lori wrote >>This looks like an organization that may be worth joining (and you don't have to be a veteran to do so):> http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/article.asp?id=373<<
yes, i'm very impressed with this org (which is why i posted the story via their link rather than straight to the abc news site)...i am glad to know you don't have to be a veteran to join...i think it is a great way for veterans to gather & voice their stories & concerns... this reminds me of one of my most poignant experiences in college or anywhere really- i took what was commonly known as the 'vietnam class' which was actually part of the religious studies program at ucsb...at the time i was enrolled, the teacher/facilitor was walter capps who later became a congressman in washington... here is a link to a brief overview of capps & the tremendous impact of this class- http://www.cappscenter.ucsb.edu/about_wc.html anyway, the class was simply astounding...one, if not THE, most popular classes on campus & as such very hard to get into...it took place several times a week in one of the largest lecture halls...actually a performance theatre with 900 capacity & always filled... but during the class you could always hear a pin drop... veteran's & others with vietnam experience would get up each week & tell their personal stories...(many of them for the first time in their lives in public) about their time in vietnam ...i generally walked out of that class in tears & always in a very altered state...i was fortunate to be in the class when governor bob kerry (vietnam vet who lost his leg in the war) was guest lecturer for the quarter & told his personal story...(btw, i think he had just recently broken up with debra winger if anyone recalls that era) that quarter we also were visited by ed bradley & 60 minutes (which used some of the class in a broadcast)...bradley got up & spoke in a way he never had before, just as so many veterans, nurses & vietnamese refugees, etc before him had & he told of his personal experience in vietnam including the details of being one of the last americans to leave (he was covering the fall of vietnam at the time)... well you get the picture...a life changing experience this class was for all involved, on stage or in the audience... ******************************************** Kate Bennett: www.katebennett.com Sponsored by Polysonics/Atlantis Sound Labs Over the Moon- "bringing the melancholy world of twilight to life almost like magic" All Music Guide ********************************************
