Held Hostage in Hell.

Over the years, scores of Western journalists, missionaries and tourists have gone missing in the Middle East and West Asia. The American journalist, Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped, held hostage, and later decapitated somewhere in Pakistan, has become a symbol of the the volatile times we live in. Here is an account of Terry Waite, a British citizen, who was held captive in Beirut for 5 long years. He lived to tell his tale. Do take time off to read through this edited version of how he managed to survive those gruelling days.
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I am sitting on the floor, my
back against the wall, my left leg secured by a chain padlocked to an iron
hook. A large metal sheet covers the window, shutting out the winter sun. Every
few moments, my candle sputters in the gloom. If it fails, I will be in total
darkness.

All morning I have been trying to work
out how I can survive. I am being held somewhere in Beirut, near the top of a building. I like to think that the
worst is over. I have been interrogated, beaten and endured a mock execution.
My inquisitors now tell me that they think I am a "good man". Yet, I
am kept chained, totally alone and without books.

I look around at my meager possessions.
One thin foam mattress, three worn blankets, one jug of water, and a child’s
beaker. In the corner, a bottle in which
to urinate.

"You want anything?" My guard
always says that. I never see him. When he taps on my door, I have to fasten my
blindfold before he enters. "Please will you bring me a book?"
"No", he replies, and locks the door.

A few weeks before, I had a fever.
The guard brought me some medicine. Inside the packet was a slip of medical notes. Although I had no glasses, by
holding the paper close to the candle, I could just distinguish the words. I
savoured them, just as a thirsty man savours the last dregs in his
water-bottle.

That night, my cell was searched.
The notes were found beneath my mattress. "What is this?"

" I don’t know, I can’t
see". The guards left. I climbed under a blanket, humiliated, angry and
frightened. I never saw my paper again.

**************

When did I last feel the sun’s warmth?
Was it nine months ago or twelve? Mercifully, I cannot see myself in a mirror-
my wasted muscles, my beard grown so long it was turning white. Yet, I
desperately want to survive. I wish I could feel the comforting presence of
God, but I cannot. I do believe. I believe there is a part of me that cannot be
destroyed by the deeds of man, or the ravages of nature. Yet, I feel totally
alone.

Then I see it: a tiny beam of
sunlight pushing through a gap in the shutter, and illuminating the corner of
my room. I watched the light intently. The rays have traveled millions of kilometers
through space to this corner of the Middle
East. They shine with burning
intensity, reminding me that the light has overcome darkness.

No matter what my captors do to me, I
will still be a part of this wonderful, complex Universe. "You may break
my body," I say silently, "but my soul is not yours to possess."

The light reminds me that God is at
the very heart of life, and that the only way life can be lived in fullness is
through an appreciation of mystery. Any moment now the light will fade away
completely, and evening prayers will be chanted from the mosque. Another day as
hostage will be over.

Last night, I had a dream, and
awoke laughing. Wasn’t it the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung who said that if one
made friends with the unconscious, it could support one through the most
difficult times?

The cheerful voices of children in
the street below drift upwards, reminding me of my own family. Throughout the
day I tread the corridors of memory. My unconscious tells me to relax and
recall the smells, sights, and sounds of 40 years ago.
As a beam of light briefly enters my cell, I remember a prayer I said hundreds
of times as a child, in church.

" Lighten our darkness, we
beseech thee O Lord, And by thy great mercy, defend us from perils and dangers
of this night. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord.

Amen."

************************************

Now I have been alone for three
years. For the last few days, I have been engrossed in mental arithmetic. I
started by remembering the speed of light, then worked out the distance from
the sun to the earth. I have no pencil or paper, so every number has to be kept
in my head. I have to concentrate intensely.

Tired, yet strangely refreshed, my
thoughts turn to books. Perhaps I could write my autobiography in my head? I
have all the time I need to think and remember. I begin as a small child. My
mother takes me by the hand. We walk together through the country lanes, secure
and content.

I can hardly believe what has happened. This
morning, when the guard brought me breakfast, he said, "Tek". I held
out my hand.

" Read slow." He left the room.

Quickly, I pushed my blindfold
from my eyes. At long last I had a book: Beyond Euphrates" by Freya Stark.
Excitedly, I turned to the first page, but my delight quickly faded. The text
was a blur. My eyes are weaker than when I had the medical notes.

At lunch time my guard returns. "
I have no reading glasses", I say.

"No problem", he replies.

In the evening he returns. ‘Tek’.

A tiny magnifying glass is put into my hand.
Now I can just see one word at a time. At last I begin to read. Freya Stark
might well have been writing for me alone: " I had realized, by wanting them,
how desirable many things are, but had also come to see how much of life can be
enjoyed without them; and had learnt that comfortable things….are the
servants, not the masters of our
days".

