Bombs Over D.C.

I woke up at 6 o'clock this morning to the loud sounds of an object flying overhead; hovering so low that I thought it would clip the roof of my building. It scared the shit out of me. I jumped out the bed and sprinted to the window to see what the hell was going on. It was a helicopter circling my neighborhood with persistence and intent. The chop chop sounds were echoing through my open window. My first thought was the police are looking for somebody. I don't live in a neighborhood where such activity is the norm, but anything is possible.

My second thought was we're being attacked.

Sounds crazy, right? I know that given our wonderful quality of life here in the U.S., it is quite easy for many of us to forget that this country is currently at war. Sure we get updates on the news about the latest battles and their casualties and every couple of months there's yet another protest here in the Nation's Capital, but the sad truth is that we (Americans) can go on for days at a time without one thought to the war because it ain't happening in our backyard.

Which is why my paranoia this morning was a great shock to me. In retrospect, I am surprised at how serious my thoughts were of possibly being under attack. I can usually find humor in anything, but I'm still not amused about this right 'chere. My heart was thumping so hard I thought I would choke on the beats. As I searched the sky for answers, my eyes danced around and darted back and forth like a fiend looking for their next fix. I switched the TV on and started flipping between each station for answers. There was talk of high gas prices, three shootings over the weekend, Obama playing hoops in Indiana, and the D.C. Madam's supposed suicide last week. Nothing about my helicopter from hell.

I started thinking about Gil Scott-Heron's famous words, "the revolution will not be televised". But didn't they show the 9/11 attacks on TV all around the world? And speaking of the 9/11 attacks- citizens of the United States realized we weren't quite as invincible as we thought we were on September 11, 2001. So maybe I had real reasons to be so paranoid... I thought about my mom and how I had to get to her as soon as possible. She may be the parent but I feel obligated to protect her at all times. I wondered if my dusty boombox in the closet took C or D batteries and checked my cell phone to make sure it was still working. I started regretting the box of dried goods that I recently donated to a local food drive, thinking now I may be the one who needed them.

Then I stopped and thought to myself "come on, this could never happen to us". Or could it?

Imagine living in Kabul or Baghdad, where people wake up to similar sounds every day. Imagine standing in the kitchen, stirring your pot of greens, when suddenly the floor shakes from another missile attack 1/2 mile down the road. Or sitting in the den, playing Xbox with your homie, and sirens start wailing in the streets to warn of imminent danger. Picture two women kicking it on the front porch each with glass of wine, exchanging stories of good times, when three troops run by on foot with machine guns in their hand on their way to the next raid. Real people live like this.

It is so easy to forget how blessed we are. So easy to forget how easy our lives are. And sometimes I even wonder, why I am so lucky and not the next person? How did I get saved from such an existence?

At 6:07 AM, I realized my sleep had been interrupted by a traffic helicopter.

I pray that I am always mistaken.


Tumultuously Yours,
Dark & Stormy