America's Words

 

My Neighbors, the Marines

Today the Marines are going to shoot live Ordnance over Interstate 5 Freeway into Camp Pendleton. 

I live in Oceanside CA and the Base is our northern boarder of the City. For years, there have been occasionally loud booms, flyovers of jets and the large U.S. Air Force C-5M Super Galaxy. These aircraft are a wonder to watch and I feel the vibrations, the thunderous pulsing of the engines, laboring to make their climb over my head, a miracle, I sigh.

                      CAMP PENDLETON, CALIFORNIA,                                             UNITED STATES

I have a deep appreciation for the Marines. I feel safe in my community up high on a hill. I can watch their nighttime shooting of softly falling lights like fairy tale stars drifting down to light up the landscape of our earth. In reality, the lights are parachute flares, which are pyrotechnic devices designed to signal distress or to illuminate a large area at night during training.

I feel safe, when I go downtown to the Oceanside Museum of Art, and waiting to cross the street, the Young handsome men of the Corp take my arm and escort me across the street. Do I feel like a queen ? Yes.

I feel at peace when walking in our Senior community, I see the beautiful young men and women, running like the wind up our hills and waving to me, remembering the days when I too could run with the courage of my will to be healthy.

Today, however, the troops of the Corp will be doing the biding of the Occupant of the Oval. They will be shooting live ordnance over the weekend travelers of our County on Interstate 5 into Camp Pendleton. The Freeway will be shutdown, leaving thousands of cars sitting the hot sun, the folks left deal with their human needs, because of the whims of a man who has never known anything but his own selfish wants.

The rational is to celebrate the 250^th anniversary of our County, but is that really the reason?

The Hatred of California by this Occupant of the Oval is well known. In my view, this is a warning to Governor Newsom. Beware, “I can do this whenever, wherever, and to ever I want”. He has demonstrated this in the targeting of boats in the Caribbean...

I fear, this won't be the last of a show of power from this man whose hatred of California has been seen in the show of ICE in Los Angeles and beyond.

Still, I revere our Young Men and Women of the Corp, who give tirelessly their truth, their honor, their time, and even their lives, I Celebrate them, Honor them and am in debt to them for they are a force of nature and are the best of Us.

The Best of Us...