Three years merge into four, four into
five and then…quick as a flash, I am told I am to be released that day. No time
to think or worry. A new blindfold is fastened over my eyes. As I sit waiting
in the corner, I glimpse my reading glass on the floor. Gently, I fold it into
my tattered old blindfold, and slip them both into my pocket. They will come
with me wherever I am taken.

**********************

Several years have passed since
I was released, after 1763 days as a hostage, and reunited with my family and
friends in Britain. After medical treatment, I resolved to put into writing
the book written in my head during those long and silent days. I had become
Fellow of a college in Cambridge University and settled down happily to work there.

Now my solitary years are a memory. A
memory that does not haunt me, but sustains me. I remember the beam of light
that gave me so much hope and I know that in a small, small way I have been
allowed to touch the hem of mystery. During those dark days, I learned that suffering
need not destroy. And I learned how to turn deep lonliness into creative
solitude.

It was Jesus who told us that water
could be turned into wine. I now know what he meant.

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=Terry+Waite&fr=yfp-t-501&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8

http://roycecarlton.com/speakers/waite_book.html

Dogs with Jobs

Man’s best friend, the dog. This phrase has not come into being without reason. For ages, the dog has been man’s faithful companion. In today’s complicated world, ask any dog owner whom they’d like to stay with for the maximum amount of time. Most would reply, that it is their pet dog. Dogs are faithful, patient, loving, and do not justify their love. Their love is unconditional, and no matter how much they have been reprimanded, they will show unflinching support for their owner. That’s not all. Nowadays, it is not the sole privilege of the human species to hold important positions of responsibility and win accolades. Our four-legged friend, the dog,shares prime position in this area too.
Working
dogs are amazing animals specially trained to protect people and to make life
easier for them. Some working dogs act as eyes for blind people, ears for the
hearing impaired, and helpers for the physically challenged. They also protect
sheep from wolves, and they can help a police officer catch criminals. These
special dogs can find victims of disasters under lots of rubble, and they can
find people lost in the woods.Some work for the police and military, and have specialised areas in which they are trained. Some dogs have been assigned to sniff out anything from illegal drugs to land mines."Power" is the
newest addition to the group of Working Dogs at FBI Headquarters. His job as a
Chemical Explosives Dog is to sniff out bombs, explosion debris, firearms, and
ammunition.

BLACKLAND AIR FORCE
BASE, TX — Army Col. David Rolfe’s military career has gone to the dogs.

As director of the Defense Department’s Military Working Dog Program based
here, Rolfe and his staff are responsible for the health and welfare of some of
the most unheralded members of the fighting force: its estimated 2,300 working
dogs.

These dogs, along with their handlers from every military service, are
deployed worldwide to support the war on terror, helping to safeguard military
bases and activities and to detect bombs and other explosives before they
inflict harm.

With an acute sense of smell five to 10 times stronger than a human’s,
working dogs are able to detect minute traces of explosives or drugs and alert
their handlers of their presence, Rolfe explained.

But at the same time, dogs have ability to inflict fear in an aggressor in a
way a human — even if armed — often can’t, and will defend their handlers to
the end. "People see a dog and don’t want to mess with it," said
Staff Sgt. Andrew Mier, a military working dog trainer who has deployed to Southwest
Asia three times as a handler — twice to Saudi
Arabia and once to Qatar.
"A dog creates a strong psychological deterrent."

Here is more input on this wonderful animal, from http://www.oprah.com:

Dogs with Jobs Willie looks like your average golden retriever, but he has a special talent that helps him do his job. Willie has a sixth sense that lets him know when Joanne, his owner, is about to have an epileptic seizure. For Joanne, having Willie in her life has allowed her to feel safe and confident about leaving the house. She knows that if she does have a seizure, Willie will be there to lick her face and bring her out of it. Joanne believes her entire life has changed for the better, because Willie is by her side. Dani is a beagle with a very special job — once a week, she visits kids at the cancer center of Cedars-Sinai Hospital. Dani’s owner, Lauri, thinks the kids enjoy seeing Dani because she’s one of their only visitors who doesn’t ask how they’re feeling. Lauri, who is a child counselor, also thinks that knowing Dani will be there makes it easier for children to come into the cancer center. The kids can identify with Dani, because she’s a cancer survivor — she went through the same treatments and took the same medicines they’re taking. You can see Willie, Dani, and other amazing dogs on the new series, Dogs With Jobs, airing in the U.S. on PBS, beginning this fall. To contact Dogs With Jobs, visit their Web site or call them at 877-472-6692. Other dogs on this show were featured on Animal Planet, on the show K9 to 5. ************************************************************************* The next time you feel lonely, helpless, depressed and hopeless, try bringing a dog home. It is the best therapy ever! (My apologies to all those who are apprehensive,suspicious and scared of dogs.)

