Operation Just Cause
...for as long as it takes
The Difference in Me
B F Malone
I was listening to some of my old Barry Manilow records today (yes, I am a fan of Barry Manilow's) and as I was listening to the words of his song "Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again", something hit me.
I remember vividly the day I found the webpage that led me to Operation Just Cause. It was a website about growing up in the sixties. Suddenly, I felt something I had not experienced since I was a teenager. Everything that was important to me when I was growing up, suddenly meant something to me again. I showed the page to my 14 year old and I kept babbling about remembering this and remembering that.
I started surfing through webpages about the POW/MIA's, about the Vietnam War, and the other events that occurred during the 1960's. The words and graphics on the pages sparked something within me. Something that had been buried, I suppose. The people who put up those webpages gave me back the feeling of duty and honor that all Americans used to feel way back when. And that feeling prompted me to join Operation Just Cause. The feeling was so strong that I felt I needed to join the other members of OJC in their fight for our POW/MIA's.
So, even when I feel discouraged about not being able to get through to my representatives about the importance of a full accountability, I will not give up. That is because I will never have to 'try to get the feeling again', because there will always been others in Operation Just Cause that will get me going again.
I may not have seen a change in things because of anything I have done, but I have seen a change in myself. Operation Just Cause has made a difference in me and in the way I think and feel. It gave me back the passion for things that are important to me as a person and as an American.
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