Beauty In Black And White

As we begin the New Year, I thought I would feature photographs taken only in black and white for the subtle yet sensuous qualities found therein. Of course there are shades of gray just like in life, for life is never just black and white, but all shades in between. This day is the start over that we all desired, our chance to correct our mistakes and move forward into a bright new day. I hope that this day finds you not too hung over and having arrived safely home without injury to you or any property you happened to come in contact with. As for me it has been a quiet start to what promises to be a fabulous year. My new job starts tomorrow after nearly 3 months of unemployment. It will be refreshing to get up to the alarm and set off on a new adventure. It has been a long time since I have had a job that is 8-5 Monday through Friday with weekends off. That in itself is going to restore a since of belonging to the world at large instead of working midnights and feeling isolated from reality. I am looking forward to the challenge of making a success of my new position.

In my morning reads this morning there were a couple of things I found of interest in the New York Times. The first is an interactive feature "Faces of the Dead in Iraq" where you will find a picture of every soldier who has given his or her life in George's war. There is also a section where you can read the stories behind the faces. This is the true price of George's war. Yet it is not the whole story, there is not a listing there of the more than 25,000 wounded, nor of the countless veteran's who have returned that suffer various mental anguishes from nightmares to severe Post Traumatic Distress Syndrome. Is this the year when the American people force an truthful accounting from this administration as well as a withdrawal from the quicksand in which we have become mired? As a veteran of the last quagmire in which the United States had itself embroiled, I know there are no easy answers. But the continued sacrifice of the members of our armed forces in a place we should not be where we went without just cause and cannot seem to get out of due to the inability of the Commander in Chief to recognize the hole he has dug for himself is a waste of human life and many billions of dollars that could be put to so much better use in another cause (global warming anyone?)

The second article I found to be of interest still touches on George's war, yet in a much more poignant way. An editor of the New York Times, Dana Canedy writes the story of FSgt Charles Monroe King, her fiance, who was killed on October 14th by an IED. The story, "From Father to Son, Last Words to Live By", relates how FSgt King recorded a journal to his newborn son as if he knew that he was not coming home. The story is a touching one and written from the heart. There is a section in the sidebar of the story where Ms Canedy is taking questions and will publish her responses later in the week. The journal excerpts that she has published in the story tell of a man who was raised well with a great sense of responsibility to those in his charge. The one line that stood out over all the others is a lesson for all of us "Appreciate people for who they are and learn from their differences". I do not envy Ms Canedy's task of raising their son as a single mom, but somehow I think the spirit of FSgt King will be hovering close by. May he rest in Peace.

In other news those of you who know of my rabid fandom of the Dallas Cowboys are probably wondering why I have not related too much on the last two games of the season. They were both so ugly that I could not bear to mar the beauty of the photography by writing about them. I am still and always will be a Cowboy fan, I just don't like to dwell on defeats. They are still in the playoffs, they have their brand new day to prove their worthiness to be there in the game next week at Seattle. I just hope they make the most of the opportunity.

In the coming weeks I do not know how the time spent working will constrain the time I spend writing here, but fear not for I still intend to post each day. The week day posts may be rather more abbreviated due to the time I will have, this only means I will have to make the weekend posts more appealing to you. I will endeavor to modify my header to reflect your choice of the Young Hunk. He received more than twice as many votes as any other photo in the poll. Somehow I knew he would. I will also try to come up with another poll relevant to your interests. As always I welcome your comments and suggestions, post them at the appropriate places or drop me an email at the address in my profile. I promise to write back.

In closing let me say thank you to all those readers who have taken time to post a comment or email me. Your warm words and encouragements have made the efforts I make here all the more enjoyable. As Nichevo is your home as well as mine as we journey together through the ups and downs of our daily lives. Know that you are always welcome here. In the coming weeks I will be sharing more of my story, and as I have said in prior posts, the passing on of our experiences is one of the most important ways to insure the future does not repeat the past. I love you all, thank you for reading Nichevo. Until next time as always, Enjoy!