Dee
03-30-2006, 02:39 PM
Life's simple pleasures a delight, but not ready to tell story, Loney says
SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. (CP) - A 20-minute walk to the barber shop and watching the family cat eat are the sort of simple pleasures that freed hostage James Loney said Thursday he's been delighting in after four months of captivity in Iraq.
But the moments when Loney's heart pounds and his legs tremble tell him he's still not ready to tell his harrowing story, the Christian peace activist said during a brief news conference in this northern Ontario city.
Loney described in detail how he went for a walk through the neighbourhood in the city where he grew up, looking at the trees decorated for his arrival and reading good wishes and expressions of support that are evident throughout the city.
"I am overwhelmed," Loney said.
"Everything is new, incredible and amazing - the sound of a spoon stirring sugar into a cup of tea, my dad feeding the cat in the morning, my mom telling me about the chickadees building their nest in the backyard."
But Loney says it will take time before he can get through an entire day without the lingering after-effects of the time he spent as a prisoner to his Iraqi captors.
"When we were released, I was sure I could jump right back into ordinary life and that's what I wanted the most, but I'm afraid no such luck," he said.
"I'm learning the hard way I need to take things slowly, a little at a time in eye-drop quantities."
Loney's partner, Dan Hunt, described how difficult it was for him to remain quiet during his partner's captivity.
The day Loney vanished, Hunt was forced to follow suit, he said.
"The day that James disappeared, I had to disappear too, and that was a very painful thing in my life," said Hunt, who called it "excruciating" to not to be able to speak out for his partner.
"Painful because gay and lesbian people know that not being seen is so very hard, and because I wasn't seen, a big part of Jim's life also wasn't seen."
Loney's family had asked that their son's sexual orientation be kept secret during his ordeal.
Loney has said little about his time in captivity since arriving in Canada on Sunday....
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/30032006/2/national-life-s-simple-pleasures-delight-ready-tell-story-loney.html
SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. (CP) - A 20-minute walk to the barber shop and watching the family cat eat are the sort of simple pleasures that freed hostage James Loney said Thursday he's been delighting in after four months of captivity in Iraq.
But the moments when Loney's heart pounds and his legs tremble tell him he's still not ready to tell his harrowing story, the Christian peace activist said during a brief news conference in this northern Ontario city.
Loney described in detail how he went for a walk through the neighbourhood in the city where he grew up, looking at the trees decorated for his arrival and reading good wishes and expressions of support that are evident throughout the city.
"I am overwhelmed," Loney said.
"Everything is new, incredible and amazing - the sound of a spoon stirring sugar into a cup of tea, my dad feeding the cat in the morning, my mom telling me about the chickadees building their nest in the backyard."
But Loney says it will take time before he can get through an entire day without the lingering after-effects of the time he spent as a prisoner to his Iraqi captors.
"When we were released, I was sure I could jump right back into ordinary life and that's what I wanted the most, but I'm afraid no such luck," he said.
"I'm learning the hard way I need to take things slowly, a little at a time in eye-drop quantities."
Loney's partner, Dan Hunt, described how difficult it was for him to remain quiet during his partner's captivity.
The day Loney vanished, Hunt was forced to follow suit, he said.
"The day that James disappeared, I had to disappear too, and that was a very painful thing in my life," said Hunt, who called it "excruciating" to not to be able to speak out for his partner.
"Painful because gay and lesbian people know that not being seen is so very hard, and because I wasn't seen, a big part of Jim's life also wasn't seen."
Loney's family had asked that their son's sexual orientation be kept secret during his ordeal.
Loney has said little about his time in captivity since arriving in Canada on Sunday....
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/30032006/2/national-life-s-simple-pleasures-delight-ready-tell-story-loney.html