The Duality Of Man. My Personal Duality. The Struggle.

It sucks being a "leg."

I read this thread as "The Vanity Of Man. My Personal Pride. The Struggle."-thread.

He'd talk to his 4 sons about wars from a historic perspective and the sense of duty he and his generation had and the wars we'd likely have to fight. The Vietnam War created a huge divide in our household. Dinner table conversations would erupt into shouting matches. I feel to this day a sense of regret as to how I treated him during the late 60's and early 70's. People talk about the 60's as some sort of love fest but for me it was all about conflict, not to say I didn't have some fun times :^).

Near the end of his life while visiting we were enjoying a TV show on military aircraft. The program focused on different fighter planes used in various conflicts including the first use of jets in combat which was Korea. I was watching with interest and turned to ask if he had seen them in action? To may surprise dad was crying silently and when I asked him what's wrong he stared me down and said in an almost hypnotic state that they were killing his men. He became animated and angry then shouted out that he had ordered to shoot the "son of bitches" down. The scab that never healed got scratched wide open, it was friendly fire incident that he kept to himself for years.

He was a great man and this incident was just one of three times I ever saw him cry. The first when I told him my wife was pregnant, this incident and when my mom was near her death.

The first thing Lawrence Shaw noticed about the congressional candidate in his driveway were the medals — a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star with a “V” for valor, and a Joint Service Commendation decoration — clipped to her blazer.

“Are you retired military?” Shaw asked, taking a break from his lawn work to walk over to the broad-shouldered woman.

“Yeah, 20 years, Navy SEAL,” Kristin Beck said. She brushed back her long blond hair and showed him the silver pendant on her necklace, an eagle clutching a trident, anchor and pistol.

“Wow, I didn’t know there was a woman SEAL. That’s amazing,” said Shaw, a retired Army colonel.

“I’m the first one,” Beck said. What she didn’t say was that at the time of her service, she was Christopher Beck.

She didn’t think she needed to mention it. Two years ago, Beck publicly came out as a woman, but by her account she still “looks like a dude in a dress.” Even on a day when she was wearing jeans and a black jacket with white trim.

And anyway, she’s running for Congress — not so much as a transgender candidate as a candidate who happens to be transgender.

That’s why she didn’t bring up gender issues as she walked through Shaw’s upper-middle-class black neighborhood in Maryland, seeking votes in her long-shot primary bid against Steny H. Hoyer, the second-most-powerful Democrat in the House of Representatives. Beck, 48, almost certainly isn’t going to win. She doesn’t have much name recognition or money. She doesn’t even have the backing of the major gay and transgender advocacy groups. They have hesitations about her propensity to offend parts of the community and take issue with her attempt to oust Hoyer, a staunch ally for LGBT rights. But what Beck does have is an incredible life story, a slightly jumbled platform of about 70 issues, and a message that the district is ready for a change.

“This is good!” Lawrence Shaw’s wife, Yvette, said, leaning on a rake. “Another female in Congress — that’s what I’m talking about. Give it to the women!”

Lawrence and Yvette gamely posed for photos with Beck and promised to check out her campaign Web site. Their 15-year-old daughter, Lauryn, grabbed three “Beck for Congress” bumper stickers and pasted them onto the family cars.