a nation divided...

so, last night i watched the news, which isn't something i have had a lot of time for lately...and i saw that they were planning on executing saddam hussein sometime in the near future...

my heart was somehow saddened by this news...

i know that under his ruling many people were killed...lives and families were destroyed...and that maybe if he had been executed long before this then maybe 9/11 never would have happened (there are those theories floating around out there...)

however...deep down inside, he was just as much of a human as you and as me...

i was looking over some of the photos at yahoo today...there is one that shows him with his young grandson...it is an older photo, no doubt...but it is still a photo that shows him as a human being just like anyone else on this earth...he had children in his life that he loved and that i am sure loved him...he had a family...

and i know that so many of the people who died as a result of the way he handled things had families as well...

however...does killing someone (even someone as disliked by many people) make the pain of the loss of a loved one go away?...i can't say for certain, but i'd be willing to bet the answer, in most cases, if people were truly honest with themselves, would be "you know...not really..."

does it bring the people back to life?...absolutely not...

does it cause more hurt and anger and bitterness?...absolutely...

...

think about how we as a nation reacted to 9/11...most of us were mad...most of us said "let's go after them..." most of us wanted to retaliate...and, in a way, we did...and we've still got troops over there...

however...i don't think that killing someone like saddam will really benefit anyone all that much....

imagine if someone from iraq came over and caught president bush and had a lawsuit and found him guilty of the deaths of all the american soldiers who have died in iraq...how would we as americans feel?...

then imagine how we might feel if not only did they find him guilty but they chose to execute him?...

i know for certain that we would be absolutely ticked off as a nation (and i'm willing to bet that even those who aren't necessarily supporters of bush would take issue with the iraqi people coming and messing with us and taking our president and finding him guilty and executing him...)

now i know that it was the iraqi people who executed saddam...and i know that things were going to happen no matter what....

but what does this really do for any of us?....

....

i have looked through some of the yahoo photos...and you know what i see?...i see a nation divided...some people were cheering and so glad that saddam was executed...i also saw many who still had respect and loyalty for the man...

i look in my heart and you know what i see?...sadness that we are a nation -- and a world, even, who feels that killing one "big person" like saddam will somehow magically "fix things" .... i see sadness that we think so little of him that his death is a thing that would be a "victory" in our eyes....

i don't feel happy over his execution....i feel sad for the loss of a husband, a father, and a grandfather...

i'm reminded of the words of a carrie newcomer song...it was one she wrote in response to 9/11...the song is called "i heard an owl" and i think the words -- especially the chorus -- are fitting for today...

i heard an owl
carrie newcomer

i heard an owl call last night
homeless and confused
and i stood naked and bewildered
at the evil people do
and up upon the hill there is a terrible sign
that tells a story of what darkness waits
if we leave the light behind

so don't tell me hate is ever right or God's will
these are the wheels we put in motion ourselves
and the whole world weeps and is weeping still
though shaken i still believe
the best of what we all can be
and the only peace this world will know
can only come from love

i am a voice that's calling out
across the great divide
and i am only just one person that
feels they have to try
and the questions fall like trees or dust
and rise like prayers above
but the only word is courage and the only answer love

so don't tell me hate is ever right or God's will
these are the wheels we put in motion ourselves
and the whole world weeps and is weeping still
though shaken i still believe
the best of what we all can be
and the only peace this world will know
can only come from love

light every candle that you can
we need some light to see
in these days of deepest loss
treat each other tenderly

and the arms of God will gather in
each sparrow that falls
but makes no seperation
just fiercely loves us all

so don't tell me hate is ever right or God's will
these are the wheels we put in motion ourselves
and the whole world weeps and is weeping still
though shaken i still believe
the best of what we all can be
and the only peace this world will know
can only come from love

so don't tell me hate is ever right or God's will
these are the wheels we put in motion ourselves
and the whole world weeps and is weeping still
though shaken i still believe
the best of what we all can be
and the only peace this world will know
can only come from love
can only come from love
can only come from love

..........

violence never solves anything...it just creates more violence, it would seem....

and to be honest with you all, i fear that there is a strong possibility that there may be some retaliation towards the US from the iraqi people....

even though there are people who are celebrating his execution, i can't help but wonder what those who are staging the protests may do -- in their own country -- to our troops that are over there...and to their own people who were in favor of the execution...

i'm not really taking a stand one way or the other here, except to say that violence is not the answer...that's all i will say...because there are three sides to every story...your side, the other guy's side, and the truth...

i feel sad for everyone who lost someone either under saddam's rulership...or today with him being executed...and i feel sad for those who lost a loved one to the war...wether they were american or iraqi...or of another race...

it's sad...very, very sad...

i hope you will all serach your own hearts and find, if nothing else, that you agree with me on this one thing -- the violence doesn't fix or solve any problems...and maybe help find some way aside from all the violence to solve and fix what is happening in the world today...

may you all have peace in your hearts and homes...

-ramona anne

what kind of bird is that?...

as some of you know by now i have taken an interest in birds...i have three feeders that are currently hanging, plus one in my house that is full of niger (or thistle) seed that i want to hang up but realized after i filled it that i don't really have a good place to hang it right now...

anyways, i'm used to seeing the chickadees and jays and hairy & downy woodpeckers at my feeders...they're there and i'm glad...

the other day, however, a new bird showed up...one that i didn't ever recall seeing in real life with my own eyes...

what struck me about this new bird was that it had black on it's head similar to a chickadee, but it also had on it's head some white striping...

i knew it wasn't a chickadee, but i was baffled as to what this new (to me) bird might be...i watched it for a moment and then noticed it seemed to prefer being upside down...

"ahhh...i know nuthatches are quite fond of being upside down..." i thought and quickly turned to my field guide...sure enough this new visitor was a nuthatch...more specifically, a red breasted nuthatch...

i was very happy to see it at my feeder...it came back the next day as well, although i haven't seen it today....

red breasted nuthatches nest anywhere from 5 to 40 feet of the ground although in rare instances they nest higher, as far as 120 feet above ground...they lay anywhere from 4 to 7 eggs at a time and the incubation period is 12 days....they breed and nest in coniferous and mixed deciduous forests, but seem to have a preference for the coniferous forests...they eat seeds and insects mostly and are known to stay in their breeding area during winter if there is adequate food...

so now you all know a bit more about the red breasted nuthatch...(and so do i!...) the information above was taken and paraphrased from "the birder's handbook a field guide to the natural history of north american birds" by paul ehrlich, david dobkin and darryl wheye...

.......

i suppouse that's about all for now...

i'm glad that the birds are around, they certainly do brighten up a cold winter day!!...

take care everyone...

until next time,

-ramona anne