24 years later...WWWYD?

Well? What WOULD you do? Do you have friends that you kept up with for 20 years, you saw them through through boyfriends and girlfriends, you watched them fall in love with their spouse, were there when their kids were born...maybe you still have dinner with them or go on vacations together - who knows...you get the picture. My brothers and I all share an uber-cool trait of having a group of friends from high school that we both remember "running" with for lack of a [much] better word and that we kept up with. My circle was pretty small, Travis and Stewart I think maybe had a larger frame...but I won't go into that for fear of sibling retribution!

From state to state and even to Canada...with so many of you I have had AWESOME opportunities to meet your families and old friends (oohhhh man the memories too!) - nowwww it's our turn. Check it out - I finally found Rick DuLaney!:

 

Wow.  Who knew.  He was right under my nose the whole dang time! So cheers to old friends...especially Deanna and Kendall.  BTW...I soooo dig Laser Tag - who knew??!!

AND - congratulations to the persistent photographer at Jenna's party who finally caught up with me...wine and all.  Yikes!

Thoughts on the Cause of Present Discontents - thank you, Mr. Burke

"Evil prevails when good men do nothing"...well, the quote - it goes something like that anyway. There are many [slight] variations, the source is not identifiable actually. It is, however, accurate. I have only just recently begun to reevaluate my use of this word: good.
I do not believe, and as such do not teach my children, that there is investment in slander or defamation of character. Specifically, this seems to take care of itself over time - or so I pray to believe. I do also strongly believe that 'good' people know one another and should walk tall and proud and speak of each other often - and loudly. The organizations in which our family are involved have given us many opportunities to grow as individuals and as a family. There is nothing more that I desire, as the head of this family, than to return this two-fold to my community every day through general teachings, acts of kindness, role-modeling, and my walking sure-surefooted in faith.

If you are here today then you have crossed our paths and we thank you for being a part of our lives - there is no doubt that your experiences and influence enriched one of us, maybe all of us, in some way. We hope that our family, in return, was able to contribute in ways that mattered to the spirit of a person - you, your child, your family, your community.

Our family is unique, yet not so much. We3 are an incredible unit, strong, united, and a team like no other. We have experienced incredible adversity as many others have not and yet stand each day to laugh, carry on, and serve every person as we would want to be served - with acceptance and kindness. This family speaks openly and freely of conflict, of love, of solution - of all. We hold strong faith that there is cause for all matters, a plan for every man. My young sons know that truly 'good', kind, righteous men will walk, at times, a long and lonely path. We, well, we are hikers. This path is not daunting - it is right, it is the way, it is what will find them proud of themselves each day, proud of their mother, and proud of the men who have mentored them and most importantly proud of the men they will one day find themselves to be.

We hope you understand that speaking out against evil or wrongdoing is never the wrong thing. Standing up is not hard, staying standing is incredibly difficult - this is where one makes investment. For those you know that stand but then sit - stand next to them. For those you know that stay seated to bray or bleat - leave them be and know that for those sitting, good men or not, this will find them with open mouths and soft feet, unprepared for any path. I have been blessed with an honest, strong voice, I use my voice, I stay standing. If you stood with me and I did not know it, I thank you most sincerely and wish that I had the opportunity to express my gratitude in person. Please know that friend, stranger, family, whomever - I would do the same for anyone. I always choose this path - it's what I know to do.

We extend warm regards to so many of you. Please do take care of one another and be sure that enough of you stay standing should it ever be necessary again...surely there were not just two of us looking to make such an impacting and protective difference in the lives of so many children and their families...

Sarah, Lars Jr., and Hayden

"When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle." ~ Edmund Burke

This is a family blog...umm, but...what??!!!

NPR junkie who? What? Surely you're not referring to me... And, YES, by alllll means - do e-mail me. Don't call me though...there is just NOT enough time to discuss this. Really. There's not, especially when you consider the ripples..

However, for those who know my habits, my intentions, my socio-political voice (including my children) please know that I do NOT discount the trauma and true danger of this ordeal - in any way whatsoever. I am incredibly happy for these families and know that they are each trying to find peace with what these women have been living through, whatever those circumstances may have been. End.

Back to voice: oh, but I was satisfied to find this in a few well balanced blogs: http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-08-05-voa44.cfm


Freed Journalists Home In U.S. After N. Korea Pardon

August 5, 2009

Two American journalists freed by North Korea returned home to the United States on Wednesday for a jubilant, emotional reunion with family members and friends they hadn't seen in nearly five months.

