tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075Mon, 09 Sep 2024 16:15:48 +0000From "The Republic of Conscience" by Seamus Heaney: "...The old man rose and gazed into my face and said that was official recognition that I was now a dual citizen. He therefore desired me when I got home to consider myself a representative and to speak on their behalf in my own tongue..."http://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)Blogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-4893835314775335624Thu, 04 Jan 2007 16:13:00 +00002012-04-12T10:22:53.754-04:00New Year's Eve brought both revelation and resolution for me this year. There I stood, in the middle of ordering a coffee, when a newspaper headline blasted me with emotion. Several minutes later, having cried all of the makeup off my face, I realized what was happening: December 31st, 2006 was a one-year anniversary. It was New Year's Eve 2005 when I departed active duty to join my family, http://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2007/01/final-post-one-year-home.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-115700697686394200Thu, 31 Aug 2006 05:34:00 +00002006-08-31T15:22:04.756-04:00See it? Anyone?I haven't yet, but I WILL see this film. Just released, approximately two weeks ago, The War Tapes is a documentary film about the Iraq War. Three soldiers provide footage, interviews, commentaries on their twelve month deployment to Iraq.My veteran 'expert' opinion based on the trailer alone is that this film will do one thing for every viewer: it will provide a window into a http://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2006/08/war-tapes.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-115015711306594397Mon, 12 Jun 2006 23:34:00 +00002006-08-22T21:15:52.996-04:00...writing the post title brings wandering thoughts to mind about the possibility of opening a little coffee shop "for veterans"... but that's not what this post is about.There is plenty to tell about what has taken place since coming home from Iraq the first of the year. I can't fit it all into this post. My lingering participation with the military through the Minnesota National Guard has http://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2006/06/coffee-for-veterans.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-114619766166988657Fri, 28 Apr 2006 03:31:00 +00002006-04-28T09:34:02.280-04:00the one with the helicopterswhere we kept company withO'Douls and chips and salsaand sometimes a DVD on the playerthere was no movie rental placejust a dusty warehouseWalmart-like storewhere we could buy themI miss the romance of escapethe fact that there was somethinglegitimatefrom which to escape in the first placeturmoiland loud generatorspeople dyingand loud helicoptersincoming roundsand the http://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2006/04/sometimes-i-miss-airfield.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-113719422486258820Fri, 13 Jan 2006 23:02:00 +00002006-01-13T18:17:04.883-05:00This just in...Google 'failure' -- DO IT! The first result of the search is George W. Bush's biography!(Info via Jesus' General tracked back to Political Adolescent)Apparently, the mention of the GW-Google connection was only made in concert with mention of a fake profile of Supreme Court Justice nominee Alito, which the henchmen have yet to find! It's funny but with potential for offense. http://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2006/01/still-in-shock.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-113713607481942247Fri, 13 Jan 2006 06:58:00 +00002012-04-12T10:23:21.164-04:00Got this on the sidebar of the "Sleepless in Munich" (Schlaflos in Muenchen), a podcasting site that, incidentally has decent commentary and pretty good music -- all in German, of course. ... it's merely an ad for the "South German Newspaper, Germany's Big Daily Paper," with a free 2-week trial subscription... but it's funny. it sends me into this daydreaming spell, wondering, what kind of http://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2006/01/germans-have-best-ads.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-113713184420595913Fri, 13 Jan 2006 05:33:00 +00002006-01-13T01:13:12.323-05:00...Apparently one reader at Paper Napkin thought so. Funny, but it's not clear from context whether this individual was actually a "lurker" herself! Crazy. Hey... I didn't invent the term. Look it up (I used Dictionary.com) -- the entry I saw even explicitly addressed the blog "lurker" definition as non-pejorative!Incidentally, I decided that viewing only one source for this definition was http://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2006/01/lurker-pejorative-term.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-113692144057585955Tue, 10 Jan 2006 18:50:00 +00002006-02-21T12:19:13.753-05:00I'm home I'm home I'm home!!!!!!Now, I ask myself: What exactly do I mean by 'home' anyway??Well, first of all, I'm talking about the United States versus the Middle East. There's something about our ground that feels like home, and that feeling is ever-more profound with the longer absence.I felt myself breathe -- breath with no explosions -- breathe with no generator noise -- breathe in a hug,http://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2006/01/im-home-finally-home.