As most of you know I am in the process of getting scuba certified and just about finished. All I have left if my open water dive and I will be ready to rock and roll.
I got an invitation a few weeks ago to attend a gala in Houston hosted by the Love SSurvivor Foundation.
If you don't know what that is then you need to read the book The Lone Survivor by Marcus Lutttrell. This was the last book I read before Afghanistan taught me a lesson in roadside bombs.
I won't go into detail on the book but just know that it is AMAZING and there is a reason that the SEALs are the baddest dudes in uniform.
After Marcus survived hell in Afghanistan and medically retired from the military in the late 2000s he started the Lone Survivor Foundation to help service members reintegrate into society. This organization tried to heal the entire family and provide a getaway and therapy for those coming home who have been changed by what they experienced.
There was a silent auction, where I won two tickets to the UT vs Bailor game next month, as well as a lot of other items I struggled to resist. The $100+ price tags really helped as well.
They few us all dinner at 6:00 then had four speakers go up and share their experiences. A Marine, Ranger, Army Colonel, and Marcus himself. These were some amazing speeches. Honestly the Colonel gave one of the best ones I have ever heard. It was absolutely amazing. It was very clear that he put his troops first and all of these guys have my respect.
True to form Xxon discovered that Marcus has a service dog as well. A little lab. He spent all night trying to get to this dog. He wanted to play SO bad. Any time he got close though this lab would hide behind Marcus and peek around his leg. Apparently X is a little intimidating. One look at Marcus stopped him in his tracks though. I swear he is 7 feet tall. If I were Afghanistan I would have just hid, I won't lie.
As we ingled in the crowd a lady stopped me and introduced herself. After I said my name she told me that she was from an organization similar to Operation Finally home. They build houses for us wounded folk. She asked me why she hadn't seen my papers come through yet.
Looking back I should have kept quiet and just filled it out but instead I told her about Operation Finally home and what they did for me.
I found out that in two weeks they are having an open house for an Army amputee in the neighborhood our new house is being built. She also gave me a card and said that I should pass her name and what they do on to other service members that I know. So…if your interested let me know. No promises but it is always worth a shot.
Toward the end of the night they had a live auction and sold some great stuff. A precision rifle which caught my eye at first ended up selling for $13000. I wanted it but I knew Jesse wouldn't be happy about that one. They also introduced me and talked about the Dive Pirates and what they do. They asked if people wanted to donate to help the cause and we ended up gathering $2500 in a matter of seconds.
I will never get used to events like this. At one point someone got up and said,
"Who wants to donate $5000."
I thought there would be a few…they ended up getting $120000 just for asking. It was amazing to see people open their wallets for such a great cause. I am always so humbled by what people are willing to give to help military families out. Someone even spent $2500 on an 8 week old lab puppy, which Xxon avoided like the plague. If you read the post about Fidelco you know how he feels about puppies.
Marcus mentioned that the movie about his book Love Survivor is being filmed in New Mexico. I thought this was hilarious because the first thought through my head when I walked off the C-17 in Afghanistan was that it looked a lot like home. Apparently I am not the only one who thinks that.
He said he and a lot of other SEALs had ben visiting them to help with the story and try to make it accurate…he summed it all up by saying,
"They are trying guys, that's all I can say."
It was a great night and an honor to mingle with the best people this country can produce. Like I said earlier, if you haven't read Love Survivor you need to. You will get a glimpse into what these guys go through by choice. I am proud to be from this country and to be able to say that I served it. I have a life that truly is perfect and I have the best family and friends to go along with it.
I wouldn't change anything.
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