Heroes

I have many little sayings, catchphrases and verbal idiocentricity, I guess we all do really. Among one of my most common is to call someone "My Hero". For example, "You got all those plants racks onto the tables and watered? You're my hero." or "You saved some cheese dip for me? You're my hero." I guess what that should translate to from its Jeffenese form is actually " Thank you, I am grateful you did that."

Now, if I have ever called you my hero in that fashion, I hope you know that I am thankful for whatever you did, but you aren't really my hero. Seriously, I hope I didn't just break your heart.

A Hero in truth is something much more dear and special. Its not the characters in the comic books I still love reading from time to time, not the actors or the characters they play on TV and in the movies. A Hero sure as fuck isn't a God forsaken TV show that had an awesome first season and then turned into a flaming pile of dogshit thereafter...but I digress.

A Hero shows through their actions, and character what a person should strive to be. A Hero sets an example without trying, and raises the bar so high through their everyday Life that the rest of us must struggle to keep it in view. And a Hero does it all without knowing that they are Heroic.

A Hero is something I personally am blessed to have two of in my life. Mom and Pop Works, my Parents.

Pops is easy to break down on the subject of his Heroism for me. He was a highly scouted baseball talent who at the age of 17 with the Vietnam war still going on, convinced my Grandmother to sign the waiver that would allow him to go ahead and join the Army. He went through basic training then jump school to become a paratrooper and graduated top of his group and was sent to Ranger training. Again the top of his class Dad was put through MAC V recon school, where he graduated second in his class behind a Navy Seal. Once Dad went to Vietnam he led a four man patrol of what are know as a LRRPs(pronounced Lurps). For those of you not aware of what a Lurp is, here is a quick excerpt from Wikipedia...

"the U.S. Army Special Forces trained volunteer LRRP's for the purpose of locating enemy units in guerrilla warfare, as well as in artillery spotting, intelligence gathering, forward air control, and bomb damage assessment. Early in the war long range reconnaissance patrols were performed by a limited number of infantry battalion Recon Platoons. Later LRRP units were provisional platoon-sized units. By 1967, formal LRRP companies were organized, some having two platoons, each with eight six-man patrols. Training was notoriously rigorous. Similar missions, although more likely to be clandestine, deeper penetrating, and more like Special reconnaissance, were run in Vietnam by the Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) Studies and Observation Group (SOG)....Beginning in February 1969, all LRRPs were folded into the newly-formed 75th Rangers, bringing back operational Ranger units. The Army had disbanded Ranger units after Korea, but kept Ranger school, on the theory that spreading Ranger School graduates throughout the Army would improve overall performance."

Basically Pops and three other Soldiers went out into the jungle on their own for sometimes three to four weeks at a time and scouted the enemy, fought the enemy and supplied valuable information back to the main units of the US military. It was dangerous and not what one did if their interest was doing their time and going home safe.

I am not going to go into any crazy war stories about my Father here but Dad did three tours in Vietnam was shot in all three and is highly decorated for his actions during those tours.

That's Hero worthy enough I know, but I'll go up on a mini soapbox here and say that any man or woman that volunteers to serve in our military and defend our freedoms is Hero worthy, wartime or peace.

Thank you all for you Service.

No, what makes Dad My Hero is the Life he has lead and provided to his Family. After Pops left the Army he traveled us around and made a living doing a lot of different things, he had jobs that pulled down insane money but would keep him gone away from his Wife and Kids so he always looked for something better that would keep him closer to us. We had some fat times and some lean times, but as children my Brother and I always can say no matter what our Parents were always a part of our everyday lives.

Let me pause now in talking about Dad to start telling you about Mom, as the two are perfectly linked and the only stainless argument out there against my dislike of Marriage.

My Mom was a sweet intelligent little girl who says she knew from the moment she saw my Father that she was in Love and that was the man she was going to marry. She even started telling people that she and Dad were engaged while he was still in Vietnam. The only problem, of course, being that she and Dad hadn't even been on a date yet...oh and Dad was engaged to some other hussy. No worries there though, all things in time.

Mom wrote letters of support and encouragement to Dad during his time in Vietnam and once between tours he came back and took Mom out on a date to thank her for her kindness.

Three dates later, there was only one girl for my Father and he asked her to marry him...

She said "no"

"What? Why not?" was all Dad asked her.

"Because I have to finish school first." Mom replied

"Well damn Diane, I didn't mean right now." He said

"Oh, well ok then" Mom answered. I think she still ended up dropping out of school so they could be wed before Dad headed back for his last tour, but she ended up going back and finishing school anyway, all things in time, like I said.

Mom was the perfect Mother and my very first best friend. She loves to tell the story about how Dad came home confused one day because a neighbor in the apartments we lived in had commented to him how much fun it sounded like his children had playing and running around together all day long. The source of the confusion being that at the time Dad only had one child, me, and no one was home all day except Momma and me...Like I said she was my first best Friend and the best Mother I could have ever asked for. I am sure my Brother Joe would agree ( and yes Jack too. Love you Jacki.)