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-113536210751879595Fri, 23 Dec 2005 18:01:00 +00002006-02-21T15:17:51.716-05:00The best way I know how... I'm wishing all a Merry Christmas.I'm bitter this year. Very bitter... but the taste of home is in my mouth... anticipation -- oh, sweet anticipation!So, in the spirit of the season... I have a couple shout-outs to make:My family at home:You've been there for me this whole year. We've shared, we've cried, we've laughed. Thanks for the wonderful break when I came home inhttp://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2005/12/holiday-shout-outs-family-edition.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-113302625024069491Sat, 26 Nov 2005 17:16:00 +00002006-10-19T22:30:38.100-04:00My dear friends...Time is so short for me these days. I have had the pleasure of being reminded in so many uncanny ways that being short on time is a condition quite common to us all. I miss my home. I MISS MY BLOG!! Over all, I have had access to the internet, but never from my work desk, and I seem to be spending oh so much more time there lately.Quick-and-Dirty Tommi news:1. My operation -- http://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2005/11/time-what-curious-thing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-113014459068283969Mon, 24 Oct 2005 07:50:00 +00002005-10-24T15:08:43.840-05:00 My mother's hands have always meant the world to me.There are some aspects of this environment that make me feel particularly infantile -- those urges to curl up in some fetal ball of homesickness when my body hurts or when it seems there isn't anyone in whom I can "appropriately" confide about challenges and gripes. I seldom or never notice the ache of something missing until circumstances makehttp://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2005/10/mothertouch.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-112987610737337079Fri, 21 Oct 2005 05:12:00 +00002005-10-21T01:28:27.393-05:00Such mixed emotions fill these days.On one hand, this environment is so sheltered, so capable of providing a hiding place from reality. Then again, my deployment to Iraq has given such ample opportunity to realize that SO MANY people are busy doing that regardless of location anyway! For some of us that is because the pain of sympathy is too great if we let ourselves feel; for some of us it's http://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2005/10/longest-absence-yet-happy-ramadan.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-112747738685210423Fri, 23 Sep 2005 12:09:00 +00002006-03-18T08:25:39.366-05:00... so it's not exactly a "ballad," but I did finally find (make?) time to finish composition of a song that I suspect has been lying just beneath my creative surface for many months now. My beautiful guitar that I purchased here got a chance to sing. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed creating. Endless thanks to creators of audacity software for making a project like this FREE. http://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2005/09/baghdad-ballad.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-112689207871167694Fri, 16 Sep 2005 17:34:00 +00002005-09-16T12:34:38.716-05:00...so it wasn't real beer; it was the Iraq-deployment non-alcoholic kind (which I hate consuming), but I had a "non-mandatoy" explain-to-the-executive-officer-why-if-you-can't-make-it event!The officers in my unit hosted a handful of officers from their/our higher headquarters on the roof of the three-storey building they now inhabit. My buddy Neil and I grilled the steaks, and I didn't eat any -http://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2005/09/beer-and-bug-zapper.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-112673130587333793Wed, 14 Sep 2005 17:44:00 +00002005-09-14T15:55:11.300-05:00[with all sensitivity, intended... I'm fine. I'm sorry for any concern prompted by my extended absence. I'm trying to get to this posting more regularly, but believe me, if something (bad) happens, you'll see/hear something about it here.]Monday I took a trip to Camp Liberty in Baghdad. It was such fun and such misery all rolled into one. Another officer in my unit, Chris, needed someone to go http://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2005/09/taking-liberty.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-112536626830187150Tue, 30 Aug 2005 01:41:00 +00002005-08-29T20:44:28.303-05:00p.s. If you haven't checked out my images on Flickr lately, try it!http://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2005/08/post-script.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-112536596999689051Tue, 30 Aug 2005 00:14:00 +00002005-08-29T20:39:30.026-05:00The days seem more difficult now. Any of you who are still frequenting my blog or checking your blogroll for indication that I've posted... I'm sorry for any scare I might have caused. It's not my intent to leave people hanging, and as a friend back home pointed out to me -- for some of my blog readers, posts are the only means you have of knowing I'm still okay. I have a number of topics thathttp://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2005/08/where-is-my-exit.