Friday, October 17, 2008
A New Beginning...
Welcome and thank you for visiting this blog. I have wanted to jump on this blogging bandwagon for months now, and I have even started a few times, but I could never get myself to get it off the ground. It turns out I am a very complicated person. I wanted to write and share about my experiences and my life with my friends, but I just didn’t know where to start, or what to say. I came to realize that I’m not really all that interested in writing about myself after all – hence the writer’s block. What I want more than anything else is to have a way to converse with family and friends, new and old, about life experiences, thoughts, ideas, beliefs, developments, anything and everything.
As most of you know, I am currently deployed in Iraq as an Army Linguist, and as such I will not be discussing many details of my daily life. This stems not so much out of secrecy as out of the repetitive nature of life with the military. Most days here are Groundhog’s Day! I will be sharing some stories and experiences of course when our conversation lends itself to that, but I want to talk about more than just what I do on a daily basis. Those of you who know me well, know that I’m a big picture thinker – which means my head is usually stuck in the clouds somewhere chasing significant thought-kites such as whether today is Monday or Thursday, and if it’s Thursday, is it Thursday of next week or This week – or was it last week? Like I said, the days begin to run together here. Usually, without a watch and a calendar I have no idea what’s going on, and even with those two wonderful inventions someone is still running around trying to find me. You have no idea how many times I came to my senses in some important meeting with officials or some conference, only to realize that someone has just said something and they are waiting for me to translate it but I have no idea what they said because my mind was off chasing this or that thought-kite that breezed by. The blank stares that I must have on my face sometimes, SHEESH! The stressful thing is figuring out what to do then. Do I pretend I heard what the speaker said and make something up (assuming I remember the conversation and the point the speaker was getting at to begin with) or do I ask the speaker to say it again (pretending to ask for clarification) and risk the possibility of my mind wandering again and not hearing the speaker for a second time.
Well, I digress. The point is I would like this blog to be a conversation, not about me, but about life and about the experiences, thoughts, ideas, and beliefs that touch us all, each in our own sphere of life. Here are some ideas for topics of discussion: Life experiences, faith & love, war & peace, justice & mercy, death, nation-building, Iraq, social justice, God, religion/spirituality, history, philosophy, politics, emergence, business, ethics, morals, travel, culture, family, friendship, or anything else you can think of. You are also free to ask me any question that you’d like - but I don't promise answers.
I don’t want to set the topic of discussion, or direct the conversation, as I’m sure each of you may have a different topic to discuss. I took the first step, opened up the lines of communication and initiated this conversation. It is my sincerest desire that you accept this invitation and engage me in this conversation, cultivating it together until it grows and evolves into who knows what. I’ve never done anything like this before and I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I do hope that in a few months, a name change would be in order for this blog, from: “Cultivating A Conversation…” to “A Flourishing Conversation…”
Please take a moment to share a few thoughts. Thank you.
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10 comments:
Hi AJ!
Good to hear from you! I had no idea you were still in Iraq.
I've forwarded your foundations info on to "Drogosch" and maybe, someday, when she not so "BUSY" she said she'll apply for a grant!
So, how is your foundation coming along?
Things at Howe "ain't" what they used to be pal! The kids are becoming sadly lower and lower with many MANY more behavioral problems!!! Some days can sure be a struggle, but I start everyday as a new day and hope for the best!
When someone asks me early in the day, "How's it going"? I always say, "So far, so good"!
Glad to hear all is well with you. Do you get to come home for visits regularly?
Well, that's about it for now.
And as Drogosch always says, "No DAYDREAMING"!!!!!
Pat
Hi AJ I'm not sure if I am blogging but I wanted to respond to your note.
I cam understand your situation. You need to be reconnected to your roots
and loved ones. You are constantly working other peoples thoughts back
and forth and losing your own thinking processes to repetitive things.
The mind starts wanting to be creative when it does something thats
similiar over and over. I miss you and so do all of us back home. Let me
talk a little about my personal faith if you will. I grew up as a boy in
Arkansas, even though I was born just a short distance from where you and
Kathy lived in Southwest Detroit near I 75. So my starting memories are
in Arkansas. We lived on a farm in a hilly area of the northeast corner
of arkansas. Which I know now is called Crowleys ridge. It was created
as late as the 1800's by and earthquake called the New Madrid fault. We
had 8o acres and a house, a barn, a corn crib, three horses and a wagon.
No running water, no electricity, and no indoor plumbing. To me as a
child it was a beautiful place. It had a creek, an orchard, beautiful Oak
trees, and a hill to run up and down and chase an old tire on. At the top
of the hill was an old road that used to be used by travelers going from
one place to another even the notable Jessie James is said to have ridden
through their during the later 1800's. One of the things I did as a child
was to climb a tree and sit on a limb and just be with God. I have strong
memories of thoughts of God as young as 4 Years old. I would spend hours
doing that. Dad amd Mom always had us take a bath on Saturday night in a
large galvanized tub. On Sunday we got dressed up in our Sunday go to
meeting clothes and Dad or Gary would hitch the horses to the wagon and we
would ride to church in it about three miles. My Mom taught my sunday
school lessons. One lesson I remember very clearly was about Samuel in
the Old Testament. How God talked to him. That night I asked God to talk
to me like he did Samuel. He answered my prayer in a dream. He showed me
that when I was grown that I would be at war and a man would point his
rifle at me and yet I would not die. Later in 1968 when I was in Viet Nam
that very incident took place. I have many other true stories of God
answering my prayers. What I want to say now is that I prefer Christ over
every thing and every one. No one can replace him or improve on him or
give me something superior to what he has done for me and thousands of
other believers. The Hebrews writer clearly makes His point that Christ
is superior to all others except the Father Himself. Since Christ obeyed
the Father perfectly. Why should I want an inferior teaching or teacher
when I have the perfect son of God who related his Father's will to us.
