Morale is so important

[Isabella Thorne]

at the suggestion of some good friends (thank you), i am weaning myself off of CNN now ...

it was getting way too overwhelming to continually watch coverage ...

and i kept sinking deeper and deeper into this horrible depression ... crying every day ... and this horrible feeling of doom looming over my head ...

... and now with all the new comedies starting up their new season, it does us good to laugh and lift our spirits ... and besides i figure if anything does happen they will interrupt the programming with a news bulletin ... so there is no need for me to keep getting minute to minute coverage ...

and torturing myself watching horror after horror ...

and President Bush told us to get on with our lives ... it is the best thing we can do now ...

i never appreciated b4 all the talk we heard about WWII and how they had to keep up the morale of the people here in North America ... with movies, and so on ...

it is very clear now how important that really is.

 

[Desert Amazon]

 

[Guest]

I refuse to watch TV any longer. It was draining me and preventing me from moving to another needed phase of grief. I'm still waiting to feel anger. I still have a hard time with that.

Hang in there and keep on, keeping on!

 

[April]

Let me amuse you Isabella. If you watch long enough, I do stupid things. Oh yeah, I have some more pics. But I ain't posting them this time.

 

[Isabella Thorne]

.... no no sweet April

... for as long as i have known you - i have never seen you do a stupid thing ...

those pics you posted ... that was an incredibly big wonderful morale booster for lit posters ... we loved it ... you made us smile ... you made us happy ...

hey what else counts right?

and ummmmmmmm it was a big morale booster for you too, cherie ....

and by all means, darlin', send me the other pics by email if it turns you on ... i know it will turn me on, too!

 

[MissTaken]

Getting on with our lives.....

Information is good.
Too much information about things over which I have no control is disturbing.

As for me, I have been buying a lot of C.D's and listening to good music. Checking in to the news once in a while keeps my informed, but to watch CNN all day doesn't allow us to address our grief.

Well put Raindancer.

My thoughts, from a professional point of view, find something that brings you joy, something that allows you respite from the tension and uncertainty and do it.

Music is my outlet.

~waving as I shoot out to the music store for new guitar strings~

hugs all

 

[Purple Haze]

The best thing for morale would be to quit watching TV news. The media is having a field day, and their motive is to keep you tuned in and angry. It's good for business.

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

I find myself listening to The Moody Blues a lot. "Days of Future Past" is very good for vanishing out of this world and into another for a time.

Blocking out too much news is good, too. I have to force myself away from the TV, just to get a break. I'm doing the "break" thing elsewhere in my life, too. I've increased my "Ignore" list here at Lit recently, and I'm avoiding certain Real Life colleagues that cause stress. The blood pressure has never been so low...

 

[Isabella Thorne]

Nights in white satin
never reaching the end
Letters I've written
never meaning to send
Beauty I'd always missed
with these eyes before
Just what the truth is
I can't say anymore.

~The Moody Blues~
________________________________________
oh yea ... that is so important too ... to reduce stress as much as we can in other areas of our lives too ...

if someone bugs you today, just tell them to piss off ...

 

[Purple Haze]

Breathe deep the gathering gloom,
Watch lights fade from every room.
Bedsitter people look back and lament,
Another day's useless energy spent.
Impassioned lovers wrestle as one,
Lonely man cries for love and has none.
New mother picks up and suckles her son,
Senior citizens wish they were young.
Cold hearted orb that rules the night,
Removes the colours from our sight.
Red is grey and yellow white,
But we decide which is right.
And which is an illusion???

 

[Isabella Thorne]

Breathe Deep

<handing Purple a Blue>

Breathe Deep

Breathe deep, the gathering gloom
Pizza boxes fill your room
Roving roaches seal your doom
Run right out and buy a broom,
You can use the rent money.

Cold-hearted orb that rules the night
Dead flies in your ceiling light
Pipes are grey and plaster white,
But we decide which version's right
And which one is a parody.

 

[Dillinger]

I very much agree. I do try and check the news at least once a day - but so much at this point is just repeating what's already been said over and over and over again (or finding new way to relive the horrible events - the personal profiles are the most heart wrenching). There is only so much a person can take. In a way I feel sort of guilty not watching all these people's stories - but, at the same time, I realize its not healthy.

 

[Saturn Return]

There is this old movie titled "The Carnival" made circa 1950.

It's about this small town where this little boy gets stuck down inside a well. Soon the media comes out and people from all over the Nation show up just to see if the kid will make it out of the well alive.

The good townspeople set up food and drink stands outside of the well and they all start making a ton of money. The place is swarming with the media and the town is booming.

Before the movie is over..you realize that they don't intend upon ever getting him out because it's just too damn good for town business.

 

[sigh]

I find myself listening to The Moody Blues a lot. "Days of Future Past" is very good for vanishing out of this world and into another for a time.

what a wonderful idea...

*pulling out a moody blues CD*


I'm looking at myself reflections of my mind,
It's just the kind of day to leave myself behind.
So gently swaying through the fairyland of love,
If you'll just come with me you'll see the beauty of,
Tuesday afternoon...

 

[Isabella Thorne]

yea that is really true that the media is having a "field day" with this ... and in turn it does stress a lot of people needlessly ...

and yes i agree that they do it because it is a business for them ...

but before we dismiss the media altogether, i must point out the brave reporters who bring us news about what life is really like in countries like Afghanistan where the government is trying to hide themselves away from the rest of the world in order to keep their people oppressed ...

when i see footage of the women in Afghanistan - as painful as it is for me to watch - i feel relief and hope for the women - just as they must feel it - that the world can now finally see their suffering ... and the evil ways of the Taliban ..

we need to see what is going on ... without the media, we would not be aware ...

but having said that ... IMHO, even though keeping aware is good, "overdosing" on emotionally draining news stories will only make us weaker ...

and we need to stay strong ...

