You, whose forebodings have been all fulfilled,
You who have heard the bell, seen the boy stand
Holding the flimsy message in his hand
While through your heart the fiery question thrilled
"Wounded or killed, which, which?"--and it was "Killed--"
And in a kind of trance have read it, numb
But conscious that the dreaded hour was come,
No dream this dream wherewith your blood was chilled--
Oh brothers in calamity, unknown
Companions in the order of black loss,
Lift up your hearts, for you are not alone.
~ Henry Christopher Bradby
Cross-posted at Street Prophets
A day after I posted my most recent IGTNT diary, I received this email from the sister of one of the valiant young men I had profiled:
He is my brother and we miss him very much. I wanted to send you a picture of him and his son who is now 16 months old. Please feel free to post it on your diary about him. I really appreciated being able to see the other men that died with him that day. It really helps to put a face with the name. Again, thank you for your tribute. It has been very helpful. . . . . . It truly is amazing to see the outpouring of love and support from strangers. It helps to know we're not alone. Thank you.
This is the photo she sent:
It helps to know we’re not alone.
On this Easter Sunday, please send prayers or special thoughts to the family of Sgt. Phillip R. Anderson. They are not alone.
This, to me, is the greatest part of Daily Kos: We are not alone; none of us is alone.
There is so much to be broken-hearted about. And I would be in despair about all of it were it not for this wonderful community, which, every day, reminds me that I am not alone.
Let us remind so many others tonight that they are not alone, either.
Sylvia Wise is not alone.
For some pet owners, the decision to walk away was grueling. Sylvia Wise dropped off her dog Missy at the PAWS animal shelter because her new apartment doesn't allow dogs. She said that giving up her companion of more than seven years was harder than the day she lost her job, and even worse than the day the bank foreclosed on her home. "She's my baby," Wise said. "I have two grown children and she's what I call my most obedient child. I've tried and I've tried so hard. And I've had to accept the reality that if you don't have your home, there's nowhere to really put your dog."
Nightline
Mrs. Wise cried as she hugged her precious friend for the last time. And another piece of my heart shaved off watching her having to do so. Her sweet friend watched, tail wagging, from behind a glass door as she left. Two more victims of the dreadful, unnecessary, shameful war that has, in addition to all its other horrors, destroyed our economy.
On this Easter Sunday, please send prayers or special thoughts to Mrs. Sylvia Wise, and all those families and precious companion animals in distress and despair as a result of the foreclosure crisis.
Please let them know that they are not alone.
My heart broke when I read about little Riley Ann Sawyers, whose tiny broken body was discovered in a picnic cooler in Galveston Bay.
(Her mother’s) statement said on July 24, she and (her boyfriend) Zeigler both beat the child with leather belts and held her head under water in the bathtub. She said Zeigler picked the girl up by her hair and also threw her across the room, slamming her head into the tile floor.
After her daughter died, (her mother) Trenor's statement said, she and Zeigler went to a Wal-Mart that night and bought the Sterilite container, a shovel, concrete mix, and other supplies.
The statement said the box containing the child's body was hidden in a storage shed for "one to two months." Then, Trenor said, she and Zeigler carried it to the Galveston Causeway and tossed it in, and she saw it drifting away.
Source ~ CNN
A Candle for Riley Ann
On this Easter Sunday, please send prayers or special thoughts to abused children everywhere. Let us do everything we can to let them know that they are not alone.
I have exchanged emails with kossack fayeforcure.
Her son, Jason, is paralyzed from the nose down:
Jason Armitage was 7 years old when his life changed.
He was running across a soccer field, chasing the ball, when he collided violently with another player.
At first, he appeared unharmed. He even finished the game.
Later he developed a terrible headache, so his mother took him to an emergency room. But doctors failed to correctly diagnose and treat his injuries.
Six weeks later, a blood clot triggered a massive stroke, which left Jason paralyzed from the nose down.
His last memory of life as it used to be was sitting on the front steps of his home, eating barbecue potato chips.
Source ~ Jacksonville Times-Union
Here is one of the pictures Faye has been kind enough to send me (and which she has given me permission to post):
Faye is an ardent advocate for stem-cell research.
On this Easter Sunday, please send prayers or special thoughts to Faye and Jason Armitage and to all those suffering from conditions or diseases that could be cured with stem cell research. Let us do everything we can to let them know that they are not alone.
Last April, we read the heartbreaking story of Alicia Sears, daughter of kossack Zwoof, who was abused and subsequently murdered by her boyfriend.
A young woman will be buried today. Her mother and father have lost a most beloved child. Her children have lost the mother whom they loved and depended on. Her many friends have lost their trusted companion and confidante. Her beautiful smile will no longer shine, her lovely laugh will never again fill the air with joy and merriment. A terrible tragedy has occurred, a tragedy that has reached out to touch the hearts and lives of those who knew her and many more who will know her now only through a story of a luminous life cut too short and the ugliness of her death.
On this Easter Sunday, please send prayers or special thoughts to Zwoof and also to all frightened women and children living in horrific circumstances. Let us do everything we can to let them know that they are not alone.
Bless this community for all it does to remind the despairing, frightened, lonely, desperate, abused and hopeful among us that they are not alone.
On this Easter Sunday, please send prayers or special thoughts to all members of this community; please bless them all for their compassion, commitment and great hearts. Please thank them, all of them, for reminding each of us that we are not alone.
Bless you all.