My friend, Maureen, brought her son in to work one day this summer to introduce him to us.
He was home on leave from the service and took his mom out to lunch. He was in full uniform and just the sight of him would have made any American proud. It truly touched my heart. He is still just a boy I thought, all of 19 or 20 years old. Yet, there he stands in full uniform, such an impressive sight; beret, badges and all. Tall and handsome with the confidence and purpose of a grown man - yet I knew he was just a boy a few years ago.
Maureen told me that although there is much controversy and debate here over the war, there is no doubt in the minds of the soldiers. Their mission is clear. They know why they are there and they are very proud to do their jobs. Her son was stationed in London when the recent bombings occurred. Although it was several days before she heard from him, thankfully he was not harmed.
Beginning in September, he will be stationed in Iraq. Please remember him and all of our armed forces in your prayers. Seeing him made me think of the following article I had received from a friend. I thought it was worth sharing with you. (I had to abbreviate it for use in this column, as it was rather long.)
Ben Stein's last column -"Monday night at Morton's."
On a small scale, Morton's (a famous chain of steakhouses known to be frequented by movie stars and famous people from around the globe), while better than ever, no longer attracts as many stars as it used to. It still brings in the rich people in droves and definitely some stars. I saw Samuel L. Jackson there a few days ago, and we had a nice visit, and right before that, I saw and had a splendid talk with Warren Beatty in an elevator, in which we agreed that "Splendor in the Grass" was a super movie.
Beyond that, a bigger change has happened. I no longer think Hollywood stars are terribly important. They are uniformly pleasant, friendly people, and they treat me better than I deserve to be treated. But a man or woman who makes a huge wage for memorizing lines and reciting them in front of a camera is no longer my idea of a shining star we should all look up to. They can be interesting, nice people, but they are not heroes to me any longer.
A real star, the kind who haunts my memory night and day, is the U.S. soldier in Baghdad who saw a little girl playing with a piece of unexploded ordnance on a street near where he was guarding a station. He pushed her aside and threw himself on it just as it exploded. He left a family desolate in California and a little girl alive in Baghdad.
I am no longer comfortable being a part of a system that has such poor values, and I do not want to perpetuate those values by pretending that who is eating at Morton's is a big subject.
There are plenty of other stars in the American firmament - the policemen and women, orderlies, paramedics, teachers, I could go on and on.
Think of each and every fireman who was running up the stairs at the World Trade Center as the towers began to collapse.
I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters. This is my highest and best use as a human. I can put it another way. Years ago, I realized I could never be as great an actor as Olivier or as good a comic as Steve Martin, or as good a writer as Fitzgerald. Or even remotely close to any of them.
But I could be a devoted father to my son, husband to my wife and, above all, a good son to the parents who had done so much for me. This came to be my main task in life. I did it moderately well with my son, pretty well with my wife and well indeed with my parents (with my sister's help). I cared for and paid attention to them in their declining years.
This was the only point at which my life touched the lives of the soldiers in Iraq or the firefighters in New York. I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters and that it is my duty, in return for the lavish life God has devolved upon me, to help others he has placed in my path. This is my highest and best use as a human.
"Faith is not believing that God can. It is knowing that God will." - Ben Stein
Thank you for letting me share this with you. Have a great week and remember that God loves you!
"The loveliest masterpiece of the heart of God is the heart of a mother." - St. Therese of Lisieux
Denise Bennett is a parishioner at Holy Family Church in Auburn. She can be reached at deniseb132@yahoo.com
Maureen told me that although there is much controversy and debate here over the war, there is no doubt in the minds of the soldiers. Their mission is clear. They know why they are there and they are very proud to do their jobs. Her son was stationed in London when the recent bombings occurred. Although it was several days before she heard from him, thankfully he was not harmed.
Beginning in September, he will be stationed in Iraq. Please remember him and all of our armed forces in your prayers. Seeing him made me think of the following article I had received from a friend. I thought it was worth sharing with you. (I had to abbreviate it for use in this column, as it was rather long.)
Ben Stein's last column -"Monday night at Morton's."
On a small scale, Morton's (a famous chain of steakhouses known to be frequented by movie stars and famous people from around the globe), while better than ever, no longer attracts as many stars as it used to. It still brings in the rich people in droves and definitely some stars. I saw Samuel L. Jackson there a few days ago, and we had a nice visit, and right before that, I saw and had a splendid talk with Warren Beatty in an elevator, in which we agreed that "Splendor in the Grass" was a super movie.
Beyond that, a bigger change has happened. I no longer think Hollywood stars are terribly important. They are uniformly pleasant, friendly people, and they treat me better than I deserve to be treated. But a man or woman who makes a huge wage for memorizing lines and reciting them in front of a camera is no longer my idea of a shining star we should all look up to. They can be interesting, nice people, but they are not heroes to me any longer.
A real star, the kind who haunts my memory night and day, is the U.S. soldier in Baghdad who saw a little girl playing with a piece of unexploded ordnance on a street near where he was guarding a station. He pushed her aside and threw himself on it just as it exploded. He left a family desolate in California and a little girl alive in Baghdad.
I am no longer comfortable being a part of a system that has such poor values, and I do not want to perpetuate those values by pretending that who is eating at Morton's is a big subject.
There are plenty of other stars in the American firmament - the policemen and women, orderlies, paramedics, teachers, I could go on and on.
Think of each and every fireman who was running up the stairs at the World Trade Center as the towers began to collapse.
I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters. This is my highest and best use as a human. I can put it another way. Years ago, I realized I could never be as great an actor as Olivier or as good a comic as Steve Martin, or as good a writer as Fitzgerald. Or even remotely close to any of them.
But I could be a devoted father to my son, husband to my wife and, above all, a good son to the parents who had done so much for me. This came to be my main task in life. I did it moderately well with my son, pretty well with my wife and well indeed with my parents (with my sister's help). I cared for and paid attention to them in their declining years.
This was the only point at which my life touched the lives of the soldiers in Iraq or the firefighters in New York. I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters and that it is my duty, in return for the lavish life God has devolved upon me, to help others he has placed in my path. This is my highest and best use as a human.
"Faith is not believing that God can. It is knowing that God will." - Ben Stein
Thank you for letting me share this with you. Have a great week and remember that God loves you!
"The loveliest masterpiece of the heart of God is the heart of a mother." - St. Therese of Lisieux
Denise Bennett is a parishioner at Holy Family Church in Auburn. She can be reached at deniseb132@yahoo.com
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