it just keeps getting worse...

It just keeps getting worse and worse in Somalia. Now, according to the BBC, there looks to be a showdown, between the government troops and rebels, in the near future. Residents who had not yet left Mogadishu (the capitol) are being killed by both sides. It has been nearly twenty years since Somalia had a stable, functioning government (although even then...), and things just seem to be getting from bad, to worse, to terrible, to a descent into hell. It may not be a natural disaster like Haiti, but Somalia has been a human-fueled nightmare for so long...

What can be done? Believe me, doing nothing doesn't seem to be working

links: click BBC, bad, worse, terrible, hell.

the shepherd

Listening to The Shepherd, by Frederick Forsyth and read by CBC's Alan Maitland was a family tradition every Christmas Eve when I was young. Every time I listen to it my heart is glows, and my throat gets tight at certain parts. I hear the story in his voice, and it is familiar, like that of an old friend. Mr. Maitland died many years ago, but CBC still plays The Shepherd, by Alan Maitland, every Christmas Eve, and I hope one day if I have children I can carry on the tradition my parents started.

Even if not, I want to share this warm and love-filled memory with you.

Here you go: The Shepherd