I wrote this poem 10 years ago.
It's 15 years now since that ill-fated day. We aren't that much closer to reducing terrorism. The difference is that it is now more insidious - they could be anyone in the community - any Tom, Dick or Harry who may one day decide that blowing themselves up with as many innocent victims as possible for their cause. And it's not confined to the USA.
What is the world coming to? Radical terrorist, foul-mouthed, hate spewing world leaders.
I worry for the generations to come
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Monday, July 18, 2016
Guns
It has been a heartbreaking week for the USA, my second home. Shootings in Orlando, Dallas, Baton Rouge, just to name a few. Police officers, African-Americans, Caucasian, homosexuals, heterosexuals, an up & coming pop star were amongst the victims.
This spate of incidents seems to be coming too close together. In the last few years, we hear about mass shootings in various parts of the US. And each time it happens, the same rhetoric arises about lack of gun control, mental illness, terrorism. The same old same old words written about the violence that is becoming more pervasive in America, the land of the free, where the right to bear arms seems to override everything else that makes sense to me.
I will never understand the mentality of those who think that the lawmakers who are trying to introduce common sense gun laws are trying to take away all their guns.
So we will see what happens in the coming weeks, months, years; will vigianteism become more rampant there? I feel sorry for the law enforcers in those states which allow open carry weapons. What a nightmare it is, not just for them, but also for regular citizens, who see people walking around with weapons on show, not knowing who has a mental illness or just had a bad day and wants to take it out on somebody with his/her gun.
Perhaps it will take a massive horrific event to take place before eyes are opened and mindsets are changed.
This spate of incidents seems to be coming too close together. In the last few years, we hear about mass shootings in various parts of the US. And each time it happens, the same rhetoric arises about lack of gun control, mental illness, terrorism. The same old same old words written about the violence that is becoming more pervasive in America, the land of the free, where the right to bear arms seems to override everything else that makes sense to me.
I will never understand the mentality of those who think that the lawmakers who are trying to introduce common sense gun laws are trying to take away all their guns.
So we will see what happens in the coming weeks, months, years; will vigianteism become more rampant there? I feel sorry for the law enforcers in those states which allow open carry weapons. What a nightmare it is, not just for them, but also for regular citizens, who see people walking around with weapons on show, not knowing who has a mental illness or just had a bad day and wants to take it out on somebody with his/her gun.
Perhaps it will take a massive horrific event to take place before eyes are opened and mindsets are changed.
Tuesday, May 03, 2016
Fragile
Life is fragile.
The past week has been a sorrowful one for a dear friend. Her daughter's ex-boyfriend took his own life. He was 25 years old. They had just broken up. He was stressed by work. What was the trigger? Who knows? I can't imagine how his parents are feeling.
Last year, the daughter of another dear friend also took her own life. 16 years old. What drives these young people to such drastic extremes? Are the stressors so insurmountable that they felt that suicide was the only way out? I hear that suicide amongst the young has been on the rise in Singapore. If true, why?
So so sad.
The past week has been a sorrowful one for a dear friend. Her daughter's ex-boyfriend took his own life. He was 25 years old. They had just broken up. He was stressed by work. What was the trigger? Who knows? I can't imagine how his parents are feeling.
Last year, the daughter of another dear friend also took her own life. 16 years old. What drives these young people to such drastic extremes? Are the stressors so insurmountable that they felt that suicide was the only way out? I hear that suicide amongst the young has been on the rise in Singapore. If true, why?
So so sad.
Transitioning. Again.
W leaves Boston tomorrow for a new life in California. He graduated last year and now begins a new phase of life where he will (hopefully) find a job at least temporarily, while deciding whether he wants to go on to law school or not. I am optimistic that he will do well.
For us, this year is a year of moves. Moving/selling our Boston condo, moving out of our rental in Singapore, moving into a larger place in Macau....and hopefully finding a permanent home somewhere in the Pacific Northwest of the USA. I have been longing for permanence for a while now. At the ripe old age of 52, I long to finally put down some roots. My tired soul has had enough of uprooting over the last 2 decades or so.
For us, this year is a year of moves. Moving/selling our Boston condo, moving out of our rental in Singapore, moving into a larger place in Macau....and hopefully finding a permanent home somewhere in the Pacific Northwest of the USA. I have been longing for permanence for a while now. At the ripe old age of 52, I long to finally put down some roots. My tired soul has had enough of uprooting over the last 2 decades or so.
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Sins of the Parents
I think of our retirement years with a heavy heart. The country I've always considered as home does not seem so friendly after all. If retiring here means not being able to see our oldest son, then I choose not to stay.
The illogicality of it tears at my heart and soul. It may seem melodramatic but this has dragged on for so long and has worn me down. I don't know if I want to keep on fighting them, it seems so futile. What makes it worse is none of it is of his doing. It is Us. We were the ones who made the wrong decisions.
I feel sad that it has come to this. A heart-wrenching decision. A grandson unable to see his grandparents in their twilight years. But it is what it is and we'll just have to live with it.
The illogicality of it tears at my heart and soul. It may seem melodramatic but this has dragged on for so long and has worn me down. I don't know if I want to keep on fighting them, it seems so futile. What makes it worse is none of it is of his doing. It is Us. We were the ones who made the wrong decisions.
I feel sad that it has come to this. A heart-wrenching decision. A grandson unable to see his grandparents in their twilight years. But it is what it is and we'll just have to live with it.
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