i missed the memo on this one

While glancing through today's edition of the RedEye this morning, I came across an article about a traveling anti -war exhibit making its way across the nation named “Eyes Wide Open”. In essence, the exhibit is a series of over 1,000 empty military boots, adorned with name tags of fallen soldiers and/or personal items of those soldiers which were donated by their family members. Adjacent to the expansive field of boots, there is also a wall of remembrance honoring the thousands of Iraqi citizens which lives were taken from them due to the war. This also was eye opening to me, as they displayed the names of over 11,000 people. Talk about the makings of genocide, huh?

When looking at the pictures, I sadly remembered that each pair of shoes signified actual men and women who died for our country. In my minds eye, I filled up the vast rows of empty shoes with human beings and saw it would represent an army of some third world countries. The nicest thing about the exhibit, however, is the fact that when people visit the exhibit, they are allowed to leave flowers and personal notes to the fallen...almost like a memorial service.

As I researched more, I realized that the exhibit started in Chicago in Sept. 2004 and somehow, in someway, I missed it all...drats. I would loved to have at least seen it in person- with my own eyes - as opposed to in photographs appearing on the net and in news publications. It just doesn't hold the same effect.

For those of you interested in seeing the exhibit for themselves, "Eyes Wide Open" appears to be showing all over California, Oregon, and Washington throughout March and April 2005. And if you go, do me a favor & leave a red rose right in the middle of the field for me...


R.I.P. to all the fallen