Extraordinary Love.

We have all heard of people falling in love, going through trials and tribulations because they wanted to marry, and,eventually, living happily ever after. Love stories are read throughout the world, and because the subject of love makes one feel happy, it is one of the most widely read topics. Poets, philosophers and writers have pondered on love, eulogized it, and expounded various theories on it. Some societies have romanticised love, and even looked upon lovers indulgently. The famous quote, "The whole world loves lovers", is an oft-heard one. Still other societies condemn love, and deem it as an emotion which is alien to their culture, and is to be frowned upon. The various debates on love continue and probably will do so till the end of humankind.
There are also various cliches associated with love, such as, ‘love standing the test of time’, ‘undying love’, ‘eternal love’, ‘love is a many splendored thing’, etc. However, there are few love stories which are really mentionable, and outstanding, because of the the quality of feelings each partner has for the other. Here is a real life love story which I read and would like to share with you.
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Marine Sergeant Ty Ziegel and Renee Kline were engaged for little more than a year, when, on December 22, 2004, Ty became one of the 20,000 troops wounded in Iraq. While he and six other marines were patrolling in Anbar province, a car bomber struck their truck. Ty, a machine gunner, took the brunt of the blast, which engulfed him in flames, left him blind in one eye, and shattered his skull, riddling his brain with shrapnel. Doctors later removed his left arm below the elbow and three fingers of his right hand. Ty was also disfigured beyond recognition, his ears, eyes, lips, and most of his nose burned away.
For Ty and Renee the last few years since have been a test in courage, character and nobility of thought and action.Renee remembers her visit to the hospital for the first time after his skin grafting. He was so completely changed physically, that no one could recognise him, and she asked the nurse, " This isn’t Ty. Where is Ty?"
This brave couple went through therapy sessions, operations and a great deal of mental anguish, but their love for each other did not break. They were married on October 7, 2006, with friends and family around them. "It’s all the same, except he got blown up’, says Renee. "I’m lucky, and he’s lucky…I love him to death."
If there was an exemplary love story to relate to others, I would definitely choose the Renee and Ty’s. Few people are capable of such extraordinary love, and can be truly labeled as ‘Soul Mates’ and ‘Made for Each Other’.
Note: I was unsuccessful in pasting the photo of Renee and Ty here, so please do visit the given links to view the same.

Wounded Marine Returns Home to Wed

Wounded Marine Sgt. Ty Ziegel and Renee Kline have their portrait taken before their wedding.

© Photo by Nina Berman/Redux

http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0703/a-thousand-words.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ty_Ziegel
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Interior decoration, anyone?

‘Last Few Days! Hurry! Stocks Limited! Wonderful collection of national and international  furniture and items for interior decoration!!’….screamed the ad in the papers. Curiousity got the better of me, and there I was, making my way into this huge indoor stadium, which had become an indoor goods fair over night. Tickets cost Rs.49 (approx. $1) per head, and once you’re in, you’re truly in! I wound my way through a Thai goods’ counter. Attractive beads and baubles, chocolates and candy treats, and girl-y things apart, there were amazing lanterns, which one could hang in the corner of any dreary room, and simply watch it come alive. Crowds thronged this counter, some bargaining, some gaping, some confused, and some actually buying. Each lantern was a work of art, and, frankly speaking, my respect ratings towards lanterns has taken a leap ever since viewing these!
Then came the Malaysian segment, replete with wood products. Their wooden furniture and artefacts were to die for, and I had sold my heart to a beautiful depiction of an elephant family on a slice of tree trunk. The elephants were so life-like, it was difficult to imagine this to be a man-made creation. Masks, wooden coffee tables, chairs and other decorative and practical furniture made up most of the rest of the Malaysian offerings.
Kenya was as usual represented by a lady who looked as exotic as the goods she was selling. From bead jewellery to carvings on ivory and wood depicting wild life… everything was there, and who can stop one from admiring?
After moments of trying out national products, mostly furniture, couches, and bean bags, accessories for home, bed linen, etc.. and contemplating on buying small paintings and handicrafts, we stumbled across a counter representing a herbal cosmetics company. Now,what was a herbal cosmetics company doing in a furniture exhibition, you may ask. They caught us. Made us try on "spectacles" made of aloe vera,(to be stored in a fridge shelf for cooling effect) for tired eyes, and a face mask of the same material. We were sceptical at first, and then, by the end of the trial experience, completely sold. The same happened when an accupressure products company came up to us for a complete solution to tired legs. The Furniture Exhibition surely spilled into other areas of human interest!
The cleverly designed exhibition is made in such a way that, on your way to the exit, one HAS TO compulsorily pass through the food area. This represented manufacturers of kitchen convenience items, and they were frying, slicing, grating, chopping, roasting, grinding for all they were worth. Women of all ages and shapes were flocking around this counter. Sales agents were hollering out for more customers, with promises of bargains we wouldn’t regret. With the practiced ease of an expert gymnast, we quickly wove our way through this street-fair like ambience, thinking ourselves to be very clever, but lo and behold! found ourselves at the real food area, which was selling anything from quick eats to a variety of savories and sweet items. Enticing aromas of fried chips and snacks engulfed this area.There was one lady who was systematically chewing and tasting all the items (for free) of the different bags on the counter with the expression of a serious buyer.
All in all, a very enjoyable experience, and a learning one too. There is so much color in life, and one can see the world today by not stirring out of your city. Isn’t it great!
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Relief
wood carvings frequently adorn the doors, walls and windows of
traditional Malay houses. Popular motifs of such relief carvings are
the various kinds of Malaysian flowers and plants. Relief carvings
requires a high degree of skill, patience and determination. In the
cities, relief carvings is still practiced on blocks of wood to be
hung for wall decoration, on wall dividers, or on furniture.