All other deviators from his teachings are false at worst and inferior at
the least. He is my Savior, My High Priest and ny God who helps me to see
and understand who the Father is and what he is like. Love Dad
Larry Turner (Father-in-Law)
Hi Dad,
Thank you for that beautiful trip back to a simpler time and place. Being on a farm sounds heavenly for me right now - especially to be a child on a farm.
Thank you also for your sincere and touching expression of your faith in the singular uniqueness of Jesus Christ, his life, and his teachings.
As I read your account of memories it struck me how amazing it is that each of our lives is a whole story being told. I could picture you running around that farm as if I was watching a movie. Thanks for sharing. My love to Margaret.
Hi Pat,
I'm glad to hear from you. Is the gang still all there at Howe School? I do miss you guys. I'm sorry to hear that things are getting harder, but it's good that you have a positive outlook.
The foundation is having a slow start but a good start nonetheless. I hope you guys do apply for the grant. By the way, just so you know, you could apply for the grant yourself. Staff members, including parapros, can apply to the grant. You just have to make sure you coordinate with everyone on your end. So if you guys have an idea in mind, but Drogosch doesn't have the time, you are welcome to apply. By the way tell Drogosch and everyone else I said hello.
Hi AJ,
Even though I just saw you yesterday, it may be some time before we cross paths again. I have met some pretty amazing people during my time in Iraq and it has been an honor to be able to work with you during the last several months.
If I had my way, you would have been in on every single strategy session that we had to try and make Iraq into a better place. Your outside-the-box thinking and cultural expertise surpasses most. The fact that you are multi-lingual is both a blessing and a curse for you in that you are often stuck regergitating other peoples ideas without being afforded the opportunity to put you own two cents into the conversation.
Next time I come to the US, I hope to be abe to visit your B&B (I assume you will have it up and running by then).
It has truly been a pleaseure knowing you. Best of luck in the future. Keep in touch!
Mike
Hi Mike,
Thank you for those very generous and touching words. How does one respond to something like that? I don't really know, other than to say thank you for your kindness.
I know what you mean about meeting amazing people here in Iraq. You certainly stand among them. You are one of the most levelheaded and sharpest men I've met, even under great pressure. Your kindness was also very evident to many of us. It was both an honor and a real pleasure working and serving with you. I was really lucky to be assigned to you and Jason over the last few months. I think I would have pulled ALL my hair out otherwise ;)
When I do acquire a B&B, you and your family will always be welcome to stay. I hope to keep in touch and you do the same.
I better get a discount! LOL
Hey AJ. Thanks for inviting me to your blog. Its been a long and hard road. I really hope that everything will get better in the next week or so. I know that it was not easy listening to some of the rants and utter jibberish coming out of peoples mouths. You always made it right for us and did us justice when dealing with some of the personalities we had to. It hard for me to express my gratitude and feelings at times, but I if it was not for you and Mike, I dont know how I could of done this tour. You are one of the most talented professionals that I have ever worked with. I thank you for your insight, wisdom, and talks. It never is easy to say goodbye to a friend, and I am not going to say goodbye. This is just going to be a new chapter for both of us as we go in different directions. I still have some time before I leave and I am sure that I will be spending much more time in your office over the next week. Please take care of yourself and if you are ever in the DC area, you always have a place to stay.
Mike, I thought you would want to pay me more the normal room rate since I was your friend ;P
Jason,
I like how you put it, this a new chapter and for a time we go in different directions, but this is not goodbye. Thank you for putting up with me for the last few months. I don't think I could have had anyone better to work with than you. Thanks for everything you have done and continue to do.
Hey aj,
i really appreciated your e-mail. after reading about life, your story has amazed me. people can say whatever they say about your ideology, but you do have an interesting story to tell.
i have a question for you and for your blog. i too have dealt with a lot of mormons in my faith journey. for me, it's been a love hate relationship with them because of the lack of historically credible traditions in their doctrine. i'm totally not interested in debating the contingencies of the mormon doctrine for many reasons. however, i'm very interested in learning more about mormon post modernists. from what i understand, they're out there. i definitely believe a mormon, muslim, hindu, jew, etc. can join the post modern movement and really contribute a lot to both the broader movement and the more regional/cultural ones.
now, i've had plenty of debates with mormons about doctrine, but i've never had a chance to talk with mormons about the post modern movement. are there many post modern mormons? is the post modern movement as developed in the mormon tradition as it is in the christian evangelical tradition?
thoughts?
thanks again for your e-mail.
aj.
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