Time Dissolves Us All

Sleazy and amoral, with a ruthlessness fine tuned by decades of managerial bastardry, overlayed by wheezles who've maneouvred their way into positions of power not because they're talented at the job, but because they're talented at wheezling. They do not care a twaddle about the core drivers; the things that led us into creative professions in the first place, they care not about the diseased end product of what was once a great and noble calling. Have to do the funeral of five who died in the Hunter when the road collapsed during the storm, including three kids. Not looking forward to it one little bit.

THE STORY CONTINUES:

"In the future there would be gnawing jealousies and uncertainties, but at the time she was a model of how someone should behave in such a situation. I just want you to know that who you're with at the moment is who you're with, and the rest doesn't matter, she said. With someone else the revelation could have destroyed the relationship. With her it didn't.

"They moved in together.

"Within hours of moving in she told him: I'm pregnant, again."



Fathers at war see children 'grow up in pictures'
POSTED: 9:37 a.m. EDT, June 17, 2007
Story Highlights• Staff Sgt. Dustin Williams based in Baquba, an al Qaeda in Iraq stronghold
• Williams told 6- and 8-year-old sons he was fighting bad guy, helping Iraqi kids
• Spc. Chris Dech's sons send him drawings, notes about school and lives
• Soldiers to families: "Tell them I love them, and I'll be back real soon"
By Karl Penhaul
CNN
Adjust font size:
SAMARRA, Iraq (CNN) -- Home has been reduced to a handful of photos, e-mails with the children, a homemade silver dog tag. When they can, the dads swap memories when no one is trying to kill them.

Army Staff Sgt. Dustin Williams was supposed to be home on this day -- Father's Day -- to feel the embrace of his four young children, but he couldn't. Like so many fathers fighting in Iraq, the essence of home has been boiled down to the basics.

"I get photos and videos in boxes and trinkets in boxes," says Williams. "That lets me know they're there and they care. That's something I can hold on to." (Watch how dads in Iraq enjoy first teeth, steps through photos )

It's a piece of life from the other side of the world, about 8,000 miles (12,900 kilometers) away from Fort Lewis, Washington. Williams relaxes for a few moments between missions to talk about his children. He's based on the outskirts of the city of Baquba, some 40 miles north of Baghdad -- a new stronghold for al Qaeda in Iraq.

"You watch your children grow up in pictures. That's pretty much what I'm doing," he says.

He flips through a small album of photos, showing off his children. Austin, 8, is in school, and his second son, Hayden, 6, is starting kindergarten soon. Williams' first daughter, Liberty, was born during his first tour in Iraq, in 2004. His second daughter, Morgan, was born in 2006, two months into his second tour.

One of his most cherished items is a silver dog-tag that his wife, Lena, had made. It's engraved with a photo of her and Morgan. He's told that his little girl's most treasured toy is a teddy bear from her dad -- a cuddly stuffed animal that belts out a recorded message from her father, saying "how much I love her."

"Morgan's already crawling, getting her first teeth and saying her first words. I'm missing all that," he says.

At 11 months old, Morgan is too young to comprehend where daddy is and for how long he will be gone. Not so for Austin and Hayden. The day he knew he was going to be deployed for a second time, Williams took each one out individually to eat ice cream and have a man-to-man talk.

He missed being home this Father's Day after his tour was extended because of deteriorating conditions in Iraq. He now hopes to keep his promise -- to be home for his boys' next birthdays.

"They don't know exactly what I'm doing. But they understand I'm off fighting the bad guys and helping the little kids of Iraq," he says.

But still, he wonders about his own kids. "When we're outside the wire [of the base], our minds are on one thing and that's the mission. When we're back here [on base], our minds are playing and we have time to think about the families," Williams says.

Family emergency far away from home
Army Spc. Chris Dech, a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, understands. Deploying to Iraq while his wife was pregnant was tough enough. No sooner had he arrived in Iraq when Dech got word from home -- his unborn son might have a fatal deformity.

"We prayed about it and looked at it like whatever happens we have to deal with it," he says.

That was more than eight months ago. Baby Nathan is now doing fine. He has no fatal deformity, and doctors have carried out multiple surgeries to correct a cleft lip and cleft palate.

Dech was even there for the birth, but he's missed the corrective surgeries and many precious moments, like seeing him crawl or roll over for the first time. "It's the little things," Dech says.

Dech has two other sons, Peter, 7, and Samuel, 5. They keep in touch via letters -- most times they include a drawing of Spider-Man and a small note.

"Hi, Dad, how you doing?" Peter wrote in a recent message. "The whole class went to the gym. We had free play. My favorite thing was to climb the ropes. Bye, I love you."

While Dech misses his family terribly, he says he'll make up for it by cherishing every moment with his loved ones when he finally gets back.

"You learn not to take things for granted. When you go home and you're with them, you spend some quality time. That's how I plan to make up for it," he says.

What's their message on this Father's Day?

It was the same from both: "Tell them I love them, and I'll be back real soon."

