Just oh.

Jennifer said...

I broke down sobbing in my kitchen after watching some of the news about the Congo. I just...it's so difficult to understand the awful things that go on in the world...

Irene said...

Africa is the saddest continent and a big stain on the map of the world. I try not to think about all the horrible things that happen there, because it is too much to comprehend and we seem to make such little impact. I cry for Africa and wish I could go over there and do one good deed. I am afraid I am the wrong person to do it, because I would lie down on the ground and weep.