My Patriotic Neighbor >> Pictures

[Stinky The Clown]

Our neighbor (actually a few streets away) has had this display since the number of our KIA in The War In Iraq® was well below 1,000. The display is on his back fence and is made of simple holiday lights on a grid of nails. The flag with the spotlight is relatively new.

This display is updated faithfully every day when the reports come out.

This is his back fence, which faces a very busy secondary road. Ours is a purple suburb of Baltimore. In the time this has been up, there has not a hint of vandalism. It has been discussed at gatherings. I've never heard one rancorous word about it .... even from our resident former Marine Corps nut who boasts time after time of his exploits in Korea .... even though he never actually faced the enemy. (Think of the grandfather on Soap.)

The long shot ......


The closeup ......

[NorCalDem]

1. A lot more supportive....

than a freakin yellow ribbon magnet, don't ya think?

[corbett]

16. Especially On The Back Of An SUV!

Great photos, great reply!

[Blue Belle]

34. Absolutely...

[goodboy]

2. nominated. Of course you know that "conservatives" don't want

anyone mentioning our fallen men and women.

[Fire Walk With Me]

14. Which is how they "support" them.

[bryant69]

3. Very gool

And nice pics too.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[AuntiBush]

20. Loved the blog! Thanks for the link-tip!

[RoyGBiv]

4. Wow ....

Nominated.

Stunning.

[acmejack]

5. I think it is patriotic!

Which would make anyone messing with it the opposite. Makes me kinda wish I lived closer to a highway! It is sad that he will soon need more lights.

[Stinky The Clown]

7. Not saying you did ... but I hope no one mistakes my calling this

patriotic as being sarcastic. The term was used sincerely.

[Ripley]

10. I was expecting something different.

I expected to see a home with a football-sized flag flying overhead and one million yellow ribbons covering his home.

I'm glad to see it is a REAL patriotic neighbor. Drop him a thank you note...

[Straight Shooter]

6. Beautiful, in a very sad kind of way.

I've thought about writing the current number of deaths of our troops on my vehicle, using white shoe polish or whatever it is that people use to write messages. Maybe on the hood, and across the rear window, if writing on the window is legal. I'll make the numbers very neat and precise.

People have no idea how many have died. I think if you were to ask, the typical response would be, "I dunno, maybe 8 or 900?"

Bravo to this true patriot, it cannot be easy to configure those lights when you're carrying around a heavy heart.

[Deep N RedLand]

15. There's no law against it I know of.

There is a local woman area where I live who was featured in this week's Orlando Sentinel, who does exactly the same thing. Except for a few dissenters, she has not had any problems with neighbors or the law. As long as it's not obstructing the driver's view I don't see what would be illegal. Though I would caution that it likely depends where you live, since an area with a high yahoo population or overzealous conservative police might cause you problems.

[Sparkly]

8. And there was one day when the numbers weren't there...

Instead, he'd spelled out someone's first name -- obviously, someone he knew. Very sad indeed. (There were also prominent Kerry/Edwards signs up before election day last year.)

[seabeyond]

9. it is respectful, and honoring each and every death

i am so thrilled your community isnt divided over it. in the feel of these pictures, i had chills. that is awesome. if you speak to the man, tell him i appreciate his dedication.

[Auntie Bush]

11. Good to see someone reminding the public of our loss.

Maybe they will say a prayer as they pass by.

[EVDebs]

12. A little league ballpark has a wall of baseballs with KIA names

Or at least they did. I think it was in Waltham MA if I remember correctly. They were nearing 1000 and running out of room at the ballfield when they showed it on PBS I think it was.

Is there a Life Magazine around with photos of all the KIA ? Nightly Newshour with Lehrer puts the photos on at the end of each show.

[Piperay]

13. People need to

see this, yes this is patriotic. :patriot:

[stevedeshazer]

17. Depressing, yet inspiring.

Well done.

[Historic NY]

18. A reminder of the price paid for a pack of lies................n/t

[Fire Walk With Me]

19. Kick

[ucmike]

21. most people probably don't know what the numbers represent.

but the effort is appreciated.

[Stinky The Clown]

23. Actually, given the buzz around town ... they know ......

.... even beyond our little neighborhood .... it gets talked about.

Given that (once his Kerry signs were gone) there's not a hint of anything overtly political, who can say anything against it? The pro war folks? Hardly. The anti war folks? They support it.

But it is so starkly eloquent .... and unimpeachably honest.

