Thoughts from Afghanistan

When I first started this online journal I wanted other people to contribute and do guest blogs like a talk show. No one has approached me about this yet. But I recently got an email from Terry and I thought it would be nice to put it into the bean's archive that presently is this blog. (My thought was to make this blog and your comments into a book for when he turns 18, or older depending on content). Many of you have been asking about Terry and how he has been doing. Maybe I can answer this through his inspirational words because I can't do justice to what he does everyday. Hope you enjoy and Terry isn't mad.

"Things are still going well, just a lot on my mind. I always think of the scene in Forrest Gump when he is describing Vietnam, during the day there is always something to do and somewhere to go, but the nights are lonely ones. I think lately my nights are frustrating because you have all the time in the world to think and ironically there is absolutely nothing you can do. Life is on hold. Normally that never bothered me, but I’m starting to feel old.

I’m not one to really argue politics anymore like I use to, I tend to stay silent believing that my work and actions are the right one and accepting that there are those who are truly ignorant to some of the realities of our world. The day before I left for flight school I visited the world trade center. Every time I leave for something in the military, I admit I get nervous because I have no idea what to expect. And again prior to deploying I visited the world trade center. Whatever my sacrifice, it is no where near what those people and their families sacrificed that day and I feel the need to remind myself that for the motivation to face whatever fears I may have. My first visit to the trade center I saw sheets of plywood used as the barrier. Pictures of the victims stapled to them, notes left for them. More recently, when I visited the barricade was now a steel fence, with a memorial. The subway station was opened, which I was amazed by. I would venture to guess that one day when I visit again, maybe in years to come with the little guy, we will then see a large memorial. Point being, there is the American dream. There is rebirth and building, and the promise of a better future. The American dream is simply hope, hope that against all odds things will one day be better. Its is in our blood, brought to us by our family members who came to the U.S. wanting something more. I challenge all of you to think about that.

Its something I always believed, I believed we were in Afghanistan to rebuild the country based on books I have read, but to see it with your own eyes is to have a different opinion. The other day I flew over a castle occupied by Alexander the great, I can go the market place and purchase riffles from the turn of the century left here by the British when they tried to occupy the country, as I fly I can see the burnt remains of Russian tanks all over the country. Kabul the prominent city I read of, is still in ruins from the Taliban. In this country, centuries of war are still present, there is no rebirth, their history is in plain site. There is no hope, and when the member of the parliament told me that America is there last chance, I know believe that and know that its true. The world trade center has come a long way since that September morning, but that hope for something better doesn’t exist here, which is tragic because these are a good people, they just lack what many of us take for granted in my opinion. So I’m proud to be a small part of this."