Today is Veteran's Day. So the first thing I did this day was to wish my husband a Happy Veteran's Day and to get ready to take him out. My husband is a Vietnam Navy veteran who served on the USS Independence. My father thought enough of him to leave him his Purple Heart, Bronze Star and other medals. My husband was one of the men who cleared the landing deck of the aircraft carrier to accommodate many of the thousands of people who were evacuated from South Vietnam, dumping aircraft into the waters to make room.
We enjoyed a rather large Mexican breakfast in Acapulco a popular restaurant close to our apartment ( http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/acapulco-deli-and-restaurant/ ). I wore the POW bracelet I've had for years. It is inscribed "Maj. Jay Jensen 2-18-67". I thought of Major Jensen and whether he ever returned home. When my husband & I returned home from the restaurant, I posted some thoughts to my Facebook page, thinking about my father and my husband, and about their contributions to history on this day. And I Googled the major's name. I found that he did return to the United States from Vietnam, but not soon enough to be with his wife before she married another man. This caused me mourn for the way his life had turned out.
According to a post at http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/j/j026.htm the major was held as a POW (prisoner of war ) for about seven years and died at the age of 66. The information was seemingly posted by one of his children who I hope to contact. It would be nice to give Major Jensen's POW bracelet to his child and tell that individual how I thought of him.
Then I thought about a paper I wrote in journalism class years ago. The paper was about journalism's effect on the Vietnam War. I thought of the professor I liked so much and about how much I like to write. I dug out the paper and read it again and thought, I did deserve that A didn't I?
Then I followed my heart which told me to write in this blog again. It seems like my heart, my thoughts, and words are yearning to work together. But in keeping with the blog rules that my former professor required the class to follow, I decided to hunt for a piece of journalism to write about.
One of the first to catch my eye was this one about identical twins who were born holding hands. http://www.myfoxny.com/story/27346118/holding-hands
And oh, did this article tug at my heart. Just last year my son and his wife lost one of their twins due to a birth defect. I pray for Eliana often. And when I hold her brother Elijah, I feel as though I'm holding Eliana's soul.But this year, mama is pregnant again with twins. And again, the family is expecting a wild roller coaster ride of emotions and test of strength.
The article starts off with the following words, "Many say that after birth twins are inseparable...". And the article ends by saying, "When the twins are near each other they can help but hold each others hands." My heart closely holds theses babies together. I wonder if their souls became "inseparable" after birth and if "they hold each others hands" in that place between death and life.
For some reason, on this day my heart has stitched Veterans Day and the souls of two sets of twins together. Perhaps their hearts are stitched to my fathers purple one.
