February 25, 2006
by Lonnie D. Story
"Generals gathered in their masses, Just like witches at black masses." I can still hear the grinding guitar in my head when I imagine the song War Pigs by Black Sabbath and Ozzy's unmatchable lead. Yeah, I am just that old and, I like to believe, just that young. But this isn't about a music review. No, it isn't a dictum on war either. This is a performance review and "heart check" review. A stethoscope to the heart of government, and to one politician in particular.
As the reader may be aware, I recently started a journey of sorts to a strange and far-off land right here in our own country. This strange land is similar, I guess, to "Wonderland" in that it most certainly does make one wonder. Some of the wonder comes at how simple messages become overly complicated. Words lost in translation. Simple questions, simple requests, simple answers all made convoluted and distorted. The static sound of words so loud the voice cannot be heard. It reminds me of the saying "your words are so loud I can't hear what you're saying." It sort of reminds me of how Presidents hold a hand to the ear to avoid questions by the press and whisk away. Well, let me see if I can explain the message I am trying to communicate, and maybe you the reader can help me in the end.
It started out simple, duh? It started as an email (approximately ten lines in length) to a State Senator. Actually, to my State Senator and District Representative. Even more so, the same Representative for Lori Brim, the mother of deceased veteran, Dustin Brim. Seeing as how Ms. Brim had asked me to write her son's story, and assist in expressing her concerns, it seemed like a logical step. Ms. Brim has a grave concern over the use of Depleted Uranium munitions. If you have never heard of it, do search around. It is out there, it is some bad stuff, and the government would rather you not care much about it. But, back to the topic, lest I digress. The simple message was "Dear Ms. Lynn, would you please give Ms. Brim fifteen minutes of your time to meet personally. She would like to express to you what is on her heart." Side note: A grieving mother is typically known for asking questions like "why" and such. Even more so in this case, the mother hopes that her voice can make a difference. Now, I know what many of you may be thinking by now. This sounds all too familiar. Well, no. Neither Lori nor I are anti-war activists. We are anti-DU activists. We are proud of our military and don't attack the men and women who only follow orders (see the opening line).
"Politicians hide themselves away....treating people just like pawns.....war machine keeps burning." More Ozzy to keep the tone. Well, it wasn't long before my telephone rang. The questions started right in, "Who are you? What do you want? What does Ms. Brim want?" Each and every question was answered in full and complete. Bottom line, would Ms. Lynn listen to what Lori went through in losing her son and her concerns about DU? Would you give just fifteen minutes? You can even time us, if you'd like. The conversation wasn't a very long one. It didn't take much time to get the feeling I was being stiff-armed. Actually, I don't think Emmett Smith could have stiff-armed any better, but let's leave him out of it. No, this was not going to be easy. The same went with our U.S. Congressman, at first, but, he handled things much differently and I must say, Congressman John Mica has a heart.
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Well back to the topic again. The second block to my communications came in the form of "I need authorization to speak to you first." Well, Lori emailed authorization within 24 hours. But, no phone call or email for me. I continued my endeavors after seeing an article in our local paper about how Ms. Lynn had attended a local Gala dinner party and fund raiser pulling in a nice $100,000. My answer was, "we would have met you in the parking lot" if we had only known you would be here. For brevity's sake, I will leave out the full text of my emails. Suffice it to say, I had authority to speak but still no response to me. Ms. Lynn did call Ms. Brim. Lori immediately got the feeling she "was being put on the defensive" among other feelings. Again, came the hammering questions and more. "Tell me what you want now. Who is this Lonnie Story to you anyway? This is a National issue and not State." You get the picture.
Oh! Did I mention Lori is a branch manager for a bank and was at work when the call came? Wouldn't it be a little difficult to describe the loss of your only child in front of your co-workers, customers and employees? Once again, what was supposed to be simple was put forth, "Can I have fifteen minutes of your time to meet?" June was the answer to that question. "O.k." was the answer. Can't fix a date, call back in June was the next fancy dance. Shortly thereafter came the confirming email. Call me in June. One would think that even a politician, with their busy schedule, could find fifteen minutes in less than five months. Well, I think I have provided enough for you, the reader, to make an informed decision and come to your own conclusion. So here it is:
