Three Kids

“Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal”
(Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr.)

Prologue
September 12, 2001

I was driving home
I had the radio off because I needed a break from the news
Like everyone else at that time, I needed some quiet time
To reflect

I knew this would get complicated very quickly
The new president, recently appointed by the Supreme Court,
Needed to silence his critics and claim legitimacy
And 19 terrorists had just handed him a blank check

Was he hiding South Dakota?
Or did Cheney send in there
So he would not be in the way?

Either way, I knew that once he came out of his hole
He was just enough of a cowboy to get suckered into this bar fight
And why not? He knew his kids were safe
Yep! This would get complicated very quickly

I noticed a boy, about 12 years old
Standing on the sidewalk in front of his house
Holding an American flag
Wearing an army helmet and camouflage khakis
He was saluting to cars as they passed
The people in their cars would blow their horns, salute, and wave
This brought a look of joy to the boy's face
A look normally associated with ice cream and new bicycles

As I drove past him I did not blow my horn, wave, or salute
I just frowned
I watched in my rearview mirror as he threw down the flag
And stomped back to the house
I imagined him saying,
"Mommy, Mommy…that man doesn't want to play"

As I write this, I realize that that little boy
Is now old enough to serve

Thank You President Bush
(A poem inspired by a picture of a young Iraqi boy in a car holding a sign which reads, "Thank You President Bush")

Dear President Bush,

I am a young Iraqi boy
Who prides myself not only on my vast knowledge
Of politics and world leaders
But also on my command of the English language
And excellent penmanship as illustrated by this sign I made
All by myself

Thank you for liberating my country from that evil dictator Saddam Hussein
A million Iraqis were killed during his 20 year reign
You are a much stronger leader because you were able to get a million Iraqis killed
In twenty five percent of the time

I know in my heart that those people would have gladly given their lives
To further your cause, whether it be to find weapons of mass destruction
Which did not exist
Or to capture terrorists who were not born here, did not train here, and did not live here
Until after you invaded

But my heart is filled with joy because I, and the 80% of my family who is still alive,
Look forward to a free Iraqi government
Which should be formed any day now

And do not worry about the 4.9 million refugees you created
Our homes were not nice like your ranch in Crawford that you had built
During a political campaign to help Southern voters forget
That you're actually a rich Yankee from Connecticut

Like your mom said about the refugees from hurricane Katrina
Who had to live in a football stadium in Texas,
This will probably work out better for us
Especially for the 190 refugees you let live in your country

Remember what I always say
Americans lives are more important than Iraqi lives
And US security is more important than world stability
Keep fighting the good fight!

Sincerely,
The little boy with the sign who does too know what it says!

Epilogue
Amy

Coincidentally, the first show she acted in
Was the first show I directed
And don't even remember why I chose her
Out of the dozen or so who auditioned
Maybe her voice quality, hair color, or even her height
But I soon found out she was the hardest working 15 year old in community theater

In spite of no budget, a lazy stage crew, an inept production company,
In other words, a typical community theater production,
The show and Amy were great
At the cast party I was playing the typical pissed off director
Angry at the company for giving so much support to the cast party
And so little to the production

At the end of the night, Amy gave me a big hug and thanked me
She told me how hard she worked but how it was all worth it
I saw how proud her family was of her
And how much it meant to both her mom and her dad who were recently divorced
The anger I was harboring melted away
From a hug from a little girl
She taught me that art doesn't have to be polished or elaborate to be meaningful
Sometimes it just has to be done

Coincidentally, we met again years later at Boston's South Station
Amy told me that as a flight attendant she had the opportunity to visit Amsterdam
And the house where Anne Frank, the girls she portrayed in our play, hid
During the war
She asked if I would direct her in a two-person show she wanted to perform
Theatre people always say stuff like that but it usually doesn’t happen
But I really hoped that this one would

Coincidentally, she was working on the second plane
That crashed into the World Trade Center
Six years, two invasions, millions of lives, and billions of dollars later
We still haven't caught the alleged perpetrator

But I guess I'm missing the big picture