I was at a loss for something appropriate to write for this special day. I know many sad stories that will go to the grave with me. Don't misread that line. I am not a hero, but many heroes came to me to talk. I mainly listened. I am an excellent listener. Hopefully, I helped some of them by listening and offering a few lame words of encouragement.
I am offering you this previously published story to avoid reaching deeper. It is a story that is painful enough for me. I hope, by reading these few lines, you will appreciate our brave servicemen and women a little more. I wish I could do more than saying thanks and shaking hands, but that seems to be the best that I can manage for now.
I am currently working very near the diner that was the stage for this drama. So I feel it is appropriate to republish this story. Don't thank me after reading this story: thank a vet and tell him you appreciate everything he and his brothers have done for you
Whatever It Takes: Once Again
There have been some comments lately, concerning the returning vets and how to welcome them. Old Skook has been trying to make this into an art form for several years; give me a few minutes and I'll share my techniques and I will tell you of the day a few years ago, when I was called upon to be a better man than I am.
This activity requires stealth and nerves of steel. When you are in a fine dining establishment like Denny's or Elmers, use your scouting skills and spot the ME vets sitting together or singly. Keep them under observation and time your meal so that you finish ahead of them, then estimate the cost of their meal and walk by their table and say, “this one's on me soldier” and drop a ten or a twenty on their table and walk away before they can protest. That's a great devious trick for Patriots, it always makes me chuckle when I start my car to leave.
Once I saw the chance to be a real hero and I played it to the max. Every few years, I'll walk around the streets of Oceanside and recall those nights forty years ago when I walked those same streets with nothing to do. Except on this particular night, I saw a young Lance corporal in Dress Blues with a bride still in her wedding gown, looking to be about seven months along. They were aimlessly looking in store windows and I saw my chance for yet another dastardly deed.
I palmed a hundred and walked up to that young Marine and shook his hand and congratulated him on committing matrimony. I held on to his right hand (they say I have a grip like a gorilla, so that part was easy) I grabbed his shoulder with my left hand and told him to take his bride out on the town and spend all the money and let tomorrow take care of itself. I turned my hand so that it was on top and the C note wouldn't fall on the side walk and left them at a brisk (at least for me) run.
He was outraged and said he couldn't accept the money, but I was laughing like a schizophrenic and double timing my way out of there. I am 63 years old and know that I can't outrun a young Marine, but when they are dragging a pregnant woman, I can outrun them all.
Now on a more serious note, I was driving on I 70 and I stopped at a truck stop in Western Colorado for a meal and spied a young soldier that looked like he had been dealt a few bad hands. I decided to buy him a meal and dropped a twenty on his table and said, “thanks soldier”. I rushed to the cash register and a bunch of seniors crowded in front of me and some of them looked mean, so I decided to wait my turn to pay.
The young soldier walked up to me and asked, “Sir, are you former military?” I told him, I once wore the uniform and that I wasn't an officer, so he didn't need to call me Sir.
He asked if I would have a cup of coffee with him; he needed someone to talk with.
You can't refuse a request like that, I sat down at his booth and looked him directly in the eye and said, “What's wrong son?”
He told me of his best friend in that war in the Middle East. They were planning to go back to California and live near each other the rest of their lives, but one day while he was on the perimeter and his friend was sleeping, a single mortar round landed directly on the hootch they shared and his best friend was killed instantly. He saw it happen in slow motion and clear detail.
His voice began to quake and he was barely keeping the tears back. Our neighbors at the tables around us were interrupting their meals to eavesdrop; however, the Lord gave me a cold stern stare and after I looked at the nosy people, they found a renewed interest in their pancakes and eggs.
He went on to tell me that he had a wife and a baby son that he had never seen waiting for him in California and he didn't know if he could face them after the loss of his friend, he was actually dreading the rest of the drive back to California. I listened to the tale unwind and finally heard my cue, “What do you think I should do?”
I reached deep down inside and hoped I could say something that was worthwhile. “You think your friend is gone, he's not gone, he's here with us right now; as a matter of fact, he's a little disappointed in you for being reluctant to drive home and see your bride and baby. He's never going to have a son, so he's planning on living his life through you. He will be beside you for 50 or 60 years, every mistake you make will be a disappointment for him. He expects you to be a man, the best man that you can be, because he can only live through you. He wants to watch you play ball with your son, take him fishing, help him with homework, he wants you to be the dad he will never have a chance to be. If you hide like a whipped dog and feel sorry for yourself, he will be ashamed of you. The best thing you can do is to drive on to California and be the best husband and father that you can possibly be, because you will never be alone, not even when you check out of this big poker game they call life.”
