David Bloom

I read my archives from 1 year ago, and it was the day that David Bloom died. That really affected me then, and it is fitting that I re-post it now...

Woke up rather late today, Time change ya know...it was actually 6:30 but the clocks said 7:30. Ok gotta get used to it. Turned on the news as usual, to see how far we have gotten into Baghdad.

One of the things about this war that has gripped me so much is the reporting that was done, on the move, by imbedded reporters. One of those reporters grabbed at my heart and held me in his grip during the whole run into Baghdad. That reporter was David Bloom. I was afraid to go to sleep for fear I would miss something, and that Possibly, David would be put in harms way. It was like ice water hitting me in the face when CNN's Wolf Blitzer reported this morning that David Bloom, had indeed died. It was not officially battle related, It was a pulmonary embolism. A blood clot from sitting so long, in that cramped truck, I assume. The same type of thing happens to long distance air travelers. I say it was not officially battle related, but it surely was. He would not have been there had we not been at war. He was only 39! that is only 4 years older than my oldest child. I cried. I never knew the man, but I cried. I feel for his family, his wife and 3 daughters, His Mother!! It just isn't fair that young people die, to gain a type of life for other people that they themselves have been priviledged to live. David lived a charmed life, it was reported. I only hope that when everything is over, and awards are handed out, that he will be remembered and given one of those awards. He brought a new prospective to War Journalism that this world has never before seen. He sat in our livingrooms REAL time, and brought to us, sitting safely and warmly and securely, the Dirt, the grim, the heat, the fear, that War really is. I will miss him terribly...

# posted by Mary Lou : 11:43 AM | Comment (0)

It is hard to believe that it has only been a year, and for some I suppose it seems like yesterday. There is so much left to do, that one wonders if it will ever get done. Maybe this is a task that is doomed to fail. If in fact it does, will we be far behind? We CAN NOT fail at this. We must continue at all costs. If we pull out without a significant change in the democratization of Iraq, then we have basically lost. Losing is not an option, we can not. If we need to send more troops in, then so be it. We knew going in that this was not going to be an easy task, War is hard, War is Nasty, but then so is living under a dictator, who has no respect for human life! I really feel that the majority of Iraqis are not the ones causing the problems. I just feel it is going to really get bad again, the closer we get to catching those that are stirring the pot. Who knows, maybe it is because we are getting closer and closer to WMD? ya spose?....