[smartvoter]

22. Cool neighbor. nt

[RPM]

24. where is this? n/t

[Stinky The Clown]

25. Less than10 miles west of Baltimore

In a blue-purple suburb

[Nostradammit]

26. Saw an elderly couple with a KIA display in the car's back window

Every number was about 12" tall and the display was setup to change easily. I pray that they don't need to get a wider car someday.

I followed them for quite awhile so I could get a chance to applaud them, which brought smiles to their faces.

Support our troops, indeed.

[wildeyed]

27. Their very own freeway blog.

And no one can take it down. Nice.

[newportdadde]

28. Just says it all doesn't it?

Makes me think I should start taping a 3x5 with the number in my rear window.

[Stinky The Clown]

29. You know ... that's not a bad idea. It is something we can all do ......

..... put the number on our cars. A card taped inside the window. Shoe polish. A sign. Whatever.

Change it daily.

No explanation, no other message. Just the numbers. No one will know what to make of it. No one can argue with it. It will just make people think.

As I said, this neighborhood display has everyone's attention, yet no one disturbs it .... almost as if disturbing it disturbs dead soldiers ...... no one wants to go there.

[yorkiemommie1]

46. i used to do that....

then i couldn't keep up w/ the changing count. will start up again.

[Stinky The Clown]

47. How did you do it?

A sign? Shoe polish on the window?

For me, keeping up is easy. I pass this guy's house every time I come or go.

[LibDemAlways]

30. Thoughtful and sobering.

I think any display of numbers on a car ought to be accompanied by a small photo of a casket coming home. I know those pics are officially forbidden and hard-to-come-by, but it would drive the point home and make people realize that this is something other than an obscure reference to a Biblical verse.

[Debbi801]

31. That is amazing. Good for them!

[dubyaD40web]

32. Cool, but sad.

[cyberpj]

33. Excellent. I'm going to steal this idea - I hope we all do. Except

I think the reason it doesn't (won't) be vandalized or attacked is that it could be interpreted to support both sides of the war issue: some may think it's there to honor the dead and others will see it as the never-ending count up.

Yes? No?

Still - we all know it's a number Bush admin doesn't want drawn to attention so this is a great idea. I only wish we knew the REAL numbers.

Peace.

[Stinky The Clown]

35. I agree that some could see it as being supportive, but this guy's

yard was strewn with Kerry signs during the campaign. He's solid on our side.

And even if someone were to somehow see it as supportive of bush, it still makes people think. And once a sheeple starts to think, it is a fast and slippery slope to the light.

[cyberpj]

37. Absolutely.

I had already read your post about the Kerry signs and of course, my first reaction to the photo was that it was a Dem sign. I was just posting my thoughts as to why it might be vandalism-proof. Even Bush supporters wouldn't want to damage something referencing "the troops".

Love your "fast and slippery slope to the light" statement!

Thanks for sharing this great idea.

[Stinky The Clown]

39. I think doing this sort of thing in our cars would be a great project

Just the number. Stark. Telling. Thought provoking .... and unimpeachable.

[crispini]

36. Wow. Very powerful.

Brilliant idea.

[wicket]

38. Beautiful

:kick:

40. heartrending, but what about civilian Iraqis?

[Stinky The Clown]

41. Not missing or ignoring your point

but I suspect that's too subtle for almost anyone.

The message as presnted is enormously eloquent.

But I don't think we've forgotten the Iraqi losses just because this particular sign chose to keep it stark and simple and very much on point.

[BrightKnight]

42. Need a banner ad with wounded, KIA, financial costs, etc. - n/t

[NewYorkerfromMass]

43. Of course, it's missing one thing: a big fat ZERO

for all the WMD's we've found.

I am thinking this number (troop deaths) needs to be displayed everywhere- lapel buttons, bumper stickers, billboards (much like our national debt clock here in NYC).
It was really inspiring to see these, and I am sorry the bandwidth seems to have been exceeded as the image links are not displaying now.

Thank you so much for sharing that.

[Stinky The Clown]

44. The images aren't displaying?

They seem to be on my computer .... could they be in my cache? The pictures are in my photobucket space .... ?

[BrklynLiberal]

45. Beautifully, quietly, incredibly eloquent.

Thanks for posting.

[TheGunslinger]

48. A sign with missionnotaccomplished.us would be a nice addition.

[KitchenWitch]

49. wow

just wow :wow:

I had the same feeling seeing that as I did the first time I visited "The Wall" in DC.

[Stinky The Clown]

50. I hadn't thought of it quite that way .......

... but you're right. The same sort of thing. A direct visual invocation of the dead with no qualifying message. Stark simplicity.