Dream

Dream
Story of Jim Harris


Harris was a senior in college when he was first drafted into the military, at age 23. He had three days to report. He worked for a long 30 years thereafter to make a career in the military, and he eventually became a Green Beret in the special forces. He was in seven conflicts that most people haven’t even heard of, all the way from Viet Nam to the 1990s in Panama.
A lot of the things Harris did was very hush hush- I even asked him jokingly if he’d have to kill me if he told me some of said things. He replied with, “Naw, I wouldn’t kill you.” (I am still not sure whether to be concerned about that or not.) Something else that was along those lines was about his wife. Often times he would call home to tell his wife “Not going to be home tonight, won’t be home for a while, can’t tell you where I’m going or what I’m doing.” I just can’t imagine what it would be like to be the wife in this situation, to know that my husband might not be coming home safely, and I don’t even know where he’s at. It would be a portion of our life that was not shared, and every moment of it, I would be scared.
Anyways, the reasons I drew what I drew. The bottom left hand corner is simple to explain-
Harris’ gun was the M16. Then of course, I have his face right above that. I chose the one of him smiling, because I liked that one the best. It speaks volumes to me about who he is. I think he is a man who enjoys life the way it is, and has lived a long, successful life in fighting to defend his country. Today I looked at a picture Mrs. Epperson did of Harris as a study, and I told her, “He’s not smiling enough.” She proceeded to inform me that in the picture she had drew him from, he was not smiling. But when I look at Harris’ face, I see a smile even where there is none. Even though he went through a lifetime of hardship, he still manages to laugh. He is never not smiling.
The house in the upper right hand corner is part of a hallucination that Harris once had, while he was in Ranger School- a tactic school that lasts for 12 weeks, that has one of the hardest, most exhausting physical regime. It tests your strengths and weaknesses. You don’t sleep, you don’t eat, and you don’t stop moving. This hallucination occurred during the daytime. Harris had been marching with a platoon of about 29 men (in training, of course- “enemy” territory). They hadn’t slept for a while, and they were running short on MREs (one per day, when they were supposed to get three). The gimmick was that the “plane had been shot down” or “the truck was blown up”, and it caused the me to be short on meals, when they had been told that they would be resupplied. The lack of food and sleep degenerates morale, and strength- one of the “tests”. Harris looks off into the forest, and he sees this house (victorian), with people partying/picnicking out in front. I found it highly amusing when he told one of his buddies, and his buddy replied, “Really? I saw a elephant! Just standin’ there lookin’ at me!”
Under the house I placed a drawing of Harris’ boots. They represent his journey through life. They’ve been everywhere he’s been, carried him through trial and tribulation, through good and the bad.
Last but not least, the symbol of the Green Berets. “De Oppresso Liber” is Latin for “To Free the Oppressed”. I love this phrase so much. It tells me what we’re fighting any war for. It’s for freedom, and for rights. Not only for ourselves, but for others as well. It’s a beautiful testament to everything our men and women in the service do for us, for those heroes who don’t make it back home.
To finish this lengthy explanation off, I will explain one more thing; the title of this piece. I have named it “Dream” to stand for all the things we hold to be true, for the peace from war we hope to one day achieve. We dream for a world where children can grow up without worrying about inheriting the country’s problem of a war that they will have to fight one day. We dream that we might one day not have to worry about some tyrant going power mad, or a nation that has a problem with freedom. We dream because we are human- it is what makes us human.