Well, that did it. he lost it and it was all I could do to keep from crying, but I figured it was my job to maintain discipline. I walked with him to his car, we shook hands and he thanked me several times and told me he felt much better.
He drove West and I drove East, about twenty minutes later, I pulled over and broke down.
A professional horseman for over 50 years, Skook continues to work with horses. Skook has finished an historical novel, Fifty Thousand Years, that traces a mitochondrial line of DNA from 50,000 years ago to the present. The story follows a line of courageous women, from the Ice Ages to the present, as they meet the challenges of survival with grit and creativity. These are not women who whimper of being victims, they meet the challenges of survival as women who use their abilities without excuses or remorse, these women are winners, they are our ancestors.
Fifty Thousand Years is available in paperback and e-book, it is getting great reviews. You can purchase a copy here; Visit me on Facebook.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Dylantheauthor
Skook, I know you gave direction that we weren’t to thank you but I need to do that. Thank you for reminding me and others that we need to listen, to appreciate, to thank in work or deed for the sacrifices made for us. I have thanked the older gentlemen, wearing their veteran’s caps, in the airports. I’ve picked up the tab for young soldiers. It’s not enough. I need to do more. We all need to do more.
It matters.
Thanks Skook,I needed that we can’t do enough for our vets.
Well done thou good and faithful servant!
“Tracks of my tears” Marine. Keep inspiring.
Semper Fi
Well done Skookum. To the USA- a price too high!
God bless the USA!
Awesome Skook, just awesome!
I wonder how many more lives you have touched like that young soldier. I am guessing quite a few.
SKOOKUM, THIS IS YOU ALL OVER
THANK YOU
It’s good to see folks saying thanks to a Vet. It shows that there are still plenty of Americans who value the sacrifices made both past and present. Here is video fitting for today as it sums up what the sacrifices of those who served leads to.
Skook,
There are many folks who returned when their buddy didn’t that suffer from survivor’s syndrone. There are not enough people like you to help them. Thank you!
Ah, you’ve got to be kiddin’ me?! 😉
Can’t wait for the day when you figure out “something appropriate to write” for Memorial Day. 😀
Well done, Skookum!
This is for all of you fine writers and commentators and you Skook but it is really for all of them
“Semper Fi”
In anticipation of “Memorial Day” …
It’s the land of the free because of the brave.
This slide show consists of photos taken at a formal dinner at the
National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, VA. It is a beautiful
presentation of the honor, commitment and pride today’s heroes share
with yesterday’s.
If you know a Marine or a soldier of any branch of the Military
(of any age) make sure he or she sees this. Wouldn’t hurt if all other
Americans saw it too!
http://www.jensensutta.com/slideshows/RTB/
thank you for those video treasures, wow for the braves, the best of AMERICA.
THEY ARE THE GUARDIANS OF THE TREASURES GIVEN BY THE FOUNDERS,
THEIR SOULS ARE FOREVER WITH GOD
Semper Fi !!! Skookum!
I wish all of us could be to all of the men who have served and lost buddies and had to take lives, as you were to that young man! The sad thing is we have lost our appreciation as a country for this day and for what those of who choose to answer the call volunteer and give from their lives. I was at a friends house several years ago, and I ask his son (12) and daughter (11) if they know what “Memorial Day” was, they simply had no clue! I ask them what did you learn in school concerning this day? Nothing just that we have to be back in school on tuesday. I am going to post something here that I wrote years ago, and I am sure it reflects the lives of many of the people here:
Heroes!
Every child dreams to be a hero, but I think it to be because they still hold their innocence and so clearly see things we often forget. Comprehending all the freedoms we enjoy were purchased through the unselfish sacrifice of those who were heroes.
There are heroes in many ways, some in continual servitude, others in a moment of need or courage. Like the policeman who confronted with risking his life to safe another, and the soldier on the battlefield who has risk his all for the sake of his comrades, or even the passerby who just happen upon someone in the most desperate need of help.
