BLOG IN YOUR FACE

Last week I wrote an article about my attempt to take my neighbor Doug’s good deed that he did for me and “pay it forward” to someone else to show my appreciation for a random act of kindness. My original intention was to buy a whole bunch of bottled water on Monday and take it around to bus stops and hand it out for free. The reason being, it was suppose to get up to 100 degrees here in Nebraska.

Jaci (my bride-to-be) came up with a better idea: Go and volunteer at the 2008 National Veterans Wheelchair Games which are being held here in town at the moment.

The majority of the games are being held at the QWEST Center in downtown Omaha, but Jaci and I were fortunate that one of the preliminary bowling trials was being held at a bowling alley less than 2 miles from our house. We got there about 8 in the morning on Monday and the place was BUZZING! There were paralyzed veterans wheeling around the place this way and that, but more importantly and heartwarming(ly) was that the number of volunteers to the number of competitors was about 9 to 1. That combined with the fact that most of the veterans don’t really want a lot of help made it so that Jaci and I weren’t really put to work very hard and ended up being more of a cheering section than anything.

Also amongst the crowd were several active Army and Air Force servicemen and women in their fatigues and all. It was cool to see the admiration on their faces and the excitement on the veterans’ faces as the two groups bullshitted between frames and rounds.

I couldn’t believe the back and shoulder strength of the competitors. They all had a different style depending on the type of paralysis that they had, but one guy in particular was something else to watch. He would roll up to the lane with his ball on his lap. He would stop right at the edge of the foul line and position his chair at at a 45 degree angle(ish). Then he would reach down and lock up both wheels. Then he would reach back with his left harm and hook it at the elbow around one of the handles that someone would normally hold onto to push him along. With his right arm he grabbed the bowling ball and whipped it down the lane with great speed and exceptional precision. The guy was amazing…there is no other way to put it. Hell, they were all amazing.

It sure is easy to forget that not everyone who gets hit by a road side bomb (or any aspect of combat) gets killed. There are so many that survive and come home minus the use of their legs or with other heartbreaking injuries. If it were me, I would probably want to crawl in a hole and die and you would find me on any given day feeling sorry for myself in a pool of my own misery.

Not these guys.

It just goes to show you that the men and women of our armed forces are not just the bravest people in the world, but that bravery extends far beyond the battlefield. Their courage and their love for competition is remarkable considering their circumstances.

If watching a young veteran with an American flag bandana around his head and another few tied to his wheelchair pump his fist in excitement after executing a perfect strike and then hearing 30-40 people roar and cheer for him doesn’t convince you that 1) God exists and 2) This is the greatest country in the world…well then, you are insane.