as ash has been saying forever, she’s in it for the analysis of human behavior, not the issues per se. This one was obvious to anyone paying attention:
Tuesday’s newspaper featured a poignant photo of an 11-year-old boy receiving the Medal of Honor from President Bush on the second anniversary of his father’s selfless sacrifice near the Baghdad Airport.
If a picture speaks a thousand words, the video of the ceremony played numerous times Monday on CNN shouted thousands more. One needn’t be a psychologist, much less a mind reader, to perceive clearly the expression on the son’s face of dismay and utter sadness. Gazing awkwardly at the fancy display encased in a sparkling glass frame, he signaled to all who would listen, “Is this supposed to make me feel better? This is supposed to be a substitute for my dad?”
To complicate matters, the mother is quoted as saying, “He is now the man in our household,” presumably since the heroic act that claimed the life of her husband two years ago, when her son was nine. No, he is not. On the contrary, he is a child struggling to cope with the fact that he will never get the only thing he wants – his father.
Short of that impossibility, there is no compensation. Thus, one can only pray young David Smith is receiving long-term, intensive counseling, the only hope of healing from his tragic loss.