The jet carrying Euna Lee and Laura Ling, reporters for Al Gore's San Francisco-based Current TV, and former President Bill Clinton arrived at Burbank's Bob Hope Airport at dawn. Clinton met with communist leader Kim Jong Il on Tuesday to secure the women's release.

Lee emerged from the jetliner first and was greeted by husband Michael Saldage and 4-year-old daughter Hana. She hugged the girl and picked her up before all three embraced in a crushing hug.

Ling embraced her husband, Iain Clayton, as teary family members crowded around.

Thirty hours ago, Ling said, "We feared that any moment we could be sent to a hard labor camp."

Then, she said, they were taken to another location.

"When we walked through the doors, we saw standing before us President Bill Clinton," she said to applause. "We were shocked but we knew instantly in our hearts that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end, and now we stand here, home and free."

Clinton came down the stairs to applause. He hugged Gore at the foot of the stairs, then chatted with family members.

Gore described the families of the two women as "unbelievable, passionate, involved, committed, innovative."

"Hanna's been a great girl while you were gone," he told Lee. "And Laura, your mom's been making your special soup for two days now."

He also thanked the State Department for its help in the release.

"It speaks well of our country that when two American citizens are in harms way, that so many people will just put things aside and just go to work to make sure that this has had a happy ending," he said.

The reporters were granted a pardon by North Korea on Tuesday, following rare talks between Clinton and the reclusive North Korea leader. Ling and Lee had been arrested near the North Korean-Chinese border in March while on a reporting trip for Current TV and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for entering the country illegally.

Clinton went to Pyongyang as a private citizen acting as an envoy for the United States to work out a deal to win the journalists' freedom.

In a statement released as the former president appeared with the pair at the Burbank airport, Clinton called their plight a "long ordeal" and said he shared "a deep sense of relief with Laura and Euna and their families that they are safely home."

President Obama proclaimed the U.S. government "extraordinarily relieved" over the release of two American journalists by North Korea, extending praise to Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore.

Speaking on the White House lawn just before leaving on a trip to Indiana, Obama said, "The reunion we've all seen on television, I think, is a source of happiness not only for the families but also for the entire country."

Obama made no mention of the overall tense relationship between Washington and the regime headed by Kim Jong Il, and he said that "all Americans should be grateful to both former President Clinton and Vice President Gore for their extraordinary work."

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Wednesday that Clinton will brief Obama's national security team on what transpired during his trip to Pyongyang for talks with Kim Jong Il. Gibbs said he believed that the former president at some point also would speak directly with Obama about the trip.

At the same time, he reiterated that Clinton did not carry a message from Obama to Kim.

"If there wasn't a message, there certainly couldn't have been an apology," Gibbs said.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hailed the release of the journalists.

"I spoke to my husband on the airplane and everything went well," she told reporters in Nairobi, Kenya. "They are extremely excited to be reunited soon when they touch down in California. It was just a good day to be able to see this happen."

A wealthy Hollywood producer reportedly paid for the flight that carried the former president and two journalists home from North Korea.

Marc Foulkrod, chairman of Avjet Corp., the company that manages the plane, said the aircraft is owned by Stephen Bing, a longtime Democratic donor and fundraiser.

Bing raised at least $100,000 for Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign, in addition to giving the personal maximum $2,300. The Clinton Foundation Web site says Bing gave between $10 million and $25 million to the former president's charity. Bing also was a multimillion-dollar donor to pro-Democratic groups that ran ads against Republican President George W. Bush in the 2004 election. Calls to Bing's company and publicist were not immediately returned.

R-U-B-Y : Summer Honors

I'm not quite sure just HOW I did it...but I did. Sigh, I deleted all of Ken's e-mails with pics of Jula and baby Ruby! Who? Ruby. Tante Kendall, oh so famous in our home as the "Colorado" friend. Kendall had another daughter this July and so we warmly welcome Ruby. I could be wayyyy off here, but I recall Jula resembling Kendall, and Ruby I think may look like Steve...maybe has his eyes...hmmmmm. Those two, Ken and Steve = beautiful children :) So, I guess they end up in the sandbox crew, but it's okay...it's also nice to have a few friends that you can enjoy experiences with even if they don't happen at the same time. Kendall, without a doubt, is one of the kindest, most loving mothers, we've ever known - and has been since before her girls even got here ;) Lucky girls! Love y'all. This is one of those times when I wish I had the pics from 15 years ago on the laptop so I could throw down some OLD Sarah & Ken pics for the blog. HA! Man. Whew - noooot sure that would really be so funny. Okay - yeh it would.

Time to check on Carmen. Anyone have an idea of what time it is in Sweden?