Parenting update in times of endless war- 18 years ago, when time to start my own little family, I strategically picked a mate who was too young to be drafted to Vietnam and too old to be recruited to the 1990's chapter of endless war for oil that began before either of us were born with the overthrow of the Iranian democratically elected leader Mossadegh who nationalized his country's natural resource of middle eastern oil. He was soon dead of course, after first surviving an attempt on life by rising CIA bath- party saddam hussein, who cares, he got his in the end as a disposable war lord. To all the active duty soldiers who were once baby boys that I babysat- do not think for a moment that the US military Industrial complex considers you ever to be anything other than disposable.  They feed you MRE's for Christ's sake. I know, sometimes the miltary gives you skittles, and you can taste the fucking rainbow, and the commanding officer's in JROTC may have slipped you some whiskey or beer, don't get it twisted for a moment to think the US military values the piece of meat upon which they stick a dog-tag. We value you.  We welcome you home.  We want to chase away the tears and help you to sleep again at night and write away the nightmares. We care. Us old civilians. I see you, far away and feeling unheard, I am blinded by grief of followed through death threats on my home and loved ones. I see you at the funeral after your job of dropping off flags to the bereaved, breaking the news to the broken-hearted gold star parents.  Communication is not easy on the easiest of beach days. We exist for a reason, to one day to bury the written memories and walk again with lighter shoulders laughing in the sunlight, in our old traditional communities raising new generations.
I bought a 20 acre farm next door to my God-daughter Bella Fiona, as a big backyard to always be there, and upon which to build a full general practice family veteran's clinic for native soldiers and school to train youth empowerment project for young Indigenous women, the life-givers.
I was told it was not zoned for that, as it was agricultural land. Food is medicine, the best clinical practice includes good rest, good nutrient dense food, and respect. Respect is integral.
The farm was seized for $300 in back taxes, although I had mailed in that money, the checks were refused and returned, so the county could auction the farm. I hired and retained a lawyer to keep the farm, and it was sold out from me under his non-watching retained eyes, I still struggle in legal process to keep that family farm.
The short of the story is that miltary recruiters are now after my teen son. My teen son who requested yellow cake after I broke a story of (uranium) yellow cake whilst ghost writing for INN world report, while my younger brother was active duty in the O.I.L first wave push into Iraq, and while in order to protect my brother's life, I with rag-tag friends tried to end that war push based on lies by publishing truth from New York, that the grief after twin towers fell was not a cry for war.  We knew facts of this war push while being lied to about 9-11.  My father called me warning me not to sign my name on my journalistic taglines- as publishing with my last name could get my brother killed in the deadly friendly fire that is neither friendly, nor a joke.
We may never win, we will never stop resisting. I say this to anyone coming after me or my sons- I will not fight you- I will pray for your soul.  If you buy the lines of lies that sell this endless war, I pity you. The sun is shining on me today, and solar powered trees are giving me oxygen to breathe as I write this wee note. At peace in a world of endless war, I struggle to fend off military recruiters calling my home for my teen age son, may he live fine, may he live strong. May he find another way to pay for college, as his Uncle Dan has said the GI Bill bills the GI for the education- if lucky enough to survive.
I see Team Rubicon sending rescue missions out on multiple deployments in the US and out of country to address issues of climate- change and rising sea levels. Team Rubicon is highly skilled veterans and civilians working together in ways our government clusterfu*ks do not. If you have met my son- remind him that engineering in the civilian sector can be bad ass, fun, and you don't have to risk life, limbs, friends, or mental state to pay for college. Youth: apply for scholarships. War is not the answer. No matter the question, war is not the answer. Veterans, welcome home, we care.  The best way to respect your service is to stop sending young boys and girls in to the fray of wall street war for profit.