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.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Dirtbags and Bikes



When is a dirtbag not a dirtbag? When it is a group of cyclists from communities around Central California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base, who join forces every year to provide new bicycles and helmets to children of service members.
“Our mission is simple,” the Village Dirtbags say. “Provide bikes and helmets to families of VAFB's deployed service members. The Christmas Bikes program is our way of supporting, and showing appreciation for, America's finest and their courageous families.”
In 2006, the first year of Christmas Bikes,they gave away 12 bikes and helmets. By 2009 they reached 95, and their goal for 2010’s even on December 18 is 100 or more. Each bike and helmet is chosen specifically for a particular child, and the photos at their gallery at Christmas Bikes 2008 and Christmas Bikes 2009 show just how true this is.
Last year, three disabled veterans also got custom made bikes that cost around a thousand dollars apiece, a program that the Village Dirtbags hope to continue.
This is another philanthropic group whose love for what they do and desire to share their enthusiasm with military children makes it a wonderful thing to support. Here’s a Brochure and Contribution Form.


Posted by About AART at 6:47 AM

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