Pictures of Thai Lanterns.

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A visit to Tirupati: Lord of the Seven Hills.

A scenic drive up the Tirumala Hills, in Tirupati District of Andhra Pradesh (India) takes one upto the holy shrine of the Lord of the Seven Hills. Known simultaneously by various names, He is Vishnu, Balajee, Sri Venakataswami, Sreenivas, Govinda, or simply, Swami (Lord).
The holy shrine of Tirupati is famous in India and abroad, and holds a strange magnetism till date, as it has for centuries. Believed to be the richest Hindu temple, it draws devotees to it in hordes. From the humble to the rich and famous: all come here to venerate the most powerful God in the Hindu pantheon. Naturally, a "darshan"(a holy sighting) of the Lord is therefore very arduous, owing to the mammoth turnout of pilgrims. The temple administration, known popularly as TTD, does an admirable work of providing rest-houses, free food, and emergency medical assistance, for the lowliest beggar to the richest magnate, film star, or politician. One has to plan one’s trip very carefully from the outset, in order to avail the all-important "tickets" for a darshan of Lord Balajee. If you are a first-time visitor there, it is advised you to make your bookings much before your proposed trip, in order to stay over for at least a night and make sure that your journey was not wasted. Avoiding the main festival months and weekends is another sound advice that the travel guides do not tell you. The crowds at these times, have to be seen to be believed, and jostling in queue with tens of thousands is not the preferred way for most, at least on pilgrimages.
For the uninitiated and first-time visitor, the intricate ‘queue’ system of Tirupati is, in my opinion, unparalleled in the rest of the world. Long-winded, maze-like corridors, sometimes going up, and sometimes going down, sometimes over foot-bridges, and sometimes over and down wooden slopes, taking right-turns and left-turns, and ultimately culminating in front of the Lord himself. In fact, when one finds himself/herself in front of the Deity, one is left mesmerised. The centuries-old shrine is not famous for nothing; there is an indescribable joy, mixed with deeper emotions when one comes face to face with the Lord. All worries, grievances, and troubles seem to recede in the background, as if there was no relationship ever with anything else, other than with you and God. Of course, again, this is largely a matter of faith, as is with anything spiritual. In fact, a person without any faith is something of a rarity in this sacred zone ; this is according to what I have witnessed. Another amazing thing I recorded here is the incredulous faith of the very poor who come here; from babies to the old and aged, sans even the basic comforts, they trek barefoot till the hill-top, in sunshine, rain or hail. All they chant is "Govinda, Govinda", and often stay in-waiting in line for two to three days on end, during peak seasons.
Tirupati and Tirumala Hills have an abundance of temples and smaller shrines. Most of them date several thousand years old, and are worth a visit, even if you aren’t a devout person, to witness the highly advanced artistic and engineering skills of our ancestors. In the days when there were no fancy colleges, degrees, or computers, these stead-fast rock structures have stood the test of time, and have witnessed generations coming and going.
I concluded my very successful visit to Tirupati yesterday with my family, and wanted to share my experiences with my blogger friends. Do visit this wonderful place at least once: you won’t regret your efforts!

	"Venkatadri samam sthanam brahmande nasthi kinchana, Venkatesa samo devo na bhuto na bhavishyathi."

"There
is a wonderful uniqueness associated with
Lord Venkateswara, and His abode, Venkatadri."