Friday, January 15, 2010

MY SON AND HAITI

Yesterday and today have been long, worrisome days for me. My son,a captain on the L.A. County Fire Department, and a member of the Urban Search and Rescue Strike Team, along with 70 other members, flew out of March AFB on their way to Haiti. I am horrified by the streaming videos coming from the T.V., and I watch closely as searchers walk along the precarious concrete structures, broken blocks and unfathomable debris that covers men, women and children awaiting help. I pray for them, as I pray for my son and all the rescue personnel who put their lives at risk to help their fellow man.

In 2001, after the attack on the twin towers, my son and a few of his firefirer buddies, flew to New York to visit the stations that were so devastated by loss of life. It was something he felt he had to do. It was soon after the attack and my heart was heavy until he returned, not knowing if the enemy had any other plans in motion.

Then in 2004, he was sent to Sri Lanka after the tsunami, but somehow I wasn't as terrified then as I am now. He told me when he returned of the devastation, the resilience of the poor people who'd lost everything. One old man and his grandson were sitting on the beach, heating water in an old can for tea. When my son walked up to him, the old man embraced him, and offered him a cup of tea; this from a man who had lost everything...but his kind heart. It broke my son's heart. Even though the man talked, and my son could not understand his language, the common thread was love and hope.

But this time I feel different. I have a dreading. I can't explain why this is. I do know that I'll be so relieved and grateful when his fourteen days are up. I will pray that all the planes will have the fuel to lift off and bring all the teams home safely to the U.S.

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