Should We Use the Military in the Riots?

It’s Monday, and most people don’t like Monday. I look at it from a different angle.

  1. I am retired.
  2. I have time to do whatever I want and when I want.
  3. I able to write to you in this site to share hope.

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I am so excited by all of the new subscribers we are getting.

We have been averaging over 25 new subscribers a day now. A month ago, we may have had that many in a week.

Why is this happening?

It is because so many veterans are trying to find hope. They are trying to keep up on the latest military news. They need to hear about anything military, and this site does that.

If you like what you are reading just go to the top of this page and click on “Subscribe.” When you do, all future posts will got directly to your inbox. Please tell others about this site as well.

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I saw that president Trump wants to send in regular Army troops to end all the rioting. The Secretary of Defense feels that is wrong. I tend to agree with him. Why should our brothers and sisters be put in harm’s way. It should be up to the mayors and governors to straighten this mess out.

Notice that where all the rioting is occurring are run by Democrats? Enough said.

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What should we do?

I would love for you to make some comments on this in the comment area at the bottom of this post. I will be excited to read them and respond.

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I am going to share another interview with you for my new book, Signs of Hope for the military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

This one may be a repeat as I have been sharing many interviews. I think that this interview is extremely important:

I was driving home and felt hungry. I saw a Carl’s Jr, (Hardy’s) and stopped. I got my order and was heading to my table. I walked by a Vietnam veteran. I knew he was a Vietnam veterans by the hat he was wearing.

He look in pain

As I watched him eat, he seemed to be in pain. He shifted many times trying to get comfortable. He finished his meal and was walking (struggling) to the garbage can. He had walk by me to get there, so I asked him if he wanted to sit down and talk.

He looked like he didn’t want to do that, but I told him I was a veterans like him. He decided to sit down.

He had much mental pain

He sat down and we chit chatted for a while. Then I started asked him some questions. I wondered what he did in Vietnam. He said he was on a ship off the coast of Vietnam. He want on to say That his ship was a helicopter ship. They were taking supplies to the troops; picking up wounded, and sending supplies to the villages that were starving.

We talk for a while long and then I asked him what was the worst moment for him in Vietnam.

He said that his best friend was a pilot of one of the helicopters. His friend was ready to take off with his co-pilot. They said it was a go, and the helicopter began to rise and head out. Immediately there was engine trouble the copter started wavering. Then it crashed into the ocean and sunk very fast. They never even tried to recover the bodies, because the water was too deep.

That was very devastating to him.

We talked a little more, and I asked him one more question:

Was there another time you felt upset and sad?

He said it was when his planed landed and the soldiers had to walk through the terminal. There were people on each side of the terminal cussing at them. They called them killers. They spit on them. He felt disgraced.

We finished talking and did a shoulder hug. He actually smiled as he walked out the door. I could see him hobbling along as he went to the near by hotel.

This tore me up badly. This man was a hero and people treated him like dirt. We owe the Vietnam veterans so much.

(I will be sharing much more about this veteran in my book. He shared with me why he was so hobbled and in pain.)

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How are YOU doing. Are you struggling like this Marine was? Do you feel rejected? Do you have war wounds? Are you battling PTSD, TBI, depression, Etc?

You are not alone. There are now 8,231 fellow veterans here with big shoulders. Many of them are Vietnam veterans like this Marine.

Never think that you shouldn’t seek help. I know, we as veterans always feel we don’t need help because we are tough guys. Forget that thought!

If you are hurting GET HELP!

Here is a place to get help 24/7. Just call 1-800-273-8255 (option # 1)

Don’t spend another day in your living hell.

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Remember:

Your are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

Am I afraid of What is Going on? What Me worry?

I am so amazed! Since I have come back and started posting more often the subscriptions are growing very fast. Two days ago I told your we had gained 25 new people in one day. Today we jumped from 8,125 subscribers to 8,153. I have finally figured out what you want in a site, and I am concentrating on that. Please subscribe by clicking on the subscribe button at the top of this page if you are a veteran, or a family member of a veteran. When you do the posts come directly to your inbox.

Another day another dollar. That is what my mother always said, only she meant it. Times were tough when I was a child. My mother only cleared about $38.00 a week from her job and she was a single parent. However, my brother and I never went hungry. We had clothes to wear and a roof over our head. I still marvel when I think back to that time.

Because of my up bringing, I value the little things. I still have the teddy bear I had as a child. It’s in pretty good shap, and I have fond memories every time I see it. I never had roller skates, toys, or other things most kids had. We couldn’t afford them. How I got new clothes every year was to go to work on my Uncles farm.

Why am I telling you all this? I have a different outlook on much of what is going on right now.

Am I worried about the virus? Oh ya! I have several underlining problems and probably wouldn’t make it if I caught it. But, God has spared me so far so I am very thankful for each day.

Am I upset with what is going on in our cities with the rioting, looting, and arson? Certainly. What worries me the most is that the National Guard is being used, and they are in harm’s way. There are even thoughts of bringing in the regular military.

I never once thought we would ever need the regular military in our country to try to help clean up a mess.

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Let me share some military news to catch you up on what is happening. Most of what I get is from the military magazines, and daily emails from the VFW and The American Legion.

