Fiction and life . . . from the desk of Gwen M. Plano
  • Home
  • Blog Reflections
  • REDEMPTION THRILLER
  • THE CONTRACT Series
  • My Memoir
  • Poetry
  • About

What gives life deep meaning? Why are we here?

7/22/2014

0 Comments

 
by Gwendolyn Plano
Picture
In an earlier reflection I wrote about my friends who were murdered on December 2, 1980. This entry is a modification of  that post.

This time of the year is sacred for me. I remember my friends...and through them, all who have passed away. I was in my office when the call came: Jean is missing; we fear the worst.

I rushed out of my office, spoke briefly with colleagues, and went home. I knew where she was.

My friend, Jean Donovan, and three nuns (Dorothy Kazel, Ita Ford and Maura Clarke) had gone to El Salvador to provide food, shelter, and medical care for the poor. They were warned of the danger, but they loved the children and refused to leave.

Jean returned to the U.S. briefly in the fall of 1980, and as she held my baby son, she talked about her upcoming nuptials and her desire for a family. Normal topics for a 27 year old. I urged her not to return to El Salvador, but her response was lighthearted, "where else do roses bloom in December." Then she shared her deepest fear--that she would be found in a ditch, raped and murdered. Her fear became a reality December 2nd.

I cannot look at a rose without remembering Jeannie, Ita, Maura and Dorothy. But today, I also find myself thinking about all the war-torn areas across the globe--where so many families are in tears, among the roses. 30 years have passed since my friend's untimely death, but it seems that only the geography has changed.

What do we need to do to stop the violence?

Ita wrote to her niece about four months before she was killed. It's a letter meant for all of us.

August 18, 1980
Dear Jennifer,

The odds that this note will arrive for your birthday are poor, but know I'm with you in spirit as you celebrate 16 big ones. …

What I want to say...some of it isn't too jolly birthday talk, but it's real... Yesterday I stood looking down at a 16-year-old who had been killed a few hours earlier. I know a lot of kids even younger who are dead. This is a terrible time in El Salvador for youth. A lot of idealism and commitment is getting snuffed out here now. …

Brooklyn is not passing through the drama of El Salvador, but some things hold true wherever one is, and at whatever age. What I'm saying is, I hope you come to find that which gives life a deep meaning for you...something worth living for, maybe even worth dying for...something that energizes you, enthuses you, enables you to keep moving ahead. I can't tell you what it might be -- that's for you to find, to choose, to love. I can just encourage you to start looking, and support you in the search. Maybe this sounds weird and off-the-wall, and maybe, no one else will talk to you like this, but then, too, I'm seeing and living things that others around you aren't...

I want to say to you: don't waste the gifts and opportunities you have to make yourself and other people happy... I hope this doesn't sound like some kind of a sermon because I don't mean it that way. Rather, it's something you learn here, and I want to share it with you. In fact, it's my birthday present to you. If it doesn't make sense right at this moment, keep this and read it sometime from now. Maybe it will be clearer...

A very happy birthday to you and much, much love,
Ita
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    For blog updates, please subscribe below. 
    * indicates required

    RSS Feed


    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    June 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. ―Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning


Plano Enterprises, LLC
Photos used under Creative Commons from Kevin M. Gill, Joel Bedford, qthomasbower, crosescribe, Juho Holmi, diana_robinson, W Presley & B Kunce Photography......WI. USA, U.S. Geological Survey, Ian Sane, florianric, NikoMC, van Van Es, Yen Chao 趙彥, MissMessie, Yuriy Kuzin, Ben Zvan, Bichuas (E. Carton), Nina Matthews Photography, hehaden, alexdecarvalho, Tim RT, Kurdistan Photo كوردستان, Candida.Performa, peddhapati (Thanks for 1M Views!!!), Jhong Dizon | Photography, Waheed Akhtar Photography, lawmurray, USFWS Pacific, JalilArfaoui, SurFeRGiRL30, Lauren Finkel Photography, maf04, SantaRosa OLD SKOOL, Dakiny, vauvau, Zanastardust, Monica's Dad, timpeartrice, marumeganechan, Rafael Acorsi, seyed mostafa zamani, Jorge Franganillo, Irene Grassi (sun sand & sea), The National Guard, D.Fletcher, nada abdalla, Ted LaBar, alison.mckellar, Infomastern, Elvert Barnes, m01229, theglobalpanorama