Fathers at war see children 'grow up in pictures'
POSTED: 9:37 a.m. EDT, June 17, 2007
Story Highlights• Staff Sgt. Dustin Williams based in Baquba, an al Qaeda in Iraq stronghold
• Williams told 6- and 8-year-old sons he was fighting bad guy, helping Iraqi kids
• Spc. Chris Dech's sons send him drawings, notes about school and lives
• Soldiers to families: "Tell them I love them, and I'll be back real soon"
By Karl Penhaul
CNN
Adjust font size:
SAMARRA, Iraq (CNN) -- Home has been reduced to a handful of photos, e-mails with the children, a homemade silver dog tag. When they can, the dads swap memories when no one is trying to kill them.

Army Staff Sgt. Dustin Williams was supposed to be home on this day -- Father's Day -- to feel the embrace of his four young children, but he couldn't. Like so many fathers fighting in Iraq, the essence of home has been boiled down to the basics.

"I get photos and videos in boxes and trinkets in boxes," says Williams. "That lets me know they're there and they care. That's something I can hold on to." (Watch how dads in Iraq enjoy first teeth, steps through photos )

It's a piece of life from the other side of the world, about 8,000 miles (12,900 kilometers) away from Fort Lewis, Washington. Williams relaxes for a few moments between missions to talk about his children. He's based on the outskirts of the city of Baquba, some 40 miles north of Baghdad -- a new stronghold for al Qaeda in Iraq.

"You watch your children grow up in pictures. That's pretty much what I'm doing," he says.

He flips through a small album of photos, showing off his children. Austin, 8, is in school, and his second son, Hayden, 6, is starting kindergarten soon. Williams' first daughter, Liberty, was born during his first tour in Iraq, in 2004. His second daughter, Morgan, was born in 2006, two months into his second tour.

One of his most cherished items is a silver dog-tag that his wife, Lena, had made. It's engraved with a photo of her and Morgan. He's told that his little girl's most treasured toy is a teddy bear from her dad -- a cuddly stuffed animal that belts out a recorded message from her father, saying "how much I love her."

"Morgan's already crawling, getting her first teeth and saying her first words. I'm missing all that," he says.

At 11 months old, Morgan is too young to comprehend where daddy is and for how long he will be gone. Not so for Austin and Hayden. The day he knew he was going to be deployed for a second time, Williams took each one out individually to eat ice cream and have a man-to-man talk.

He missed being home this Father's Day after his tour was extended because of deteriorating conditions in Iraq. He now hopes to keep his promise -- to be home for his boys' next birthdays.

"They don't know exactly what I'm doing. But they understand I'm off fighting the bad guys and helping the little kids of Iraq," he says.

But still, he wonders about his own kids. "When we're outside the wire [of the base], our minds are on one thing and that's the mission. When we're back here [on base], our minds are playing and we have time to think about the families," Williams says.

Family emergency far away from home
Army Spc. Chris Dech, a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, understands. Deploying to Iraq while his wife was pregnant was tough enough. No sooner had he arrived in Iraq when Dech got word from home -- his unborn son might have a fatal deformity.

"We prayed about it and looked at it like whatever happens we have to deal with it," he says.

That was more than eight months ago. Baby Nathan is now doing fine. He has no fatal deformity, and doctors have carried out multiple surgeries to correct a cleft lip and cleft palate.

Dech was even there for the birth, but he's missed the corrective surgeries and many precious moments, like seeing him crawl or roll over for the first time. "It's the little things," Dech says.

Dech has two other sons, Peter, 7, and Samuel, 5. They keep in touch via letters -- most times they include a drawing of Spider-Man and a small note.

"Hi, Dad, how you doing?" Peter wrote in a recent message. "The whole class went to the gym. We had free play. My favorite thing was to climb the ropes. Bye, I love you."

While Dech misses his family terribly, he says he'll make up for it by cherishing every moment with his loved ones when he finally gets back.

"You learn not to take things for granted. When you go home and you're with them, you spend some quality time. That's how I plan to make up for it," he says.

What's their message on this Father's Day?

It was the same from both: "Tell them I love them, and I'll be back real soon."

Fathers at war see children 'grow up in pictures'
POSTED: 9:37 a.m. EDT, June 17, 2007
Story Highlights• Staff Sgt. Dustin Williams based in Baquba, an al Qaeda in Iraq stronghold
• Williams told 6- and 8-year-old sons he was fighting bad guy, helping Iraqi kids
• Spc. Chris Dech's sons send him drawings, notes about school and lives
• Soldiers to families: "Tell them I love them, and I'll be back real soon"
By Karl Penhaul
CNN
Adjust font size:
SAMARRA, Iraq (CNN) -- Home has been reduced to a handful of photos, e-mails with the children, a homemade silver dog tag. When they can, the dads swap memories when no one is trying to kill them.

Army Staff Sgt. Dustin Williams was supposed to be home on this day -- Father's Day -- to feel the embrace of his four young children, but he couldn't. Like so many fathers fighting in Iraq, the essence of home has been boiled down to the basics.

