In my Inbox today... the story of Chief Master Sgt John Gebhardt, superintendent of the 22nd Wing Medical Group normally based at the US's McConnell Air Force base, Kansas, who gained worldwide attention for a photo of him holding an injured Iraqi child.
This is the story of this photo, originally taken around October 2006, when Chief Gebhardt was deployed at Balad Air Base in Iraq. It has been published on many websites worldwide and has been circulating via emails during the last two and a half years. Today, it arrived in my Inbox!
The story is a heartwarming one... and in complete contrast to the stories, that unfortunately we are accustomed to, that we still see daily coming out of our forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The young infant in Chief Gebhardt's arms, had received extensive gunshot injuries to her head (ghastly and clearly seen when zooming in on the image) when insurgents attacked her family killing both of her parents and many of her siblings.
Apparently, the 'chief' had a knack for comforting her and they often would catch a cat nap together in a chair.
The photograph generated a lot of attention when it first began circulating back in 2006. It is perhaps an indication of the photograph's simple but powerful symbolism that it continues to circulate more than two years later.
Chief Gebhardt is now back at home in Wichita, Kansas, with his wife, Mindy. They have a warm, hospitable home five minutes away from McConnell Air Force Base. His son Ryan, 25, and daughter Amber, 23, have long since outgrown being cradled and he said he thought about them constantly while he held the Iraqi child.
"I got as much enjoyment out of it as the baby did," he said."I reflected on my own family and life and thought about how lucky I have been."
His affection for children is no secret to his wife, Mindy. While dating John in high school, she watched how he bonded with the child of a coach of one of his athletic teams. That softer side of him is one of the reasons she married him.
"People see him as this tough guy," she said, "but I always see that other side of him that is full of compassion."
The chief, who grew up in Jordan, New York, is not at home in the spotlight. When asked to talk about himself, he always tries to switch the focus to the other military people who served with him at Balad.
While deployed to Iraq, the chief tried to help out any way he could. He figured holding a baby that needed comforting that would free up one more set of arms that could be providing care to more critical patients.
"If I have an opportunity to help out, I look for that opportunity," he said. "They had more than enough to do."
The chief was not alone in volunteering at the hospital. There were more than 800 different volunteers at the hospital during the time he was deployed to Iraq, he said. Some of them volunteered so much that he mistakenly thought they were assigned to the hospital.
When Mindy describes the best qualities of her husband, the first word out of her mouth is integrity. She said the photo of her husband and the Iraqi child truly represents him. She believes he has been so successful because he is such a straight-shooter and puts others' welfare ahead of his own.
"He never leads anyone astray," she said. "He will never do something for himself that would have a negative effect on someone else. He always tells it like it is."
But, the chief attributes his success to his family.
"Without their support I don't know where I would be," he said. "I definitely wouldn't be in the position I am."
And it is the chief's hope that families in Iraq will receive the same kind of support in the future. They are just like American families, Chief Gebhardt said.
"I pray for the best for the Iraqi children," he said."I can't tell the difference between their kids and our kids. The Iraqi parents have the same care and compassion for their children as any American."
Life is calmer for Chief Gebhardt now that he is back home, and even though his recent 'fame' has highlighted an eventful 27-year career, he said he wouldn't change a thing.
"If I had to do it over again, I would sign up and give it another ride," he said.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The heartwarming story of Chief Master Sgt John Gebhardt
Dubious, strange and embarrassing bedfellows they keep
Billionaire Stanford has been charged with a $8bn (£5.6bn) investment fraud.
As ECB chairman, Clarke struck a deal with Stanford to play five $20m matches, with plans in place for new 20-20 tournaments in England as well.
Clarke's dubious leadership of the ECB in all this has now led to at least two county cricket clubs publicly asking him to resign.
Today, both Leicestershire and Hampshire cricket clubs are reported as saying that Clarke should go but he has been backed by Glamorgan, Durham and Middlesex.
Clarke was elected chairman of the ECB for a second term just a matter of days ago, having ran unopposed after Lord Marland withdrew in January.
But the chairmen of Leicestershire and Hampshire, who have been vocal critics of the ECB in the past, have firmly pointed the finger of blame at Clarke.
I find it amazing, that the rest of the county cricket clubs, that comprise the ECB, are not also joining in, in calling for his resignation!
I don't know about you, but right from the very start, when I first heard of Sir Allen Stanford, at the time when he first made his proposals to the ECB, I thought to myself... this guy sounds very dubious. Later on, following his antics during the Twenty 20 internationals between England and a West Indies all-star XI, which he funded with a total prize fund of £12.270m (US $20 million), my doubts about this character were heightened even further. I watched with fascination at all the bullshit and razzmatazz that surrounded Stanford, which he was largely responsible for creating.
