News

The world is made up of people constantly seeking news of this and that. Striving to be the first to know! "Have you heard the news?" And the first to tell... "Oh, Do tell?"

Sometimes news can be a great thing to hear. Like the unexpected news of one's husband coming home early from a mission. Oh what joy that will bring to their family! I'm sure his wife and son are just counting the days til he returns.

The news of a baby soon to come is a joy hard to match! Pink, yellow and blue abound. Soon you learn boy or girl....pigtails or scuffed shoes.....bruised knees and pink cheeks.

The Joy of telling the news can be felt all the way down to your toes. Sometimes you actually work up an appetite telling the news, shouting it from the rooftops! Declaring it to be true!

Expressions on a person's face when they first hear the joyful tidings is priceless. There's a twinkle, a spark in the eye and a sharp intake of breath. A slight turn of the head from sudden disbelief and then a wide broad smile followed by warm laughter that can be heard throughout the neighborhood.

Normal news is more like "How's the weather?" and "Braves beat the Marlins". Simple to the point, no muss, no fuss news. That's the ho hum type. The kind no one is really listening to unless there is a storm coming, Super Bowl or Daytona 500.

Not much to be said about normal news except it fills in the gaps where other news doesn't. It makes it all fit somehow like the tidal waves....in and out.......it works around til it fits. I like normal news, it's there as a base to remind you of how it should be not the way it appears.

Then there is this other news. You know the kind you don't want to deal with so you throw it up in the dash of you car and hope the hot sun fades it. But of course it doesn't. So you try to forget it's just sitting up there, waiting for you to make that call. This news is you don't want to know so you keep putting it off year after year until you can't wait any longer.

Sometimes there is the news no one wants to deliver. This type of news can come from a friend, relative, officer, clergy, doctor or even a stranger. Even though this type of news is never good, I wouldn't say it is bad either. It may be bad to hear but not bad for the deceased, for they are far better off than we are here. There will be no suffering, no hunger, no pain and those who have gone before us will be waiting for us with open arms. So it is only human nature to not want to hear it or deliver it to another and it is human nature to recognize it is a passage of life we must all take someday.

The Army tells their soldier's family that if they are injured the family will be contacted by phone as soon as possible. However, if the injury proves to be fatal the family will be notified by clergy in the form of a visit. The thoughts of receiving that type of news by that method scares the hell out of me. I have several friends whose sons and daughters are in the Army. Knowing those mamas personally gives me the right to tell you they don't breathe too often. I guess in these circumstances there would be no easy way tell this kind of news.

My sister called me today with news I thought I would never hear coming out of her mouth. News I have lived in denial of for so many years. After all we are invincible right? She calmly told what I needed to know and what the course of action may entail. All I can think of is that phone call I got on a friday afternoon long ago in September 1989. I know that was a long time ago and things have changed. Chances are much better now than they were in '89. So are the choices. Prognosis is great! The road will be well planned out and I am sure there will be some hurdles but it is achievable. We just got to believe. There is a lot of fear and a lot of praying to come. This type of news is faith.