Haiti...what do we really know?

Haiti....the most vivid images of a lifetime pushing 61 years is the earthquake of a few years ago.  The utter devastation poured on the heads and lives of a people, a country already reputed to be the poorest in the western world.  Do I have my facts right?   I remember Haiti and the very early years of AIDS/HIV linked in some conversations.  Am I making that up?

So I have this lovely collection of 5 stamps..each depicting this dude.  Each has the original value of the stamp blacked out...(white out's cousin..black out) and reprinted with a new value.  All the black outs are black except one which is red.  Of course, I want to hear that a bazillion of these stamps had black out and the red out ( a very distant cousin of white out and black out) only was used on like, 5 stamps.....hence the stamps in fine to excellent condition are extremely valuable in the collector's market.  I like to fantasize....fantasy football, fantasy baseball, fantasy sex, but I digress.   So my quest for today is to do some research....

Jean-Jacques Dessalines (Haitian Creole: Janjak Desalin) (20 September 1758 – 17 October 1806) was a leader of the Haitian Revolution and the first ruler of an independent Haiti under the 1801 constitution. Initially regarded as Governor-General, Dessalines later named himself Emperor Jacques I of Haiti (1804–1806). He is regarded as a founding father of Haiti.^[1]

Dessalines served as an officer in the French army when the colony was trying to withstand Spanish and British incursions. Later he rose to become a commander in the revolt against France. As Toussaint Louverture's principal lieutenant, he led many successful engagements, including the Battle of Crête-à-Pierrot.

After the betrayal and capture of Toussaint Louverture in 1802, Dessalines became the leader of the revolution. He defeated Napoleon's forces at the Battle of Vertières in 1803. Declaring Haiti an independent nation in 1804, Dessalines was chosen by a council of generals to assume the office of Governor-General. In September 1804, he proclaimed himself Emperor and ruled in that capacity until being assassinated in 1806.^{[2]  (Thank you to Wikipedia for this information)}

^{Assassinated.....I am sure there is so much more to learn and understand there, but I will leave that to the historians.  The stamp itself remains a mystery to me.}

HATE....KILLING ....VIOLENCE AND TERROR IN BOSTON

                                                                                           Hate.  Killing. Violence. Terror in Boston.  I thought for a long time what stamp I could use...and without going through every stamp I own, I settled on Hitler. Certainly he epitomizes the hate that still permeates our world.   

My hometown was rocked this week by terrorism and random killing.  Yes, it was a.radical Muslims, but that disturbs me only at the same leveI that I am disturbed  by the Sandy Hook killer, the Aurora killer, the Columbine kids and on and on.  Hate is hate...whether driven by mental illness, religious ideation, or political motive.  I hold no animosity to the gigantic number of peace loving Muslim men and women in this world.  I will not go there.  Evil and hate did this but it is duly noted that this particular event of  evil and hate doing their hateful thing was perpetrated by the radical Muslim element.  Again.....and again.

I hate that this is our world..i hate that so many people hate and want to kill us.  Yet this great country allows them here and supports them....the price we pay for the life we live. I thought I was OK now, a week later.  I am not...not even close.  I opened Boston.com at work yesterday and nearly burst into tears at the picture of Martin, the 8 year old.  The Medford woman was buried two days ago and I felt pain like my own daughter was killed.  I hate all this, and I do not use that word lightly, because I espouse never using the word, but there it is.  

The MIT cop my son.....and the Chinese student my adopted international exchange student.

For what?   For hate.  

Law enforcement...heroes beyond definition.  The Watertown cops playing large on the international stage.  I long have had Watertown connections in my life...and all solid A people.  No surprise that community stood tall.   The bombing first responders....amazing courage, strength and resolve.  

I just finished reading the Commission investigation of 9/11.  No secrets that the FBI dropped major balls on that.....could have been prevented.   Now this story, they had bomber #2 in their sites and let it slide.  Unacceptable.  We drug screen people for MARIJUANA? for simple jobs, we force random drug checks for our athletes.   Are you telling me we have a terrorist in our sites and he doesn't get random computer checks?  If we are paying attention, then we know who this guy is before publishing the photos. We know where this guy is living and we nab him before a young police officer is assassinated and another law enforcement officer is hurt badly. We vetted this guy and with the pictures in hand, the FBI couldn't identify him.    Seriously.  We really have no chance if that is the ultimate result of our best efforts. This element of the story will be investigated, righteous media will do its thing, and then, like the pre 9/11 screw-ups, all will be forgotten.  And nothing will change and someday, we get hit again.  We have to be better.  

As for the stamp?  In this case, who gives a shit.  It is Hitler.  He was evil.  There are a million stamps of him in every color and denomination.  As soon as i find a more appropriate stamp to respresent hate and evil, he goes.  Like the rest, who wants to be reminded of them and their kind.

Anxiety is written all over this stamp....

 So I come across this stamp while perusing my collection and i could feel anxiety as soon as i saw it.   I have to confess to never being an avid skier.....too cold, too expensive.  I have had my moments, on the slopes and trails, but for the most part, those moments were forgettable, save for some cross-country excursions back in the day.

I have taken a tram like this on Mt. Mansfield in VT and Squaw Valley in Cali.  Neither time was I skiing.  Neither time did i really enjoy the experience.  I wasn't out of my mind uncomfortable, but in the end, what is the point?
Putting myself in uncomfortable moments never my forte.  Roller coasters...did that once.  Flying is more or less fine, because in the end, the destination rules.  Now if I ever have a truly horrible flight, all bets are off.  Can you imagine being stranded way up a mountain in one of these things....no explanation, no movement...only thing worse would be sitting in an open chairlift freezing yourself to death while you scare yourself to death

Anxiety comes in many flavors and can be very debilitating.  In some ways, it is all around my life.  Medication helps some, but certainly don't want to be tethered to meds.  How bout the anxiety of your kid driving away anytime in their early days and months of driving.  Just classic anxiety.   I have never been a big cruise guy, and the recent stories of a wandering vessel for days without proper food and sanitation....that would put me right over the edge probably of the boat itself.  Kids sick deep into the night......i could go on and on.

Stamps work as an antidote for anxiety.  This stamp shown above is a 1995 stamp from Romania. Poiana Brasov is the largest ski resort in Romania.  I certainly am a betting man when it comes to the roulette wheel....but I will go out on a limb.  Nice as it might be, I will surely never visit Poiana Brasov and right that tram.

Women---now there is a subject that will take forever to write about