Mom stayed home and took care of us until sometime after Joe started school, then she went to work to help make the family more money and support us kids. By this time Dad had started work as a Civil Servant on Fort McClellan in Alabama, a job that bought us our first home and really took a lot of financial pressure off the Family. Not that us kids ever really knew about that kinda stuff, Mom and Dad gave us Love and attention and I doubt we would have been spoiled rotten little hellions had money been any different. My Parents are people of value and they worked hard to teach us to be good people ourselves, I hope and try my best every day not to fail them.

When the Post started to lose jobs and get ready to close down Dad moved us to Warner Robins Georgia, where he had transferred into another civil servant job at the Air Force base there. It was also just after that that Mom began to have some health issues and found out that she had Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Here is some more Wiki on MS...

"Multiple sclerosis (abbreviated MS, also known as disseminated sclerosis or encephalomyelitis disseminata) is an idiopathic disease of suspected autoimmune cause, in which the body's immune response attacks a person's central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), leading to demyelination...MS affects the ability of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord to communicate with each other. Nerve cells communicate by sending electrical signals called action potentials down long fibers called axons, which are wrapped in an insulating substance called myelin. In MS, the body's own immune system attacks and damages the myelin. When myelin is lost, the axons can no longer effectively conduct signals.^[1] The name multiple sclerosis refers to scars (scleroses—better known as plaques or lesions) in the white matter of the brain and spinal cord, which is mainly composed of myelin....Almost any neurological symptom can appear with the disease, and often progresses to physical and cognitive disability^[1] and neuropsychiatric disorder.^[6] MS takes several forms, with new symptoms occurring either in discrete attacks (relapsing forms) or slowly accumulating over time (progressive forms).^[7] Between attacks, symptoms may go away completely, but permanent neurological problems often occur, especially as the disease advances."

Wow, That would terrify anyone in to the fetal position and hiding under the covers, huh?

Not my Mother, instead she decided to see if the MS would qualify her to apply as a Handicapped person for a a civil service job on Base. It did, and she was hired into the Records office in the hospital on the Base. Mom worked there and was truly the sweetheart of the hospital and a second Mom to many of the young airmen that worked there with her, During her career she won many awards for her hard work even as the MS ravaged her body. One year she was named The Air Force's Handicapped Civilian Employee of the year and was even featured on local news and papers. Mom worked happily at the hospital until her disease had finally taken such a physical toll on her that she couldn't.

Good Hero worthy stuff, huh?

I am not done yet.

My parents went on to start keeping foster kids in their home, hard luck kids that no one ever gave a chance or worse had been beaten, abused and hurt their whole lives. My Mother and Father took I don't know how many kids in and weren't just a "three hots and a cot" to them. They made them our Family, no matter how long a kid stayed with Mom and Dad, they were given love and shown attention, made sure they had clothes, did their schoolwork and knew that they were safe under our roof. There are young people out there I run into all the time that still call my Parents "Mom and Dad"

Dad retired and he and Mom went traveling for a few years later. They went all over the place, even up to Alaska in their motor home. Dad wanted to get out and see things with Momma while she could still enjoy it, and enjoy it she did. She can sit for hours and talk your ears off about the places they went, people they met and things they did.

Eventually, Dad got an offer to come to work out on base for a contractor doing the same thing he had retired from and for a considerable amount of money. Seeing as it was starting to get harder on Mom to stay out on the road all the time, They came home and Dad went to work and they traveled on the weekends.

As the MS starting taking a hard physical toll on Mom, we worried how she would do with it. She had been so strong with it for so many years but now it was starting to really show up and aggressively fight her.

No need to worry, this Lady is a Champ.

When the MS started affecting her eyesight, Mom got a magnifying glass to read with. When MS took the functional use of her right hand, Mom taught herself to write left handed. When MS started to affect her ability to walk (and after many falls out of stubbornness, I might add), Momma got a cane, then walker, then a scooter and now her wheelchair. No matter what this disease takes from her, Momma just keeps fighting and refuses to be beat.

For his part Dad is right beside her EVERYDAY, he takes care of her, helps her eat, clean up and lifts her in and out of bed, into the bath...whatever she needs. He got rid of his wicked awesome truck to get a van with a ramp system that allows Mom to roll right into the van and lock her wheelchair into place on the passenger's side next to him. He started his own business as a recruiter, right out of their home so he could stay busy doing something he enjoys and still be right there if and when Mom needs him for anything.

And he does it all without complaint or expectation of praise. That is his wife and the woman he loves. This is what is done and to him there is no other way it could be, its the way all great men live.

I hope when tested I have half the resolve and strength that my parents have shown in their lives, I know I will make it through just fine if I do.

This wasn't meant to be a detailed life story of my parents just an example of why they are my Heroes. I could type for days the stories that they have shared with me and memories that I have of them. I just felt I need to ramble out a little homage to them and show I am grateful for who I came from.

I Love you Mom and Pops.