Well, most stuff is like that...eye sees a mountain far away, not the same as getting to the mt, foot to mountain, encountering mountain, climbing, falling on the mountain.

  It was like that for us as a nation when decisions were made to counter-attack.  D.C. had forged from all the damage, all the feelings about 9112001, all the historical precedent, all the strategic thinking and theory the molten-poured.  And then a lot of things happened.  Big things.  War things.  Whole being change.

  If our nation was a person, the person was attacked.  Then there was bodily and mentally and spiritually--change(s).

  We see this in fighting down the line in human history.  There is loss and there is gain.  There is crushing blow.  There is irrefutable victory.  There is wear and tear, sustaining, maintaining.  In some ways warring became over time just like any other work--selling pizzas, tending sheep, fjording piles of garbage.  In other ways warring can never totally be just like any other work or there would be no humanity left.  That would be job well done if we consider warring as destroying.  

  The U.S. and the Allies went through a profound process in WWII where it met the enemy on the terms of beating away but then reclamating purpose of the fight.  The U.S. also went through similar process in subsequent fighting action.  By the time of Iraq, the broad debate had become to nation-build or what?  We'd made the point, nobody can just attack us and not get punished for that.  But we'd never been able to neatly leave behind a functioning democracy.  Many reasons.

  Part of where the world is now with widespread communications and weapons-capability and technology and a very different social-infrastructure means that we really are, all, in unfolding action all the time.  It's quite different from olden days when it took planning and time to wheel the canons uphill to field.  And breakdown of traditional nation has aided the becoming-reality that the whole world is the "theater of war".

  This is really why there are stalwarts who stay out of political transition and who warn of potential escalation and unintended consequences.  It is why world monitors and think tanks put forth jolting information--which has to be parsed from disinformation and "enemy action"; has to be synthesized with all the other data; has to be keeping up with and maybe staying ahead of.

  We are in a more mysterious phase than solid: this is what we are doing phase.  People like General Milly (sp?) are confirming that there's a heap of happening and some news also ratifies...what is happening...without too much "opinion" on this...unpleasant at best.

  Of course we did.  As teens and young adults we felt and were more like one.  That's part of why addiction was so catchy.  But it went the other way too.  Someone could afford therapy, got some coping tools and stuck a stick in the wheel if us running away or sliding over some edge.

  A strong American personhood, too, was contender to socialism or all those tendencies to just go with the group.  In the late 1970's the Catholics especially found themselves in sticky spots of the world and having to define being a body not a communism.  There were also periods of time (a lot) when a group's advances were pulled back into limbo because the rest of the group was having inner turmoil, being hounded by some other groups, etc.

  It's one of the ways in which a world peace is ultimately ideal, but seemingly always wrecked.

  Dunno.  I was speaking with someone yesterday and some sort of comparison to the past popped out in everybody and Aunt Sally getting appliances.  Suddenly not washing our skivvies for five hours a day.  Invention has often spurred a temporary adjustment period.  I know I've watched people being consumed with the stress of adjusting the belt of AI around their humanity.  We went through it upgrading from landlines to wireless, selling stock (investment) in almost imaginary product, convincing people that computers can do everything better.

  But they can't LOVE YOU like I do, some artists and sitcom heroes wrote into the script.  Even by the end of the movie The Electric Grandmother the characters were embracing the technology that extended the love.  And not everybody has to.  We go through this cycle every year, every decade, every generation convocating...maybe you're more of a non-profit person, or can "see" something about future planet earth life that develops you with specific focus, maybe you never know.  Contrary to chaos-theory there is a common ground that's called bare soil.

  At the moment here in Tsee we have a bizillion floating/flying teenies that seem like lice eggs in the air, or maybe some kind of seed.  They cling.  Can't photgraph well but I'll try.

  Whoa blogger cool.  Didn't know how.

  Nature day, sorry.  Back to grind in less than 24, so

  We sat looking back at them.

  We came to apologize, did you hear us?

  DON'T TAKE ADVANTAGE!  The new man barked.

  Some of us blinked.  It hadn't been us totally out of control.  Totally rude.  Totally violating innocence and development as own people.  One or two took it as a staring contest and were better at that too.  Slender, anxiety-ridden, pale, sweaty statues.

  It's over.

  Yeah it is.

  So.

  No, I mean

  You is mean.

  The new man smacked the table, broad palm snuffing this out.

