One thousand dead and Federer moves on...

Another interesting day at the US Open...sort of. Roger Federer and Andre Agassi battled each other and gale force winds more fitting of The America's Cup. To be honest, I haven't a clue what actually constitutes a gale force, but these winds had to be close to gale...I think. But semantics aside, it was quite a lot of fun watching these two guys play the equivalent of an ecological miniature golf course on the court. Bending the game and the status quo of professional tennis. Federer won.

Kristin and I attended a candle-light vigil to honor the 1,000 American soldiers and over 10,000 Iraqi civilians who have died over the course of the last year and a half. Gratefully, the gathering remained apolitical despite one aggressive woman's attempt to turn this solemn and sober event into a Kerry rally (she was respectively addressed). There is a time and a place for politics...this wasn't it.

Earlier today, I visited www.nytimes.com to see their display of 1,000 pictures of the 1,000 dead American soldiers. Chilling and heavyhearted. Two thousand eyes of the dead. One thousand lives cut dramatically short.

About two thirds of the pictures were of the soldiers in various uniforms, casual and dress. These affected my spirit, but not nearly as dramatically as those pictures of dead soldiers in civilian garb. Some wore tuxedos (obviously a prom picture), others wore Red Sox hats and goofy smiles, while yet another soldier kissed a loved one. These images of dead soldiers in happier and more innocent times caught me off guard. Show me a picture of a steel-faced marine cutting the camera lense with his glare and the idea of death seems to be part of the equation. Show me that same soldier two years ago, in high school, fearing the future because it seems so expansive but still laughing and enjoying the privileges of youth...death isn't part of that equation. Yet sadly, today's newspaper reports otherwise. Cheers...