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-112536072280039318Tue, 30 Aug 2005 00:04:00 +00002005-08-29T19:12:02.810-05:00 While I was sleeping, ten dozen bombs bellowed, five hundred more died – including the four hundred most people won’t count – a water pipe broke, some power went out, some soldiers were shot at, some soldiers ate chow; a mouse’s dead carcass proliferates odor throughout my small office; the mayor has moved. Some soldiers went home, some visit, some stay; the server goes down; throw darts at http://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2005/08/while-i-was-sleeping.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-112423435796424475Tue, 16 Aug 2005 22:33:00 +00002005-08-16T18:22:09.190-05:00My thanks to the ever-constant shower of packages and letters received from home lately. I am in frequent contact with immediate family members to give feedback about the special items they have sent... but if my family isn't sure I've noticed, let me clarify: I NOTICE!! It's an awesome feeling to know how very present I am to you "back home." It is the closest I can get to actually being there http://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2005/08/mail-call.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-112394429094758911Sat, 13 Aug 2005 13:54:00 +00002005-08-13T09:44:50.966-05:00 If you haven't seen the film Pleasantville, I would only recommend it for the sake of its visually artistic qualities. The cast of this 1998 film is substantial, starring big names such as Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon, William H. Macy and others. There seems to be agreement that the film was a social commentary about prejudice, most say specifically about the Civil Rights movement, http://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2005/08/pleasantville-iraq-part-i.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-112387974283291910Fri, 12 Aug 2005 19:31:00 +00002005-08-12T15:49:03.033-05:00Mixed bag these days... I little tech problems, a little "me" problems, a little sadness -- aka resilience practice -- with challenges for our family back home. I'm still here. For many of you, I've been watching posts from you, composing responses, and hoping to publish this week's spurt of reflections and updates. Thanks for being there! Here's to another day... --Sentinel47http://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2005/08/technical-difficulties.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-112344391792107364Sun, 07 Aug 2005 19:37:00 +00002005-08-07T14:54:07.293-05:00"OmarCloseup" -by tommieveryday delightswith him"beautiful" soundsso much morebeautifulin this language --love in the eyesof a teen-aged boyah, to be so innocent again!innocence in the midstof chaos and warwar in the midstof hope and lovelove in the eyeof the duststorm- by tommihttp://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2005/08/my-boy-omar.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-112343340949748371Sun, 07 Aug 2005 15:42:00 +00002005-08-07T11:54:07.436-05:00It's been a frequent topic of conversation between Mary and me that the casualty count in Iraq is conspicuously lacking report of Iraqi civilian injury and death as reported in US Media. Seldom have I seen so much as an estimate, acknowledgement, or cumulative report of Iraqi civilians.That tells me that we're not telling ourselves the truth about what's going on over here. It makes the "war" http://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2005/08/body-count.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-112342676240409696Sun, 07 Aug 2005 14:42:00 +00002005-08-07T09:59:22.410-05:00Speaking of Port-a-Johns...Spinning off from Pat's humor in my recent post and comments, "Voices at the Gate," I find myself wandering through thoughts about these dirty (necessary?) so-called latrines lately. During one of my necessary trips to the "John" today, I was perusing the stimulating reading material left on the walls. I imagine we have all seen the overused "For a good ____, call http://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2005/08/port-john.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11890075.post-112342452365322350Sun, 07 Aug 2005 14:02:00 +00002005-08-07T09:22:03.660-05:00"ant" by JenniferHere I go... as promised... sharing some of my sweet sister's photos. Jennifer has a blog that she maintains called "Digital Photos: Life Without Words." I'm posting here in order to share her handful touching works -- in part to motivate her to POST MORE! She has such an artistic eye, and I find myself thirsting for more of her beautiful photos. Hopefully you all feel the http://keepingthegate.blogspot.com/2005/08/jenn-my-favorite-sister.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Tommi L. Godwin)0