...though some is good, thank the Good Lord!

My mother called and said my sister had heard from her husband (A Marine major) over in Afghanistan. He works at the embassy in Kabul and said that a suicide bomber killed himself and an Afghan boy and injured some US guards in an embassy caravan. At this time, I'm not sure if BIL was in the convoy or at the embassy at the time of the blast. I'll have to double check.

See story.

I have seen reports on suicide bombers and have heard why they give their lives up, but I just...don't...get...it. Life is so precious and to be willing give it up and murder others at the same time is an anathema to me.

Now, I'm not going to get into politics because it isn't what this blog is about. I am just shook up over my brother-in-law's situation and the state of the world in general. Makes me want to cry.

One thing to come out of his Afghanistan deployment is a clothing drive that I am working on up here in Chicago. My BIL has seen many children in refugee camps that have no proper clothing nor shoes in cold weather. Saddened by one child in particular who was walking through ice puddles barefoot, he sent family members emails asking for donations of clothes and shoes if we had any to spare.

Well, it has grown. My sons' scout troop has joined the cause and has donated bags of clothing, shoes and odds and ends for the children of Afghanistan. The only problem is finding enough money to mail it all to the middle east. The troop is paying for some of the shipping, but most will be on my shoulders. Let's just say I will probably mail a little at a time over a long period of time.

One last bit of bad news I received today: a great-aunt of mine is in the hospital and is expected to die soon. It's bad enough to have relatives die, but it's worse when you live so far away and can't travel for the funeral. I can't tell you how many I have missed over the last 12 years. This is just going to be another one.

God Bless You, Aunt Louise.