Best Early Birthday Present EVER.
"...all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword."
Matthew 26:52
Anyang, South Korea. May 2, 2011. 1:00 PM. It's one of those moments I know I'll never forget. My students had just finished lunch and were preparing for an afternoon unit lesson (the title of this lesson, appropriately enough, was "The Difference Between Living and Non-Living Objects"). The presentation I had planned to show them was saved in my e-mail account, so I opened it up, fully prepared to begin explaining words like breathe, reproduce, and waste. Instead, I noticed a message from Facebook informing me that Cathy Wiltz (my mom) had posted something on my Wall.
My mom of course is not the kind of person who would log into Facebook just to say hello. So, making sure it was nothing important or family-related, I went ahead and opened the message. Inside were 13 lucky words written in all-caps: J, IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T HEARD..BIN LADEN IS DEAD!! WE KILLED HIM :))
Needless to say, I hit the roof and let out a triumphant "OOOHHHHHH!!!!", causing my poor teaching partner and students to panic, wondering what had happened. I couldn't explain it to them, obviously -- as a general rule, it's probably best not to let children know that you're glad someone is dead -- so I simply told them that I was very very happy and that they could have the rest of the afternoon for free time. Then I passed out the Cracker Jack my parents had sent the previous Friday.
I'm sure there's no need to elaborate on why the news of bin Laden's death was so well-received. Like so many other Americans, I was profoundly affected by the atrocities of 9-11 and could never rest easy with the knowledge that he might somehow get away with it. Ten years later, it's nice to know that he didn't.
Whatever you call it -- karma, reaping what you sow, a spectacular display of American military intelligence -- the message is the same:
Matthew 26:52
Anyang, South Korea. May 2, 2011. 1:00 PM. It's one of those moments I know I'll never forget. My students had just finished lunch and were preparing for an afternoon unit lesson (the title of this lesson, appropriately enough, was "The Difference Between Living and Non-Living Objects"). The presentation I had planned to show them was saved in my e-mail account, so I opened it up, fully prepared to begin explaining words like breathe, reproduce, and waste. Instead, I noticed a message from Facebook informing me that Cathy Wiltz (my mom) had posted something on my Wall.
My mom of course is not the kind of person who would log into Facebook just to say hello. So, making sure it was nothing important or family-related, I went ahead and opened the message. Inside were 13 lucky words written in all-caps: J, IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T HEARD..BIN LADEN IS DEAD!! WE KILLED HIM :))
Needless to say, I hit the roof and let out a triumphant "OOOHHHHHH!!!!", causing my poor teaching partner and students to panic, wondering what had happened. I couldn't explain it to them, obviously -- as a general rule, it's probably best not to let children know that you're glad someone is dead -- so I simply told them that I was very very happy and that they could have the rest of the afternoon for free time. Then I passed out the Cracker Jack my parents had sent the previous Friday.
I'm sure there's no need to elaborate on why the news of bin Laden's death was so well-received. Like so many other Americans, I was profoundly affected by the atrocities of 9-11 and could never rest easy with the knowledge that he might somehow get away with it. Ten years later, it's nice to know that he didn't.
Whatever you call it -- karma, reaping what you sow, a spectacular display of American military intelligence -- the message is the same:
What goes around comes around.
No need to get me a birthday present this year, dear readers. I don't think anything could top this one. :)
posted by J. Wiltz at 3:13 AM
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