Ribbons of Pain

Ribbons of Pain

A fragil life held together by ribbons. At the slightest hint of comptempt by someone, the ribbons break and another life is silenced. Ribbons of yesterday symbolized beauty and love, today they not only symbolize beauty and love, they also symbolize pain. For example, while driving to work, how many times have you pass a motorist on the road who had a red, blue, or yellow ribbon tied around his or her vechicle's antanna? No one has to tell you why the ribbon is there. You already know. You've seen it a hundred times on the news - a tragedy has occured. You wonder wheter the tragedy happened to that one or to someone he or she knows. Whatever the case may be, you say a prayer for the person, and for his or her family and you pray that they overcome the pain.


Ribbons of pain are seen everywhere today. You see them tied around a tree in someone's yard. It's there because the family inside is hoping that their love one will return home from the war. One is tied on the tree of the family on the next block they're hoping that the person who kidnapped their daughter will release her unharmed, and what about the burned out house on the other side of town with the red ribbons tied to its banisters. Why? Because an early morning "fire" claimed the lives of all of the occupants "no one escaped" the news headlines read, and let's not forget the woman at work whose wearing the Orange ribbon
symolizing her grief and respect for a co-worker who lost his or her son - a high school senior and an "allstar" basketball player - to a drunk driver last night!


Ribbons of pain will it ever end? Probably not. When I was a girl growing up, mamas used to buy beautiful colored ribbons such as red, blue,and pink and put them in their little girl's hair.Why? Because they wanted them to feel pretty. It was also their way of helping their daughters to feel loved. The little girl could'nt wait to go outside to show off the pretty ribbons in her hair. The ribbons made her feel special and loved.

Finally, "Ribbons of pain" whether yours, mine or theirs are seen everywhere. They're tied around flag poles to honor those who died in the war or to honor a slain policeman or policewoman, they're attached to concrete walls of businesses, tied around trees in our neighborhoods, the White House, and even tied to freeway overpasses. They're there reminding us of the grief, the pain, and the sorrow. They're no longer used as an expression of beauty and love they're also used as an expression of grief and pain.


NOTE; IN CASE ANYONE IS WONDERING, I DID INDENT FIVE SPACES AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH NEW PARAGRAPH, BUT IT DIDN'T COME OUT LIKE THAT ON MY PAGE.