When my father, Odysseus, and his men sailed off to the Trojan War, they were confident their gods favored a quick victory. Instead, the siege of Troy lasted ten years. After Troy fell, the survivors made their way home to Sparta, Mycenae, Pylos, and elsewhere in the ancient Peloponnese. Neither my father nor any of his troops arrived home with the rest. We waited for years as the news grew worse. Odysseus was dead, we were told,or imprisoned, or, worst yet, he had married another woman and abandoned my mother Penelope, my brother Telemachus, and me.


If he is alive somewhere, his thoughts may wander to Penelope and Telemachus, but he won’t be thinking of me. I am the daughter he doesn’t know exists. Odysseus went off to the Trojan War when his son, Telemachus, was barely old enough to walk. His wife, Penelope, was a teenage bride, and is now a young wife, mother, and queen who has to try to rule Ithaca without him.


I was born seven months after he left. I am a hero’s daughter and a princess of his realm, but I have lived my entire life without a father. I’m nineteen now, and still waiting.


All over the world, and throughout history children grow up as I have. This website will focus on the children of those men and women who have gone off to fight America's wars, and provide information and resources for all who care about military families and want to help.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

United Through Reading


The Army Wife Network featured a story on its podcast yesterday about the wonderful group United Through Reading. The subject of the podcast was surviving military separation, and one segment was an interview with United Through Reading's president, Sally Ann Zoll. United Through Reading works with the USO and directly with deployed or soon-to-deploy military units, providing the opportunity for servicemen and women to be videoed reading a story to their children. The video is then sent to the child, who, by taking the book out of the library or receiving his/her own copy where possible, has the opportunity to participate in one of the things that research (and millions of parents' personal experience) tells us is one of the great bonding moments in families. One soldier has read one hundred books to his children! The books range from "Goodnight Moon" to chapters of Harry Potter. United Through Reading also works with other people separated from their children, including prison inmates and grandparents who don't have the opportunity to visit. This is such a good idea, and United Through Reading has become my favorite charitable group.
Posted by About AART at 6:41 AM

1 comment:

  1. SusanneAugust 24, 2010 at 1:58 PM

    Wonderful. And Laurel, hats off to you for making your ancient-history novel relevant today.

    ReplyDelete

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