La Fin. Pour Maintenant.

Dear Folks,

Unfortunately due to lack of sheer brain power I was unable to think of anything mightily awesome to write about for this last post de la semaine. Fortunately for you I'm not that good at creative writing either so you can quickly close this window and continue on with your life. But since I have your attention for the moment, I would just like to say to lay off the cookies (they're for Santa), don't pick your nose (Santa is watching), and make sure that you leave some a nice mojito out for the old man (its Santa's favorite). Alors, until next time MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY MOUNTAINING!

Over and oot.
-LP

The Boy in the Moon

Dear That Feeling,

I came across this features on the Globe and Mail website and haven't been able to 'put it down'. Ian Brown has the fascinating talent of story-telling and thus writes of his experiences with his son, Walker, who is diagnosed with a very rare genetic mutation called CFC (cardiofacio-cutaneous syndrome). This three-part series is difficult to describe without filling this sentence with overused cliched words for it is truly an incredible, humbling, and captivating story of a father's relationship with his son.

Here's a little teaser...

"Sometimes, watching him, it's like looking at the moon: You see the face of the man in the moon, but you know there's actually no man there. But if Walker is so insubstantial, why does he feel so important? What is he trying to show me?

To answer that question, I decided to look again at the life he had lived, and the way we had helped him live it — first at home, later in a special community for children like him. I climbed into a car and drove across the continent to meet other children with his syndrome.

All I really want to know is what goes on inside his off-shaped head, in his jumped-up heart. But every time I ask, he somehow persuades me to look into my own."

Don't Forget About Them

Dear _________,

Forty years ago the CIA recruited thousands of Laotian men to fight in the battle against the Vietnamese Communists. Originally hired to intercept supply convoys along the Ho Chi Minh trail among other duties, the Hmong people are now left to fend for themselves. Today these men and their families live in small groups of under 200 moving every few weeks to avoid fatal attacks by the Laotian Army. In the post-war decades, the Hmong have adopted a truly nomadic lifestyle to ensure their short-term survival. Mostly living on wild yams, bamboo shoot, small animals, and rice from sympathetic farmers these groups are, "indigent even by the the standards of rural Indochina."


The Hmong live in a perpetual state of fear because they are viewed as enemies and betrayers of the Communist Party. Reports from Amnesty International has stated that the Laotian Army have been increasing their efforts to find these so-called insurgencies with the intention to, "starve the remnants of families from their jungle dwellings." Not surprisingly, the Laotian government denies that CIA veterans are hiding and supported that notion by saying, "There are no clashes. As you may notice by traveling our country, there is a peaceful atmosphere."
Ironically, they themselves are the ones who have been betrayed when the Americans pulled out of South East Asia and left little to no aid or support.

Sources:
NY Times
Amnesty International