On Memorial Day 2009
Andy Rooney explains his views of the true meaning of Memorial Day in this short video. Plus, below the video, a repost about my visit to the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in Washington, D.C.
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by Bruce Mulkey, May 13, 2000
I walked along that long black wall, crying in the rain.
For all those men who’ve touched our lives, we’ll never see again.
I was walking toward the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., a few years ago when I spotted it. I knew I would make my pilgrimage to the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial one day. I just didn’t know it would be today. But, to my surprise, there it was—The Wall, the black granite monument inscribed with the names of the 58,178 American men and women who died in the Vietnam War.
I am one of those who stood against this war, one of my generation who refused to serve, one who believed the war was wrong. In my youthful impertinence, I rebuked the politicians and generals who led us down this slippery slope. If LBJ or Tricky Dick wanted a war, I thought, let them go over there and mud wrestle with Uncle Ho one-on-one, winner take all. To paraphrase Muhammad Ali, ain’t no Viet Cong ever called me honkie. But the truth is, I also scorned the men and women who served in Vietnam. And while I make no apology for my stance for peace, on this spring day I knew it was time to atone for my lack of respect and unloving behavior toward our servicemen and servicewomen who had done the best they could do in a difficult situation.
The first name I searched for on The Wall was that of Kenneth Kirkes, my classmate and football teammate at Tullahoma (Tennessee) High School in the early ’60s. Kenneth Lee Kirkes, Marine Corps, Second Lieutenant, born on October 8, 1944. His tour of duty began on December 11, 1967. He was killed by hostile small arms fire on February 9, 1968.
Kenneth and I, along with a few of our friends, had been involved in the Ketchup Corpse Caper that folks still talk about in our little hometown of Tullahoma, Tennessee. As a teenage prank, one of our group got in the trunk of a ’53 Chevy and draped his arm over the rear bumper. The rest of us poured ketchup on the protruding arm, and we proceeded to local service stations where we asked to borrow a shovel. We got the reaction we expected from the service station attendants; what we didn’t anticipate was the long arm of the law. City, county, and state law enforcement officials responded in force, and though most everyone else thought the whole thing was hilarious, we were charged with impersonating a corpse. At our trial we received a severe tongue-lashing and a veiled threat of being shipped to the state reform school for boys.
When I found Kenneth’s name on The Wall, I traced it with my fingers. I remembered our times together, and the fact that he was his parents’ only son. In deep remorse, I kneeled, shut my eyes, and brought him into my consciousness. As tears of regret and sorrow streamed down my face, I admitted my transgressions and pleaded for his forgiveness.
Next I found the name of Dale Reich, my college classmate and football teammate at the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee. I still remember Dale’s rousing rendition of the Rolling Stones “Get Off of My Cloud” as we celebrated winning the last game of our final football season at Sewanee, a season in which we suffered only one loss. Dale was not large physically, but pound-for-pound he was arguably the toughest guy on the team.
I found Dale’s name on panel 65W: Merrill Dale Reich Jr., Army, First Lieutenant, born on July 8, 1944. His Vietnam tour began on May 15, 1968, and ended when he was killed by hostile small arms fire on May 27, 1968. Twelve days after his arrival in Vietnam, Dale was dead.
I brought Dale into my mind’s eye and asked him too to forgive me. And then I expanded my prayer for forgiveness to all of the men and women whose names were on that wall and to all of those who had served in the Vietnam War. My load had lightened, but the most challenging step was still to come. Now it was time to forgive myself.
Of synchronicity, new friendships and global warming
Some sages say that there are no accidents, that everything happens for a reason. So I don’t think it was any accident that Chuck Dayton and I teamed up to travel to Al Gore’s Climate Project Summit in Nashville last weekend.
Chuck, a retired environmental lawyer from Minneapolis, spends around half the year in the mountains of North Carolina with his wife Sara Evans. Though we’d never met, we decided to drive to Nashville together and be roommates once we arrived.
The Climate Project Summit
The Summit itself was a deeply rewarding experience. Vice President Gore spoke to us about the challenges of global warming and took us through his updated slide show. The part of his message that has stuck with me most was about how we humans respond to fear. We respond well to immediate dangers—snakes, fire, attack. We also respond promptly to learned dangers, such as the smell of gas in the house. It is more challenging for us to respond appropriately to dangers that come at us incrementally, such as global warming, since the effects of any action we take to combat the climate crisis will only be evident years hence.
Chuck’s 70th birthday came on the second day of the conference, and all 500 participants who’d gathered from around the world sang “Happy Birthday” to him. When VP Gore took the stage immediately afterward, he had a few words to say 
about the occasion: “Happy birthday, Chuck. You know, of course, that 70 is the new 69.”
We were treated to some heavy hitters—R.K. Pachauri, Executive Director of the IPCC, the group that received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize along with Gore; David Suzuki, award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster; and Maggie Fox, CEO of The Alliance for Climate Protection, among others.
At the beginning of his presentation, Suzuki thanked former President George Bush for stealing the 2000 election and setting Gore free to do the work he was doing. Gore said that Suzuki reminded him of story about Winston Churchill. After losing an election, one of Churchill’s aides stated that “This was a blessing in disguise.” “Damn good disguise,” Churchill retorted.
The American Clean Energy & Security Act recently passed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee was recognized
as a huge step in the right direction. According to Gore: “The bill represents a crucial step forward in addressing the global climate crisis, the need for millions of new green jobs to end the recession, and the national security threats that have long been linked to our growing dependence on foreign oil and other fossil fuels.” Furthermore, it was deemed essential that the U.S. to go to the Copenhagen Climate Summit in December showing that we mean business.
