I wanna start out today by saying, "Thank You"... again.

I had a great time at the concert at CAMI HALL on Friday night. I have a feeling everybody in that room had a good time, too. Sharing a stage with Roger Bartlett is always more fun than I can say. And, it's an indescribable feeling to be doing what I really feel I'm meant to be doing... writing songs and sharing them with you guys. I guess we'll be doing that every Saturday afternoon in Central Park very soon. It's gonna be a great summer!

People who know they are doing what they are meant to do are very lucky people. Rarely, but sometimes, it brings wealth. On very rare occaisions, it brings fame. But, it always brings a sense of purpose and and overall sense of well-being... peace of mind. So, I also hafta say, today I feel I'm meant to spend a little time on something important, someone... someone I feel I'm meant to tell you guys about.

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Marla Ruzicka.

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Who?

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I know, I know... a little while ago, I would've asked the same question.

Marla, a young woman with a blend of tenacity and optimism, has been working tirelessly in Iraq to help the many innocent victims of the U.S. invasion... the WAR we started on false pretenses, the WAR that is still raging, the WAR that we were lied to about, and the WAR which is largely being ignored by both Democratic and Republican politicians and the American public alike.

I know... alot of you... if you haven't stopped reading already, are thinking, "Oh shit! Here he goes again!"

But, read on if you have a pulse and really get what my music is about. Here is a 28 year old woman, who at 5 foot 3, has worked tirelessly to help alleviate the terrible human suffering among the countless civilians that are being killed and injured every day... the civilians who are suffering while, here in America today, an entire hour of "MEET THE PRESS" was devoted to discussions about a new pope.

Marla started CIVIC, a non-profit organization dedicated to aiding civilians harmed in conflicts around the world. By surveying the countryside and interviewing victims, CIVIC conducts an accounting of the human costs of war, while assessing the needs of the civilian population. The findings are then used to lobby governments for aid that will help victims rebuild their lives and communities. In Iraq, she said it has become impossible to count the number of innocent people being killed and injured... every day.

A friend of Marla's, BBC reporter Quill Lawrence, described her as, "a force of nature somewhere between lightning and gravity... between Mother Teresa and Buffy the Vampire Killer."

Not too long ago, Marla wrote this from Iraq.

Friends...

--Marla

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Marla was killed in the fighting last Saturday.

A car bomb collided with her car as it was attacking a U.S. military convoy. She was on her way to visit an injured Iraq family. She and her driver were killed.

Now, I've decided to devopte today's update to Marla, because I was so struck by a few comments that were posted here on this website a while back... in the "Forum" actually, when I semi-rhetorically asked where all the right-wing conservatives had gone from that message board. Y'know, those folks who were so gun-ho-behind this nightmare of a war. Comments like...

After the election, we went "...back to being productive members of society. For us who consider ourselves 'conservatives', life goes on."

Fine.

The only thing we can say now is at least Marla died doing what she felt she was meant to do, doing what she really, really believed in. If she were still here, she'd probably be most worried now about her driver's family and who will take care of all the other Iraqi families she was working with.

She would point out, this happens to Iraqis every day and no one notices or even cares. There are no newspaper articles or investigations into what happens to them. For most of them, there was only Marla.

If anybody wants learn more about the work she did, or make a contribution to the organization she started... you can go to:

http://www.civicworldwide.org/

I'll get back to the music... I have a lot of joy doing what I do. I do have peace of mind most of the time... and, I'm really looking forward to sharing songs and smiles and laughs with all of you in Central Park this summer.

And, I wanna thank all of you who do show up.

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Thanks, Marla.

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And, guys? If you feel like it... share this page with friends today. Send them the link, okay? Pass it on.

Thanks again.