Things that I want to write about keep drifting by--my brain seems to be having a hard time holding on to one thought long enough to get it written down. The world's theme this week though is press accessibility to Dover AFB when the fallen are returned. There have been articles in the Washington Post and the Washington Times, and yesterday there was a story on NPR's Tell Me More about it as well. Perhaps coincidentally, HBO recently showed a movie based on the true story of the Marine Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl who escorted home the body of a fallen Marine, Lance Corporal Chance Phelps. I watched the trailer this morning, and some clips of interviews with Chance Phelps' family, Michael Strobl, Kevin Bacon (who played Strobl), and others involved in the making of this film. Not to be done without a box of Kleenex at hand. http://www.hbo.com/films/takingchance/ has the clips I watched I think (mine came by way of an e-mail). I feel drained, and it's only 11 a.m.

And for those who are wondering, I don't really know what I think about showing the flag-draped caskets at Dover. I know that Thomas was intensely private and probably would have objected to being on display, at least that was true before he left for Iraq. I also know that he told us that if he was dead, whatever we did about his body and burial was up to us. On the other hand, I do not want him to be forgotten, nor do I want his sacrifice and the sacrifice of his fellow servicemembers to be dismissed or tucked away behind a curtain. In the end, perhaps Section 60 at Arlington and all of the other graves scattered throughout our country are reminder enough.