  Thought the carnival left town Davey.  First one big brother stepped out from behind a clothing donation binbox, and then another.

  A kid kept staring but turned whole self on the picnic table bench towards the other boy.  We'd been making necklaces and pins.  The boys helping us wasn't cheating against the Brownies and it didn't make them sissies.  How'd you get the warriors to come?

  I, I ju, jusht, jusht went to, to a MAH, MAH, MEETING.

  They both started blinking so dry eye wouldn't cling.  Tearing up was a'cuz that, fighting dry eye.

  Big peels of 1976's red, white, and blue firehydrant were balling up beside it two years later.  But the eyes must've been a different kind of paint since they stayed googly and looking out at other 2and one half tall creatures.

  A meeting like she does?  The big handed new man thumbed at our friend's mama.  It was then I realized her tee shirt, cut into a half tee had not perfectly ironed on lettering that said, I'M WITH STUPID.  This was positioned center stage between the sides of a jean jacket.

  The boy held up both hands like he was carrying a big tray, Dunno.

  You been on the wagon Ees?

  Mebbe.  She pursed her lips together against answering questions about anything since everybody knew, you can't talk about nothing.  Who's he?  She tossed a question back since the grenade hadn't exploded and head shoved towards the black Big Brother.

  He's mine, a little black girl said, I requested a black one since it's supposed to be like family right?!

  I don't need one, I have a big sister, another kid said and kept beading.

  Is that a group too?  The black Big Brother asked.

  I'd like to meet those.

  Ain't a dating service bro.

  The black man's face got unslack.  Name's Ray.

  Not bro.  Okay.  Ray.  Bro goes with fro too often in their rhyming.  He didn't head shove but looked back at us.  The us at the picnic table.  So the other Big Brother stopped talking and looked at us too.  A girl waved nonchalantly.  Yup, still here was the general feeling before people got organized and we all got stuff going on.

  The little black girl who was some of ours friend got up and brought Ray a bead pin.  Don't leeeeave, someone pleaded.

  Thankya T, Ray said as he held it up near a gigantic smile and showed it around.  The other Big Brother said, I see it.  He didn't smile.  He took like seven giant steps towards the picnic table.  The new man sat down.  Another girl stood up.  Then a boy stood up bracing himself between the picnic table and bench.  His sneakers were already sloping un-new and then they were half off and boney ankles and heels were ready to launch into fight.

  The Big Brother put both hands out and shook them like trying to get something off them.  No.  No fight.  No fight.  I'm soooooooo tired of fighting.  No fight.  He tried to shove the boy back down into his seat but the boy didn't budge.  The breath came out full red lips calm and could.

  Let's just tawk.

  Let's not and say we did.

  The sound of beads being scooped out of a styrofoam egg dozen box was louder than any talking.  Then the Big Brother said, All these people and nobody's got nothin' to say?

  Ya, yooooo START.

  OK, I will.  It's a lovely day.  I woke up today.  Had no breakfast, no coffee, no OJ.  Went outside to find my tires slashed.  Had to walk to the store.  Almost got run over.  And I've been late all day.  THAT really pisses me off.

  Everyone just looked at him.  Then the boy braced to get in the fight made his voice really loud and said in three plain syllables HA HA HA.

  Welcome to my world, the new man said.  A girl dropped beads back into the egg tray.  Another hand reached out to scavage through for yellows.

  Is that why this?  The big brother grabbed the boy's hands and the smaller hands draped over big.  Knuckles all red grapes.  But the boy didn't fall over, didn't move from his foxhole.

  Who'd you hit?  The big brother asked without letting go of hands.  The boy didn't answer, not even the fifth time of the same question.  When the Big Brother didn't ask again, the boy grinned.  Pumpkin smile.  Let's take a walk shall we?  The boy's head shaking no seemed to not start happening until the Big Brother had stood and started pulling.  The boy looked like a piece of taffy.  They wrestled like this and no one else moved, didn't even pick up the beads jumping with the pull and sink.  At some point the man pretended to look at his watch, really just a lighter shade of tan, and he let go as he said, Look at the time.  The boy sat back down and pulled his tee-shirt over his exposed back.  He started pushing beads into little piles.  The girls each reached for a pile.  One girl gave him and the Big Brother matching pins.

  I guess we pick each other?

  Mebee, the boy said.

  I can let the org know.  And that we need more Big Brothers out here.

  The boy shrugged.