America is the big guy. Iraq is the small guy. Because of that, no matter what we do, certain perceptions will never change.So even though America, the big guy, has an army of volunteers, while Iraq, the small guy, pulls men from their homes and threatens to kill their loved ones if they don't fight -- we, the big guy, are the bully.And even though America, the big guy, wears army uniforms and rides in army tanks, while Iraq, the small guy, wears civilian clothes and drives Toyotas and blends in, waiting for an ambush -- we, the big guy, are the bully.
"It is not the critic who counts. . . . The credit belongs to the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly . . . and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." -- Teddy Roosevelt
Like most Americans, I have been glued to my TV, watching the war in Iraq. My channel of choice has been CNN. After a while, I began to notice a name I hadn't heard before: Walter Rodgers.There it was again. Walter Rodgers. I wondered whether this was a general, or a strategist, or maybe a soldier exhibiting great bravery, given that his name -- Walter Rodgers! Walter Rodgers! -- was being tossed about with unabashed worship.
And his name is Chauncey.He was not the most famous guard on the floor Wednesday night. That distinction belonged to a guy named Kobe. You know Kobe? Best player in the NBA these days? Speaks Italian? Scores 40 points the way Sergei Fedorov skates a circle?Kobe was the famous one, the richer one, the Chosen One. He came out of high school and has been with one team ever since, the L.A. Lakers, winning three championship rings by his 24th birthday.
Mitch Albom writes about running an orphanage in impoverished Port-au-Prince, Haiti, his kids, their hardships, laughs and challenges, and the life lessons he’s learned there every day.
