“I raised myself out of the vehicle and surveyed the scene. All over, packages and letters from home were strewn about on the ground next to our vehicles. I jumped down and began collecting what letters were still there. I never did find the picture of my little boy’s first hair cut. It figures you know.”
- Sean Huze, The Sand Storm
This passage caught my eye because the visualization was so clear and relatable. I know many people in the military and their families. Reading this I thought about them.
Before the passage stated above the soldiers were having a problem getting mail. It was the one thing they looked forward to everyday. With the mail not coming through it was all they thought about. Once it got there it was the highlight of their day.
The soldier behind this scene finally gets letters and packages from his parents and wife. He received audio tapes of his wife telling him what was going on and a picture of his son’s first haircut. All of the soldiers were enjoying the glimpse of the outside world when they were attacked. When he says “it figures you know” it’s like he has been there so long that nothing is sacred anymore. Nothing can be enjoyed the same way. There is no joy that goes unpunished. After the attack he tried to salvage the remains of the only part of his family he has over there and can’t find the one picture he most likely enjoyed the most. That is just the topping on it all.
I remember anxiously waiting the letters I would get from my mother while visiting my aunt during the summer months. This one time, my little cousin decided it was her turn to get the mail and by the time she returned home all the mail was soaking wet. The letter from my mother was unreadable… I cried. The letters from home where my way of reconnecting to the people and things I missed, my mom would update on my grandparents, the sheep and if my brother was staying out of my room. Not being able to read my weekly update was my breaking point and I become homesick and had to be sent home the next week. I also felt the soldier’s disappointment of seeing the mail scattered about. It was their pieces of home were left lying around the vehicles.
ReplyDeleteBriana,
ReplyDeleteGood work on your posting about the passage from The Sandstorm! I really enjoyed the passage you chose to cite, and your reasoning for doing so. The fact that you showed a lot of emotion in your post shows that you considered this piece from more than just one angle. I like that you focused on something as small as a first haircut and put it up against the background of a war. The quote you used “There is no joy that goes unpunished,” sums it up quite well. I like that your post did not focus on the negative things included in the sandstorm, as much as it is a bummer that the troops did not get their mail, at least the soldier still has contact with his family. Great post.
Stacey
This was a great post! I hadnt read this story but as soon as I was done reading your post, I read the story. This was such a great quote to take from this because of the imagery and the sense of being their with him, trying to gather up all the letters and packages. He understood the importance of these letters and he went the extra mile to make sure he got what he could to his fellow soldiers. I also know some people over in Iraq and they cant get to the phone everyday to see how life back home is going. I know that they count on these letters and packages to help get them through the day knowing that they arent missing everything back home. Awesome post!
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