Heading back home
During the trip home (five or so hours from Nashville to Western North Carolina), Chuck and I had a chance to talk about a lot more than global warming and found lots of common ground. I learned that Chuck’s family had run an outfitting company at the Boundary Waters Wilderness for decades, that he’d played rugby at Dartmouth, that he’d left a large law firm in the early 1970s to start an environmental law firm, that he’d been deeply involved in helping protect the wilderness of the Boundary Waters, that he and his wife Sara Evans, spent around half the year in North Carolina and half in Minnesota, that the folks who’d been involved in his law firm got together regularly for outdoor adventures (the latest one a sea kayaking trip in the Sea of Cortez at Baja California), and that 11 of these folks were coming down to celebrate his birthday with him, Sara, and his newer North Carolina friends.
Honoring Chuck and his 70 years on this planet
Last night Shonnie and I traveled to Waynesville to join celebrants for a dinner to honor Chuck. We not only had nametags, but on them in a smaller font were the names of two other guests with whom we might want to connect since we likely had something in common with them.
Chuck was honored by a medley of songs from Charles Dayton’s Creative Weirdness Band made up of the Minnesota contingent, whose songs included one to the tune of the Beatles’ “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” “Big Bad 
Chuck” a la “Big John” and finally a version of “Those Were the Days My Friend.”
These are the days my friend
They just might never end
We’ll sing and dance forever and a day
We’ll watch the stars he’ll sight
At Jasper Lake at night
For we are friends, we’ll always be that way
Next a local fishing buddy recounted some stories about his outings with Chuck. After that Si Kahn, folksinger and grassroots organizer, led all of us in singing “We Honor the Dreamers,” a tribute to Chuck, a “dreamer who works for our dreams.”
Then Chuck took center stage, speaking of his gratitude for those in attendance and the sentiments they’d expressed that evening. “This would be a good memorial service,” he declared. Chuck spoke of his hopes and dreams for the future, indicating that at the age of 70, he wasn’t done yet. In closing, he quoted a portion of Tennyson’s poem “Ulysses.” The final lines:
Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Finally, some square dancing to the tunes of the bluegrass band and led by Joe Sam Queen, state senator for Haywood and surrounding counties.
The celebration continues for Chuck, Sara and the friends from Minnesota, including hikes on local mountain trails and other adventures before the guests head northward on Monday.
Right now I’m sitting here feeling deep gratitude for my new friendship with such an honorable, compassionate and courageous man and for the synchronicity that brought us together.
Happy birthday, my friend, and may you celebrate many more!
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Our Creator, throughout the heavens,
Hallowed be your flame.
In a trillion suns your kingdom comes,
In the tiniest cell, your will be done.
Give us each day, a bird in flight,
a flower’s perfume, a bright star’s light.
Lead us not on a path of greed,
Teach us to tread lightly,
taking only what we need.
For ours is a journey from ignorance to understanding
From separation to Oneness with You,
In the glorious energy of the universe.
Amen
Another great LEAF
A little rain certainly didn’t dampen spirits at last weekend’s Lake Eden Arts Festival in Black Mountain, NC. A few highlights of the music, poetry, arts & crafts, as well as the hike & run.
Music—The Boulder Acoustic Society
Featuring a mix of blues, folk, gospel, indie and world music, Boulder Acoustic Society performed a rousing, spirited rendition of Maggie’s Farm that, in my judgment, surpassed the original. Never thought I’d find myself saying anything that blasphemous about any of Bobby Dylan’s early tunes. Check out ‘em out playing the aforementioned tune:
The LEAF Poetry Slam
Arriving a bit tired, Shonnie and I weren’t sure we’d make it through the entire poetry slam Saturday night. But we road the energy all the way to the finale, with Gypsee Yo taking first place honors. Below is a version of a poem for her daughter that she performed during her winning run. Kudos to Nave and all the poets.
The hike and run
As usual, Shonnie and I led the hike on Friday and the trail run Saturday morning. And as usual, there was some bad news: It’s all uphill going out. And some good news: It’s all downhill coming back. Lot of new faces with a generous sprinkling of folks who’d been with us before. A great way to bond in the great outdoors.
Arts & crafts
Hot damn! We had an opportunity to reconnect with our friends Jimmy, Laura and Blake Straehla and Jimmy’s bottle cap art. Have a look at his unique and creative work for yourself, especially the Obama flags: Cap Man’s Facebook fan page
Fall LEAF
If you’re not familiar with Lake Eden Arts Festival, visit their website and be sure to make plans to attend October 15-18, 2009. Hope to see you there!
Strive Not to Drive Week May 11-15
Help Mother Earth and reduce your carbon footprint. Participate in Strive Not to Drive during the week of May 11-15 by walking, biking, carpooling and riding the bus. Pass this along to your friends and family and encourage them to do the same. If you live in Western North Carolina, sign up now at Blue Ridge Commuter Connections.
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009Hopi words of wisdom
You have been telling people that this is the Eleventh Hour, now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour. And there are things to be considered. . . .
Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?
Know your garden.
It is time to speak your truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for your leader.
This could be a good time! There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart and will suffer greatly. Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water.
See who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey come to a halt.
The time of the one wolf is over. Gather yourselves!
Banish the word ’struggle’ from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.
We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.
–Hopi Elders
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009
