HOT ISSUES

Heroes

Home and Away

            September 11, my generations day of infamy bore onto the United States of American a reminder of just what we are made of. As the towers swayed the men and woman of the New York Fire and Police Departments rushed into stairwells to help as many people as they could see the next day. Many of those men and women never made it out and their lives were ended amongst the ruble of the once proud Trade Towers and New York became the center of the world. So many people, so many every day regular people were murdered simply for the fact that they were on our soil; US citizens. It hurts me to think that so many families went to bed that day incomplete, children lost mothers and fathers and lives where changed forever. American would then return the favor and we would go to war.

I don’t care if you are on the Republican or Demarcate, I don’t care if you love or hate the president but I ask that you do show respect for the men and women who are fighting and dying in a desert miles away from everyone they love. I am here at home with my family far away from the danger that our troops are facing every day and it hurts me to think that any troops would have to feel ashamed of what they are doing because they are fighting and unpopular war. New flash war is never popular but sometimes in necessary and I want the troops to know that we are behind them here. They are all heroes whether they come back decorated or not because they volunteer to fight so that we can stay here with our families and enjoy the freedom that they are fighting and dying for.

In memory of the men and women of the US ARMED FORCES who lived and died so that we could enjoy freedom here with our families.

I Dream of the deep blue sea,
I see the white foam of the crashing
waves in my mind yet it is a falsehood.
The water that I lay in is red, boiling
with the blood of men I am lucky to
serve with. I pray for life with each
passing second yet I am ready to lay down
 my life for those I love a million
miles away. I truly hope to one day return
home from this field of battle on my own power,
 to return with the body I was born with; intact. If I am no so fortunate as to leave under my own power please wrap me, bathe
 me in stripes and stars and return me home
to rest among my brothers. Return me to my
hometown bury me with the soil of our great
nation. Finally do not forget what price we all have
 paid here to let freedom live for ours families  and our children.
 I have a dream of the deep blue sea, I dream of home.

This is a letter I wrote to Latina Magazine about an article they published concerning sex education and the lack of open communication in Latino homes.

Dear Editor,
           I am 26 Male Chef from Southern California and I was reading
your magazine. I came across the article "Our Legacy of Silence ." I
was lucky to live in a household where my Mom was open enough to say
"use condoms". It's harder when it comes to women and their daughters
but we owe it to ourselves and to our daughters to prepare them for
life. Sex is a part of life and although I know it takes maturity and
life experience to deal with a sexual relationship but these days our
children aren't waiting for that; and it is for that reason that we
need to talk to them. They should not have to negotiate for a man to
use a condom. She has to insist unless she knows the two of them are
both safe and only sleeping with each other, which means getting
tested. In all we have to teach our young men and women to protect
themselves, to respect themselves because it is the only way we will
truly survive and succeed as a people.

They Wrote me back

Dear Robert,

Thank you for your letter!  How refreshing to hear from a man on this
subject!  We liked your comments so much that we're considering using it
in our Letters section for our next issue. Thanks again for your
support.

Take care,

Lizz Carroll
Editorial Assistant

And to thank her for taking the time to write me back I wrote this letter

           Thank you for taking the time to write me back. I enjoyed writing the letter. I enjoy being unlike most men around me. When it comes down to sex education and using protection there should be no sort of compromise. Women like I said shouldn't feel like they dampened the mood because they ask their partner to cover up. Men who are more focused on sex itself rather then their partner and their feelings are not ready for a sexual relationship. I think knowing the difference between sex and making love is what helped me realize this. That sex the act is not as important as who your with, the feeling that you have for each other and your true intentions for the future. I think men today have fallen short in teaching their boys to truly be men, to teach them the value of a woman. To teach them that learning and giving respect is part of being a man. I hope that when I have boys that they will grow up to be men who will respect all the wishes of their partners especially when it comes to her need or want to use protection until they are sure they will be together forever.