"I get photos and videos in boxes and trinkets in boxes," says Williams. "That lets me know they're there and they care. That's something I can hold on to." (Watch how dads in Iraq enjoy first teeth, steps through photos )

It's a piece of life from the other side of the world, about 8,000 miles (12,900 kilometers) away from Fort Lewis, Washington. Williams relaxes for a few moments between missions to talk about his children. He's based on the outskirts of the city of Baquba, some 40 miles north of Baghdad -- a new stronghold for al Qaeda in Iraq.

"You watch your children grow up in pictures. That's pretty much what I'm doing," he says.

He flips through a small album of photos, showing off his children. Austin, 8, is in school, and his second son, Hayden, 6, is starting kindergarten soon. Williams' first daughter, Liberty, was born during his first tour in Iraq, in 2004. His second daughter, Morgan, was born in 2006, two months into his second tour.

One of his most cherished items is a silver dog-tag that his wife, Lena, had made. It's engraved with a photo of her and Morgan. He's told that his little girl's most treasured toy is a teddy bear from her dad -- a cuddly stuffed animal that belts out a recorded message from her father, saying "how much I love her."

"Morgan's already crawling, getting her first teeth and saying her first words. I'm missing all that," he says.

At 11 months old, Morgan is too young to comprehend where daddy is and for how long he will be gone. Not so for Austin and Hayden. The day he knew he was going to be deployed for a second time, Williams took each one out individually to eat ice cream and have a man-to-man talk.

He missed being home this Father's Day after his tour was extended because of deteriorating conditions in Iraq. He now hopes to keep his promise -- to be home for his boys' next birthdays.

"They don't know exactly what I'm doing. But they understand I'm off fighting the bad guys and helping the little kids of Iraq," he says.

But still, he wonders about his own kids. "When we're outside the wire [of the base], our minds are on one thing and that's the mission. When we're back here [on base], our minds are playing and we have time to think about the families," Williams says.

Family emergency far away from home
Army Spc. Chris Dech, a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, understands. Deploying to Iraq while his wife was pregnant was tough enough. No sooner had he arrived in Iraq when Dech got word from home -- his unborn son might have a fatal deformity.

"We prayed about it and looked at it like whatever happens we have to deal with it," he says.

That was more than eight months ago. Baby Nathan is now doing fine. He has no fatal deformity, and doctors have carried out multiple surgeries to correct a cleft lip and cleft palate.

Dech was even there for the birth, but he's missed the corrective surgeries and many precious moments, like seeing him crawl or roll over for the first time. "It's the little things," Dech says.

Dech has two other sons, Peter, 7, and Samuel, 5. They keep in touch via letters -- most times they include a drawing of Spider-Man and a small note.

"Hi, Dad, how you doing?" Peter wrote in a recent message. "The whole class went to the gym. We had free play. My favorite thing was to climb the ropes. Bye, I love you."

While Dech misses his family terribly, he says he'll make up for it by cherishing every moment with his loved ones when he finally gets back.

"You learn not to take things for granted. When you go home and you're with them, you spend some quality time. That's how I plan to make up for it," he says.

What's their message on this Father's Day?

It was the same from both: "Tell them I love them, and I'll be back real soon."


THE BIGGER STORY:

SMH:

'Out of ideas' - PM fails to catch Labor
Phillip Coorey Chief Political Correspondent
June 18, 2007

Poll shows Howard's number not up yet
Fight to the finish despite our love affair with Rudd
Nats on the knocker in Bennelong
Age does not worry him, says Lib hopeful

THE Coalition has barely dented Labor's crushing election-winning lead over the past month, despite new figures showing the economy is booming, concerted attacks on the ALP's union ties, and the Coalition's effort to neutralise the climate change debate.

The latest Herald/ACNielsen poll also shows only 41 per cent of voters believe John Howard is "open to ideas". Almost twice as many consider the Labor leader, Kevin Rudd, is open-minded.

But Mr Howard maintains a strong lead on the economy, the issue both parties regard as pivotal come the election.

The poll of 1403 voters, taken from Thursday to Saturday, shows the primary vote for both parties has not shifted since last month, with Labor still leading by 48 per cent to the Coalition's 39 per cent.

On a two-party-preferred basis, Labor's lead is 57 to 43 per cent - compared with 58-42 last month, still enough to annihilate the Coalition if an election were held now.

While 78 per cent believed that Mr Howard "has a firm grasp on economic policy" against 52 per cent for Mr Rudd, only 37 per cent believed Mr Howard understood the climate change challenge, compared with 71 per cent for Mr Rudd.

In June 1995, in the dying months of the Labor government and when Mr Howard was Opposition leader, 72 per cent believed he was open to ideas. Only 30 per cent thought Paul Keating was.

A Newspoll out today shows similar two-party preferred support, with Labor still in a position to beat the Coalition at the next election, at 56 to 44 per cent. But it says Labor's primary vote slumped six percentage points to 46 per cent and the Coalition's rose from 35 to 39 per cent.