The word 'charlatan' kept screaming out loud and clear... at least to me! Naturally, being a somewhat naive and trusting soul, I assumed that the ECB had conducted all 'due diligence' in checking this guy out... and thought, well they must know what they are doing. How naive can we be!
It's ok for me to be perhaps naive... but when the Chairman of an organisaton such as the ECB, is shown to have been so badly taken in, even if all decisions were made jointly by the board, then surely it is time for the Chairman to go... maybe the whole board too! What were they thinking about?
Dubious, strange and embarassing bedfellows
Speaking of keeping dubious, strange and embarrassing bedfellows... I just watched a press conference of Gordon Brown... our esteemed Prime Minister, being welcomed to Rome by the very dubious Signor Berlusconi... the Italian Prime Minister.
Am I being an idiot for feeling a touch of discomfort watching these two effusing about each other... and the good they are going to do when discussing the need to help poor countries during the global economic crisis? I mean... come on, this is a guy, the prime minister of a major European country, who has been indicted for paying bribes!
Perhaps this does not embarrass the Italians, but those scenes with Brown and Berlusconi... give me great discomfort!
On Tuesday, David Mills, the estranged husband of the UK's Olympics minister Tessa Jowell, was sentenced to four and a half years' jail by an Italian court after being found guilty of taking a $600,000 (£400,000) bribe as a reward for withholding court testimony to help Berlusconi!
It appears, that Berlusconi, who was indicted alongside Mills, his former legal adviser on offshore dealings, is no longer a defendant. His government passed a law last year giving the prime minister and some other top Italian officials immunity from prosecution. If that's not scandalous in itself, I really don't know what is!
While newspapers report that this is the first time in Italy that someone has been found guilty of taking a bribe without the giver of the money being identified, we all KNOW who it was!!
The fact that Berlusconi himself is still prime minister and not resigned in shame is bare faced cheek to an extreme. For our own prime minister, to be seen effusing jovially with this crook... gives me great discomfort and makes me wonder... what sort of dishonourable world are we living in... but hey, that's just me!
As we say in Llanito... valiente carra dura... the bare faced cheek of it all!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
I take my hat off to... Jade Goody
Last Saturday Mr Clifford said "she was informed yesterday that tragically, she's terminally ill. She was obviously devastated."
Mr Clifford went on to say that Jade had now begun drawing up a will and making plans for the future care of her two sons.
Jade has been keeping busy this week... making plans for her wedding. All things being well, she will marry her long time partner Jack Tweed this coming Sunday! Congratulations to both!
There has been much written throughout Jade Goody's life in the spotlight, as a celebrity.... often critical, now and then vitriolic. At times... some of her antics have made me uncomfortable. But... I really have to take my hat off to her right now.
Her decision to be so public with her illness is very brave and I applaud her desperate efforts to do whatever she can, while she is still alive, to raise as much cash as she can, to ensure the future of her children... in the hope that they may have the education... and better breaks than she ever had in her childhood!
A by product of the publicity Jade is attracting through her actions is to raise the awareness of cervical and other cancers... and not just amongst women. It is also enabling debate over the issue of death generally, which is a big taboo in Britain.
I think all this is very positive and I take my hat off to Jade Goody... a very gritty and ever the savvy exploiter of the media. Good for her and her family. I extend my very best wishes to her and her loved ones!
Anyone on Facebook... might also like to support Jade... by joining the Facebook Group: Jade Goody - Cancer Support
Cervical cancer screening prevents cervical cancer.
Cervical screening is sometimes known as the 'smear test'. At screening the doctor or nurse takes a sample of cells from your cervix using a spatula or a small brush. They examine these cells under a microscope to look for any unusual changes. Read more...
Help fight Cancer - Donate to Cancer Research UK
Profound picture of hell
In my Inbox today... I received a very 'profound' and brilliantly described picture of hell!
This 'profound' description of hell was in reply to a question posed to a student at the University of Washington in a Chemistry mid-term exam.... and as it turns out, it's very funny! Read on...
The answer by this student was viewed by his professor as so 'profound' that he shared it with his colleagues via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well!
Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?
Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some such variant.
One student, however, wrote the following:First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving.
I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving.
As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today.
Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.
This gives two possibilities:
1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.
2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.
So which is it?
If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, 'It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you,' and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct.......leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting 'Oh my God.'
THIS STUDENT RECEIVED AN A+.