  1. Senate Holds Veterans Affairs Budget Hearing: This week, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs held a budget hearing to discuss funding requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The VFW, along with Independent Budget(IB) co-authors, Disabled American Veterans and Paralyzed Veterans of America, provided written testimony advocating for more VA funding. Due to the strain on the VA health care system, the IB recommends increased funding for staffing, PPE, and infrastructure upgrades.
  2. Veteran Employment Bill Introduced: This week, congressional leaders introduced the VFW-supported bipartisan, bicameral bill to help curb veteran unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Reps. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-TN), and Mike Levin (D-CA), along with their colleagues Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced the Veterans Economic Recovery Act of 2020which would provide much needed support for veterans who recently lost their jobs due to the pandemic. This proposal would offer eligible veterans one year of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to be used at approved high demand programs to get them back into the workforce as quickly as possible. The VFW applauds our congressional leaders for swiftly introducing this legislation to help curb unemployment among veterans. 
  3. VA Resumes In-Person C&P Examinations in Some Locations: VA has announced that it will resume in-person compensation and pension (C&P) examinations at 20 locations across the U.S. VA will continue to conduct telehealth examinations at locations where in-person exams have not yet resumed. If you live in one of the locations where in-person appointments have resumed, but you are unable to make your appointment or do not feel comfortable with an in-person C&P exam, please contact your service officer to reschedule. Find a VFW service officer near you to file a claim for disability benefits.

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How are you doing? Have there been tough days? Are you battling PTSD, TBI, Depression, etc?

You are not alone my friend. There are over 8,000 fellow veterans here in this site. They know what you are going through. They have been there and done that. Never feel you are alone!!

Here is a hot line to call if you just aren’t able to cope right now. It is NEVER wrong to seek help. If you need it get it.: 800-273-8255 (option #1) Call 24/7.

Again, thank all of you for subscribing to this site. It encourages me to dig even deeper to find things to help you. Please subscribe if you haven’t already. Just go to the top of this page and click on subscribe. When you do you will get all future posts right in your inbox. Please tell other about this site as well, who you think can benefit from it.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all….never, ever, give up!

I Wanted to Check out of this Hotel Called Earth

I will be changing the format on my author site. I need to get back to sharing with you about my book, Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.

In about two weeks the book will be officially in the marketplace.

It has been a hard, long road I have traveled to get to this point. I started writing, Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World, almost ten years ago. It will be ten years next March.

Why did I start writing the book? I am glad you asked.

I was at the end of my rope. I didn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. I felt the ship sinking and I didn’t have a life jacket.

I was having weekly pity parties, and no one was showing up to help me celebrate.  I was fighting self-doubt, anxiety, fear, failure, depression, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.

I was ready to check out of the hotel called earth.

I was in a school parking lot on March 31st 2001 sitting in my Ford Explorer considering suicide. I didn’t want to face the trails of life any more.

I had retired from teacher, and was going from one job after another searching for something that I could feel good about after retirement. Nothing was working for me. I failed at each job I partook in. I even started my own business of find funds for businesses when they needed some while waiting for their invoices from costumers to come in. That failed because I couldn’t see taking money from them when they desperately needed cash at that time.

Every job I tried I needed to try to convince people of getting something they may not need. I worked at a department store in the housewares department. I sold pots and pans, coffeemakers, knifes, etc. I was pretty good at it. I even earned a seven day free trip to a health spa for me and my wife because of my efforts.

One Christmas Eve, I was working the late shift. I noticed that there weren’t any women shopping in my area. It was all guys desperately looking for something for their wives at the last minute. I had a field day. I came up to a guy and asked him if I could help him, and he said, Yes! please find something for my wife for christmas. I can’t think of anything! I saw dollar signs in my head, and directed him to the sets of pans. I convinced him his wife would love a $500.00 set of new pans.

There were several men just like him wandering around, lost in my section. I sold something to eveyone of them. I set a record for sales that night. They bought from me because I was  a man and they trusted me.

I went home that night and wondered, What have I done? I sold a bunch of men something their wives probably didn’t need just so I could make another sale. I was very upset with myself, and quite the job a couple of weeks later.

( Men…never buy your wife something for the kitchen at Christmas. Go down to the jewelry department. You will be rewarded much more if you do that.)

So I went on like this, going from one job after another in sales. The last sales job I had was in leasing, and the same nightmare was forming while doing that. I was trying to have someone lease something when it may be better to buy it outright.

I hit rock bottom on March 31st. I drove to that parking lot I told you about. I was sobbing so much I could hardly see out the window of the rig. I stopped and parked, and was on verge of doing something very drastic.

I finally cried out to God, “I can’t take this anymore!” There was a sudden calmness inside my rig, and in me. The air even seemed different. It was as if God was saying, “It is about time you came back to me. Now let me carry you the rest of the way.”

The rest is history. I started writing Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World, a couple of weeks later.

It took me almost ten years to get my thoughts down, and organized. There were doubts along they way. Satan did every he could to stop me, but I prevailed, and now you have to chance to read my story and learn for yourself how to survive in a not so friendly world.

I hope you will read it and let me know what you think of it. I have been blessed with some very impressive endorsements written in the book. I have had many authors and important people in the publishing world recommend the book.

You can preorder Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World, and save 27% by going to www.winepresspublishing.com. Go to the top and click on “bookstore.” Write in the search area, “Signs of Hope.” That will take you right to my book page. The book will only cost $14.59 there for a short time, and then it will be $19.99 once it is public. Take advantage of that now.

God bless you nad NEVER give up. Fight back the attacks of Satan and turn to God to supply you with all the armor you need to survive.