Jocks

This is what it really takes to win hearts and minds at a Soldier level. Being with the local population.

These are Scottish Lads patrolling in Kabul.

Actually I love this clip because of their accents.

I can understand them because their my people.

If you can't it's because yer nae Scot.

All of them have a Mum whose is proud of them.

The Story of Sergeant MacKenzie

Sergeant Charles Stuart MacKenzie went to fight in France during World War I in the Seaforth Regiment of Highlanders and was shot in the shoulder. He was sent him home to Scotland for treatment, where a surgeon wanted to amputate his arm. Sgt. MacKenzie refused, stating that he had to go back to his men. A picture of him was taken on the steps of the hospital. This picture hung in his home above the fireplace. Upon his return to the front, he and his men were were again found in intense combat.

It was reported that..

"... one of his close mates fell, badly wounded. Charles stood his ground and fought until he was overcome and died from bayonet wounds. On that day this mother was sitting near the fire place when his picture fell from the wall. She exclaimed .."Oh, my bonnie Charlie's dead".

Sure enough a few days passed, and the local policeman brought the news - that Sgt. Charles Stuart MacKenzie had been killed in action in France.

The tune "Sergeant MackKenzie" was used in the movie We were Soldiers Once and Young staring Mel Gibson.

This is the song...it is a fitting poem for the courage of a Scottish Soldier.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzlcajAiBps

Lay me down in the cold cold ground

Where before many more have gone

Lay me down in the cold cold ground

Where before many more have gone

When they come I will stand my ground

Stand my ground I'll not be afraid
Thoughts of home take away my fear

Sweat and blood hide my veil of tears

Once a year say a prayer for me

Close your eyes and remember me
Never more shall I see the sun

For I fell to a German's gun

Lay me down in the cold cold ground

Where before many more have gone

Lay me down in the cold cold ground

Where before many more have gone

Where before many more have gone

Scottish Soldier

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdJG6Rziqmw

Every since I was a young boy...I wanted to be a Soldier...

Conflict in Georgia

Yes--I have not posted in awhile, but it takes a bit of work to post a blog and I have been very busy and this and that and so on...

I have been thinking a lot about Georgia...and not Atlanta...I mean the country of Georgia. There is significant fighting going on there as you read this.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7550965.stm

It is the same story. People want their own land and country, but it never is that easy...read the map of the world and why conflict occurs.

It is the same story.

There are deep passions about the reasons to be separate...culture, religion....history.

But there are always reasons for countries not to let go..power, resources..prestige and pride.

It is the same story.

Young men fight and die. Women suffer. I think the most. They watch their husbands, sons and children die or worse...they disappear, never to be seen again.

They weep, they carry the weary children in their arms...they endure.

It is the same story.

Je me suis perdu...!

I spent a good bit of time getting some software installed on my computer in order to be able to use a phone. It didn't work at first. My next door neighboor and I worked through our poor language skills in a vain attempt to trouble shoot.

I used my best High School French to read the instructions (I was really desperate), then I called the help number and in a combination of Flemish and English, I basically realized I was all on my own....I was like a survivor left in technology wilderness.

I would not give up.

I experimented. I rebooted, reinstalled....improvized and when I was almost ready to be conquered...there was a spark of life...a dial tone and soon a ring and then....success!

Early man discovered fire and captured wild beasts....

I conquered VOIP telephonary.

Now I have to figure out how to change my spell check from Flemish....to English (sigh)

Pursuit of Happiness

I am finally back on the Blog net after sorting out my Belgium internet service and returning from a few trips here and there. It has been a very busy time.

I took this picture of a young Afghan while in one of the most remote regions of Afghanistan.

It is one of the poorest areas of the entire country. This is significant since Afghanistan ranks close to the 4th poorest country in the world. That is something not to be proud of.

It was obvious to me that some of the problems in this part of the world are complex and yet are so simple and pure in their essence. In the end, all people want to have a basically simple life, where they can raise their children without fear and make some sort of income to feed and secure their families-free of terror. The pursuit of happiness. Not necessarily obtaining it, but the freedom to pursue it.

This became very clear to me after spending an evening talking to a very articulate young man who had lived through the Taliban era as a teenager. We sipped green tea and he recounted his life to me. At one time the Taliban caught him with a cassette tape and thus broke his hand and beat him severely.

Despite the horror of this, he was hopeful. He was proud and determined to make a better life for himself and his family.

With an enormous smile he showed me a picture of his girlfreind who is studying in the United States.

He held a frayed, beloved picture of a seemingly shy Afghan woman in her early twenties sitting under a tree in what appeared to be a local park in a large city.

Hope that the future must bring a better life...the pursuit of happiness.

How great were the founders of our nation?

I'll be Back

I am currently don't have steady access to internet and will be traveling trough the middle east, so no post for a bit...please come back for insights into what I see.