Have you hugged a Veteran today?

So it’s Veteran’s day and many of you are wondering how to show a veteran that you care about them. You really wish your favorite veteran blogger would write a witty post about it and assuage all your veteran well wishing anxieties. Perhaps this could be done in some kind of list form…

Ways to show a Veteran you care.

1. Buy them a drink. – If you’re out somewhere and you see a veteran buy them a drink, whatever they’re having is fine (no, not all veterans drink booze). All veterans, and most people by in large, appreciate a free beverage. This one is great too because it can be done without any awkward social interactions, you can even do it anonymously from across the room.

2. Volunteer at the USO – The USO is like a truck stop for service members. There’s food, entertainment, and even some have showers. There’s nothing more precious than time and giving up a bit of yours to make traveling military personnel a little more comfortable means a lot to all service people everywhere.

3. Help out a military family – Do you know someone who is currently deployed with a family left at home? Offer to help them out; watch the kids, mow the lawn, pick-up groceries, do whatever you can. They may not need any help but the offer itself is priceless. Just be prepared to actually help if they do need it.

4. Say thank you – Now this is important; don’t just post “God Bless all the soldiers everywhere” as your Facebook status. Actually find a veteran and say thank you. If you can do it in person or over a free drink even better.

This is a commercial for Budweieser that came out a few years back. I first saw it while watching the Superbowl at Ft Bliss. We were leaving for Iraq in a few weeks and this video really touched me.

 

What are some other ways we can thank a vet?

Toy Story

When I was a kid I had a Dukes of Hazard car that was just awesome. It wasn’t like a little Matchbox car; it was nearly two feet of orange plasticy wonderment. I loved that thing.

One time my parents took me to a park and of course I brought the car with me. I played with it in the playground, jumping over the seesaw and power sliding around the jungle gym. At some point I decided to bury the car in the sand. I’m not sure why I did this but undoubtedly it was immensely fun at the time.

The problem was that being all of 4 or 5 at the time I was shortly thereafter distracted by a balloon or doggy or something and I left the car in the sand. Before long my parents had packed us into our 77 Buick Century and we were on our way, but my Dukes of Hazard car was still buried in the sand.

We went back the next day. I dug my hands into the sand, but nothing. I scoured the playground looking for my lost toy but it was nowhere to be found. I couldn’t believe it was gone, I must be looking in the wrong place. When I realized it was truly gone I was furious, I threw some sand and said some pretty ugly words for a preschooler. I begged my parents to dig up the playground to help me find it, or at least buy me a new one. There was no deal though. My car was gone, forever. There would forever be a Dodge Charger shaped hole in my life that would never be filled. But I realized there were other toys, my life would go on. I had not been buried in the sand with the General Lee.

Somehow my life did go on and a funny thing happened I didn’t miss that car as much. Sure there were times that I thought “Boy the General Lee would totally jump that!” But that thought would soon pass and before too much longer I quit thinking about that car much at all. Do I wish that I hadn’t buried that car in the sand, sure. It would be awesome to still have it and pass it down to my son to play with. But he has plenty of other cars to play with and in the end the General Lee would just be another one in the toy basket.

And that’s how most of our mistakes are. They seem so huge and devastating at the time, we don’t know how we’re going to go on. We beat ourselves up for doing something so stupid. But let some time pass and we see that they weren’t so big in the first place. We deal with the consequences (I never did get a new General Lee) and we learn not to bury our toys in the sand.

I AM HERE

This is a little video I did a few years back. The song is 'This Is Love' by Cool Hand Luke. The video is from Voices of a Distant Star, an immensely moving little film.
No real reason for posting it, just proud of it and wanted to share. And be sure to check out the band and the movie, amazing.

Top Gear US

The US version of Top Gear will be premeiring on the History Channel on Nov 21st. While I absolutely adore the British version of the show the US version make me a tad nervous. The production values and style seem to be on par with our neighbors in the Old World it is the hosts that may be the new version's failing. It is the hosts that make the show. My wife Christy couldn't care less about cars, but she'll watch Clarkson, Hamster, and Captain Slow because they're entertaining. The same level of quality needs to be offered from the US version
So I am offering to the History Channel and BBC a few suggestions of other possible hosts for Top Gear US.

1. Mike Rowe - Hilarious and informative at the same time. He's got to be getting tired of working with so much poop.

2. Any of the correspondents from the Daily Show - except John Oliver he's great but it would feel too much like we're trying to make the show all 'englishy'.

3. Brian Williams - Trustworthy and funny. No one watches NBC News anyway, so would they really even notice if he left.

4. Justin Timberlake - Of course he'll have to promise not to sing or dance, ever.

5. Peyton Manning - Hilarious on SNL and it would be best to retire early and not turn into the next Brett Favre

There you are History and BBC use this list wisely. And in return all I want is the enjoyment of watching a quality American version of the show I already love so much, and a Nissan GTR.

What are your ideas? Who should host Top Gear USA?

The Real Thing

I’ve got my tickets for U2. Unfortunately now I have to wait 9 months until the concert. But then like a beautiful child being born U2 will emerge onto the stage at Busch stadium and, ok I’ve totally lost the birth metaphor but let’s just say I’m really looking forward to the show.

This will be the 7th time I’ve seen U2 play live. I haven’t missed a tour since ZooTv 1992. I scheduled my leave from Iraq to see them, choosing to miss both my Cousin’s wedding and Christmas instead. I have driven to Lexington, Kentucky and Chicago, Illinois to see them. I’ve already seen them once on this tour, but this time their coming to St Louis so I can’t miss out.

Obviously I loves me some U2 but there’s a downside to seeing them play live. It happens every time. It makes me want to play. It’s not the glitz or glamour; or the thousands of screaming fans; it’s something much more basic.

It’s about 4 guys all playing together making something special. I’ve been in a number of bands, some good some not so good. But in each band there was at least one moment when we all were in sync and something special happened. We knew what each other was doing and made each other better. It’s the musical equivalent to an ally-oop in basketball. Teamwork, synchronicity, timing. Some bands I was in could make it happen again and again, in others it was more of a one shot deal.

When I see U2 play next July they will do that on stage and it will make me want it too. I know that I’ll never be a mega rock star, and I can always scratch that itch with a little Guitar Hero. But that moment of harmony when everything just clicks, well there’s just no substitute for it.