July 1st. Driving home from class today there was a sign on a church marquis. It read, "There is a Price for Freedom"....Why do we always hear that during times of war/conflicts? As if ours sons and daughters coming home in body bags is the price we have to pay. Responsibility is the price of freedom. Perhaps if the CIA and the FBI and a few other choice groups had been responsibly doing their jobs, we would still have the twin towers. Freedom is not "passing the buck." Freedom is not "doing what is legally right as opposed to morally right." Freedom is accepting the responsibility to act responsibly. Imagine the difference in our country/world if people actually act responsibly. No trash on our roadsides and in our waterways, no surprise chemical spills, no huge hole in the ozone, no polluted rivers, no child abuse, and the list continues. Some people even have difficulty taking responsibility for their happiness. Holy smokes! As if someone else can actually "make" someone else happy. I think one of the most important things I learned during my stint in the Army was that you can't change people; you can only change yourself. There is absolutey nothing anyone can do to change somebody that is not willing to change. I wish it were not true. But it is. That is why my mission to swim the river is simply to draw attention and to share when people are open to listening....and perhaps open to change. Change is tough. I think it scares most people. Usually, I like change. It makes me feel alive and keeps my brain exercised. If we are not changing, we are stagnating. If we are stagnating we are not growing. Erma Bombeck, a famous writer who died a few years ago, said when she died and stood before God she wanted to be able to tell him she had no talent to give him because she had used it all up while she was alive. That should be everybodies' goal. It is mine. When I die I want to be able to stand before God and say without reservation, "God, I was the best possible person I could be." Not that I was the richest, or the prettiest, or the smartest, or the fastest athlete, or had the cleanest house- but just the best possible person I could be. Would you want to offer him less? mimi