Most of such heroes are never recognized and we will never here their name in a public speech. Nor will you see their face on a stamp or their image pressed into a coin, however one is no less than the other. Being a hero is giving up yourself, not having any thought of recognition, or no conception of being paid. You have to be a person who seeks no glory or great satisfaction in the act you perform. It really means giving up your all for the sake of others, it means giving what you don’t have to give in the time of the greatest need.
So many times we hear of those who risk they’re all to serve so that others may continue to live both free and healthy. And we should continually lower our head and give thanks for such people. But even a hero does not stand unto himself. There always others who contributed unto who he is. Yes, the unsung heroes of our age. The people who care enough to see that we receive the right instruction as we launch forward into life. Yes, the mothers and fathers who lay awake every night contemplating what is best and what is good for my child, or the teacher or instructor who takes it upon himself give that little extra so that a certain child will receive all that is needed to formulate that special person.
These are the real heroes, they are the ones our society stands upon, and they are the preservers of our freedom. Because without them there would be no Soldiers to stand bravely to the cause of freedom, no Policeman to prevent evil from flooding our streets, or the passerby who would risk his all to save another.
It would be good if we all made a monument in our minds and hearts to our Mother, our Father, and to all those who contributed unselfishly to make us the people we are, because they are the foundation of all that we enjoy.
In a generation when parenthood is being attacked from every side and teachers threatened by the very students they are to teacher, we had best remember the words of King David “ A people without vision will perish!” When we lose vision of who are the real heroes then we lose sight of what our society is about. The Commandment to honor your mother and father is unconditional and only to those who do so are the good things in life ascribed to, and no less should we honor our elders (instructors), Because all that we recognize as good comes to us through their hands, because they are the real heroes of society.
Gentlemen may will all give the core of proper instruction to our children, and our children’s childreren at the table and not depend on the socialistic school system that has corrupted our nation. We need to assure that our children and their children know what a good days work is, and what is the value of being honest, and not just another game station player or couch potatoe.
I have to stop reading , I am going to ask the neighbor to kick me in the balls, perhaps it will hurt less then reading this ! Damn !!!!
Here my favorite line.
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest, The decayed & degraded state of moral & patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature & has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.
John Stuart Mill
Skooks, I remember the first time you posted that story. I remember being thankful that no one else was home when I read it, because the tears I shed then were filled with sadness and joy, and it would have been hard to explain them to anyone else. I live in a family, including the extended portion I took on when I married my wife some twenty-one years ago, that is filled with veterans. Myself, two brothers, my father, three cousins, three uncles, three grandfathers, two grandmothers, and countless others beyond that. I have one uncle that paid the ultimate price. I never knew him. My father’s father gave up much of himself in WWII in the Pacific. I have one cousin who is still in the service. He got out of the Army, after spending time in Iraq in which he won’t talk of it, then re-enlisted into the Navy after that. My lone surviving grandfather who served just passed a month or so ago.
I thank all of the living relatives that served, whenever I see them, and think of the others some days, especially the holidays like today. It is an important thing for me to acknowledge a veteran’s service to our country, and I do so when the opportunities present themselves, without hesitation. Even if it is just a respectful nod while looking them straight in the eyes as I pass them on the street. Just something to show them the respect they deserve.
Thank you, Skooks. You said not to, but I do so anyway. Thank you for reminding me that the best way to honor those veterans that have paid that ultimate price, for our freedom, the ones this day is truly about, is to honor those who still live, in whatever way we can, whenever we can.
@another vet: Thanks AV. That was really neat to watch.
@Necromancer: Thank you Necromancer. That is a great slide show.
they where super ,I ENJOYED ALL OF THEM TOO,
Imagine the SHOW OF POWER the military could mustard in the USA,
ON 2012
Great post- I find the older I get, the less ashamed I am to let the tears flow when I read, or see things that move me.
I would suggest that if you haven’t read “Lone Survivor” by Marcus Luttrell, that you find the time, as it is one moving read.
I would like to close with the words of John Wayne, as Davy Crockett in the movie “The Alamo”-
“Republic- I like the sound of that word- it means people can live free, talk free- go or come ,buy or sell, be drunk or sober however they choose
Some words give you a feeling- same feeling a man gets when his son first learns to shave, or makes his first sound like a man. Republic is one of those words.”
Semper Fi-