IraqiGirl: Diary of a Teenage Girl in Iraq

I don't usually buy books based on blogs. Why buy the book when you could read the blog for free? But, this is HNK's blog turned into a book. She's the exception.

I finished reading the book this morning. I'm happy HNK got her blog published. But, I'm also sad to re-read her struggle with life under fire. No matter the darkness around, HNK always finds something to get her going every day. This optimism is what makes the book a wonderful read.

In an interview with a group of American students, HNK was asked what her wonderland would be like. Her answer was simple, "In my wonderland we would have electricity and clear water."

Do you see how the Iraqi wonderland is way different that ours?



IraqiGirl:
Diary of a Teenage Girl in Iraq

Helping Photojournalist Stephen Coddington and His Wife Marian

Source: Save Steve Family Blog

I haven't been blogging that much lately. So, I'm not sure how many still check this blog.

If you still check this blog, please read the following from fellow blogger Melissa Lyttle.

Photojournalist Stephen Coddington and his wife Marian are in their 30s, living in Riverview (Tampa Bay area) and are the parents of two children, ages four and seven. The Coddingtons are a young couple, deeply in love and raising a family together.

On April 1, 2008 Marian suffered a brain aneurysm. After 6 months in hospitals and care centers, she was transferred to one of the best facilities in the nation, The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. From there, she had to go to an acute care hospital for several surgeries.

Stephen stayed by her side in Chicago, working with her caregivers to help her return to a normal life. The health insurance company dug in its heels, refused to return Marian to the Rehabilitation Institute and stopped all payments to the acute care hospital. Ultimately, Steve brought Marian home, and assumed the role of single parent and sole caregiver, therapist and advocate for his wife.

Marian's mind is active and she understands fully what is going on around her, but her body has essentially locked her in. She can't walk or care for herself, and she is working hard at learning to speak again.

Steve has used up his family leave time and has neither the helpers nor the money to provide the care she would need for him to return to work. Although the newspaper has continued to extend his leave, he's been fearful that at some time, the paper would have to cut him loose.

savestevesfamily.blogspot.com

If you can give, something, anything... it'll help. There's a donate button (Paypal link) on the Web site.

Also there's a benefit concert for the Coddington's at Skipper's Smokehouse in Tampa on Sunday, August 23 (starts at 4 p.m.). If you're in the area, it's $10 to get in, and it's a day of great music for a good cause.
So come..."

Best,
Melissa Lyttle

If you have money to donate, then please do. What's happening to this couple could happen to any of us and we all know it.

Thank you for your help in spreading the word.

The Birthplace of Abraham Lincoln

A few weeks ago, Mark and I took a road trip to Michigan to visit my family. After traveling through Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Oklahoma, I vote for Southern Kentucky as the most beautiful part of the nine states we traversed.

As with any road trip, you stop at places you never planned to see. The Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Site in Hodgenville, Kentucky was one of the places we happened to drive by on our way to Michigan. It was time well spent, thanks to our road trip.



© Fayrouz Hancock / newseagles.com
The Memorial Building at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Site in Hodgenville, Kentucky.



© Fayrouz Hancock / newseagles.com
The symbolic cabin similar to the cabin where Abraham Lincoln was born in Hodgenville, Kentucky. The symbolic cabin is located inside the Memorial Building.



© Fayrouz Hancock / newseagles.com
The Sinking Spring was the source of water for the Lincoln family's farm, where Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809.



© Fayrouz Hancock / newseagles.com
Life-size statues of the Lincoln family located inside the visitors center at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park in Hodgenville, Kentucky.



© Fayrouz Hancock / newseagles.com
The Centennial Statue of Abraham Lincoln at the historic Lincoln Square in Hodgenville, Kentucky.


© Fayrouz Hancock / newseagles.com
The Boy Lincoln Sculpture depicts the young Abraham Lincoln and his dog Honey. The statue is located in the historic Lincoln Square in Hodgenville, Kentucky.

R.I.P. Dr. Sabah Abdel Aziz

Facebook has become my favorite tool to connect with old friends and family members, who are scattered around the world. It brings many happy moments to my busy life. From time to time, it brings bad news.

Last week, I learned of the death of Dr. Sabah Abdel Aziz in Basra.

For readers of this post, the name means nothing. For his students, he meant the world.

Dr. Aziz was the head of the Computer Science department at University of Basra, where I completed my university studies, during the 1980s. He earned a doctorate in Satellite Technology from Japan. As you can imagine, he was a genius, and we were the wannabe programmers who had to share computers to finish our homework and assignments.

I caught Dr. Aziz's attention with my problem-solving techniques from the first year. From the beginning, I was expected to perform perfectly in my studies. This wasn't always easy considering Basrawi students lived in a war zone. But I tried my best.

Dr. Aziz was a professor with a vision. His vision was to graduate students who make it successfully in the workplace. His success is evident in my colleagues who became successful techies no matter which country they eventually landed.

I owe my success to Dr. Aziz and all the wonderful professors who taught me at University of Basra. They were available when we needed them. They were tough when toughness was needed. It's what made us better programmers.

Before leaving church yesterday, I prayed to Mother Mary. I asked her to tell Dr. Aziz that we loved him, and he will be missed on Earth.

R.I.P. Dr. Sabah Abdel Aziz.

The Wall Street Greed

Merriam Webster Dictionary defines greed as "a selfish and excessive desire for more of something (as money) than is needed."

In his Oscar-winning performance in the 1987 film "Wall Street", Michael Douglas portrays a Wall Street financier who tells stockholders

“The point is, ladies and gentlemen, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper [a fictitious company], but that other malfunctioning corporation called the U.S.A.”

And that's how the Wall Street story goes. People were fed the idea that making fast money is good.

People were instructed to invest in their 401K plan to have a better retirement. This always cracks me up about the U.S. way of life. I roll my eyes when I see people obsessively buy and sell stocks in the name of investing in their future retirement. I think retirement is way overrated here.

This greed mentality has not only affected the work force, who are working for "a better future retirement," but it also influenced the younger generation when it comes to choosing a college major. Check a few universities randomly, and I'm certain the finance and economy classes are filled with Wall Street financier wannabes. Walk to an engineering school and the majority of students is very international.

Nations like India and China are investing in the younger generation to be the scientific leaders of the future. They benefit most from the outsourcing of America because of corporate American greed.

American Wife, The Book

I first heard of Curtis Sittenfeld and the book "American Wife" in December 2008.

I'm not "into" romance novels. But, the reviews attracted me to the book. Considering how slow I read and how long the book is, I actually found the time to read the book during weekends.

The book is a fictional biography of former First Lady Laura Bush. It's also the reason why I decided to read the book. No matter how much the American people disliked former President Bush, the former First Lady had a high approval rating among the people. I relate her popularity to her Southern charm, sincere smile and down-to-earth personality.

The book starts very strong by explaining the childhood and youth of the fictional Laura Bush. Toward the third quarter of the book, it starts to drag a bit. So, I flipped through pages to get to the next interesting part.

As someone who's fond of reading books and world events, I can distinguish between fiction and non-fiction. I'm certain some may read the book and consider every word written about Laura Bush to be factual. This may not be fair to her. Similarly, it's not fair to make assumptions about public figures, celebrities or people we barely know.

The book is well-written. However, it could have been shorter. Some details weren't needed in a fiction book about a First Lady. But after all, it's a romance fiction.



American Wife