 

[Isabella Thorne]

well I also want to say something else please ...

it feels as if everyone is trying to boost everyone else's moral ... subconciously or conciously ... either way ...

people seem so much kinder later ... people in lines at grocery stores, banks, etc. ....

people smile at each other ... talk to each other ... i am now making small conversations with total strangers ... more so than "before" ...

it's almost as if there is an unwritten rule that we must keep up each other's spirits ...

has anyone else noticed that?

i think that we are lucky we can do that for each other ...

we are lucky to be able to feel compassion for our fellow human beings ... it's almost as if we want to shelter others and ourselves from any more pain ...

 

[Isabella Thorne]

P.S.

oh yea i also forgot to mention ...

most song lyrics have totally different meanings now ... it is so strange ...

yea especially The Moody Blues ... that was freaky, Sigh ...

and Pink Floyd's The Wall is freaky too ...

and so many many many more tunes it is mind blowing ... almost like premonitions in some cases ...

 

[April]

My morale's been pretty good lately. A few lows, but that's to be expected.

 

[Isabella Thorne]

This is your captain speaking ...

Pilot's speech....impressive!

The following is from a letter by a passenger on her return flight to D.C. on September 15.

I just wanted to drop you all a note and let you know that I arrived safe and sound into Dulles Airport tonight [9/15] at about 6:00.

It was an interesting flight.

The airport in Denver was almost spooky, it was so empty and quiet. No one was in line for the security check point when I got there so that went fairly quickly, just x-ray of my bags and then a chemical test to be sure nothing explosive was on them.

Then I waited 2 1/2 hours to board the plane. What happened after we boarded was interesting and thought I would share it with you.

The pilot/captain came on the loudspeaker after the doors were closed. His speech went like this:

"First I want to thank you for being brave enough to fly today. The doors are now closed and we have no help from the outside for any problems that might occur inside this plane. As you could tell when you checked in, the government has made some changes to increase security in the airports.

"They have not, however, made any rules about what happens after those doors close. Until they do that, we have made our own rules and I want to share them with you. Once those doors close, we only have each other.

"The security has taken care of a threat like guns with all of the increased scanning, etc. Then we have the supposed bomb. If you have a bomb, there is no need to tell me about it, or anyone else on this plane; you are already in control. So, for this flight, there are no bombs that exist on this plane.

"Now, the threats that are left are things like plastics, wood, knives, and other weapons that can be made or things like that which can be used as weapons.

"Here is our plan and our rules. If someone or several people stand up and say they are hijacking this plane, I want you all to stand up together.

Then take whatever you have available to you and throw it at them. Throw it at their faces and heads so they will have to raise their hands to protect themselves.

"The very best protection you have against knives are the pillows and blankets. Whoever is close to these people should then try to get a blanket over their head--then they won't be able to see. Once that is done, get them down and keep them there. Do not let them up. I will then land the plane at the closest place and we WILL take care of them.”

"After all, there are usually only a few of them and we are 200+ strong! We will not allow them to take over this plane.

"I find it interesting that the US Constitution begins with the words 'We, the people’ - that's who we are, THE people and we will not be defeated."

With that, the passengers on the plane all began to applaud, people had tears in their eyes, and we began the trip toward the runway. The flight attendant then began the safety speech.

One of the things she said is that we are all so busy and live our lives at such a fast pace. She asked that everyone turn to their neighbors on either side and introduce themselves, tell each other something about your families and children, show pictures, whatever. She said "for today, we consider you family and will treat you as such and ask that you do the same with us."

Throughout the flight we learned that for the crew, this was their first flight since Tuesday's tragedies. It was a day that everyone leaned on each other and together everyone was stronger than any one person alone.

It was quite an experience.

You can imagine the feeling when that plane touched down at Dulles and we heard, "Welcome to Washington Dulles Airport, where the local time is 5:40 pm."

Again, the cabin was filled with applause.

Last night I saw a program with college students where one of them said that at their campus there are no more hyphenated titles, i.e.,African-American, etc., everyone is just an American.

No one will ever be able to take that pride away from us.

_____________________________
P.S. ... and the same goes for every free citizen in the world.

 

[Isabella Thorne]

For real?

ohhhhh i am sorry if i have passed along something that was wrong ... i received this message in an email .... does anyone have any info as to whether or not this "letter" is legit?


"I have heard this same speech from more than several different sources, and purportedly it happened to different people too. Do you think that others than the one it actually happened to are claiming it for their own? Or is it a scam?

Whatever, it sure is interesting, and it would take real guts for a pilot to make a speech to his passengers like this.. Guaranteed to cause panic.

I heard that this was first told to the public by a guest on Good Morning America, not in a letter."

 

[sigh]

Re: P.S.

oh yea i also forgot to mention ...

most song lyrics have totally different meanings now ... it is so strange ...

yea especially The Moody Blues ... that was freaky, Sigh ...

it WAS freaky...i mean, it did seem like a good idea to play the Moody Blues - to float away for a bit and put it behind - and DCL mentioned Days of Future Past...as good as any, right?

so i jumped to a Moody's lyrics site, opened up Days of Future Past and it jumped right out at me...sent a shiver up my spine

Tuesday Afternoon

the song will never be the same, at least to me...it was so lighthearted, almost nonsensical, but now (oddly enough because how i was led to it on this thread) it carries the burden of one horrible Tuesday

but you know, when i listen to it, i still relax...the human brain is so good at setting aside garbage, at least for awhile