"We're all like Noah,
in the same Boat,
working hard to keep
the Darn thing afloat!"

Who Am I ?

I love my flag and my country. If it is necessary for me to don a uniform and defend our way of life, I'll be the first in line. In peaceful times, I work hard. I help "pull the load" and willingly pay my fair share of whatever is needed to "get the job done". I might complain a lot, but I truly care about what happens in our community.

When there is a happy event, like a wedding, or a new baby, I love to celebrate and join in the dancing and singing of old songs of tradition. I might even occasionally "take a drink" -- on rare occasions, maybe even a little too much.

Likewise, at sad events, such as sickness and death, I can both sympathize and empathize, even to the extreme of shedding tears. It matters not whether I am male or female, as sentimentalism and romanticism can be over-powering.

The wonders of nature and our beautiful planet never cease to amaze me. The sky, the trees, the oceans, the wild animals and insects alike --- all cause me to gaze in wonderment. I am bedazzled by the vast extremes of color: glorious flowers, exotic birds, tropical fish, peaceful rainbows --- a veritable kaleidoscope of beauty --- these leave me staring in awe. I may not express it openly, but deep down inside, I believe that surely, there must be a source of Power greater than mankind, with all its frailties.

Yet, I acknowledge also the existence of "ugly" things: smog, acid rain, water pollution, both solid and radioactive wastes, garbage dumps, A.I.D.S., larceny and avarice, rape, incest and abuse, suicide, homicide, genocide --- the list is never-ending.
It does not take a "brain surgeon" to immediately recognize that the "bad" or evil occurrences in life, are almost always attributable to "man's inhumanity to man". Why ?

Is all of mankind so insensitive, so stupid, so despicable ? Or rather, is it solely because each of us is so "wrapped up in our own little worlds" that we simply lose sight of the larger, greater, more important issues ? One merely needs to consult our mutual history, in order to determine our mutual destiny.

Who am I? I am you!
Who are you? You are me!
Who are we? We are one!
We are Earthlings !!!

By: Thomas K. Hyland, Jr.
Copyright: June 6, 1993