I feel like I've done a genuinely good thing this weekend. For the first time in God knows how long, I can honestly say I did good.
I've been pretty pushy trying to get this Fort Hood chapter of IVAW off the ground, but not everything we do is activist related and this weekend we were just drinking and having fun in Austin (trying to get laid).
Well, at the end of the night I couldn't help but notice that one of our members was gone. Since he left his gf with us, I didn't immediately think he went home with anyone.
Well, it turned out he got his own cab back to the hotel I was staying at. Not having a room of his own, he was just in the lobby and I falsely assumed everything was ok. One of the other members decided to drive back to Hood, and the girlfriend went to the lobby to pick up her man.
I was already in my comfy jammy shorts and getting ready to pop an Ambien when the gf knocked on my door telling me that he was crying and that she didn't know how to calm him down. I didn't know how to either, but I went to see what I could do anyway.
He was sobbing and getting angry which is an unhealthy combination (and especially in a vet) but I just let him vent. He spoke of his experiences and I spoke of mine, pointing out at how much they mirror each other. He spoke of his feelings and I spoke of mine. He was wondering how to cope, and I told him what I did to cope.
In the end, I had no suggestions or answers to any of his questions. I merely let him know that everything he's going through, I already went through and I told him what I did to cope. I apologized that I could do nothing to help him, but he corrected me, saying that he felt much better.
His gf even called me the next day to thank me and also told me that he thanked her for her forcing him to talk to me. He didn't like that I saw him cry, but hey, that was a minuscule price to pay for a quality shoulder to cry on.
I told him that when I first joined the antiwar movement, I went to bed every night convinced that it was a fight not worth fighting and that I was going to quit only to wake up the next day and have something push me just a little bit further.
He asked what I do now for motivation and I told him that now, I remind myself every day how easy it would be to do nothing... and I drive on.
Rest will come another day.
This is the second time since joining the antiwar movement that I've found myself in sink-or-swim situations and both times I just treaded water, but the reward has been exquisite.
To cap off the story, I'm now going to volunteer to be a Vets4Vets counselor.
Also, I'm wearing underwear again.
I've been pretty pushy trying to get this Fort Hood chapter of IVAW off the ground, but not everything we do is activist related and this weekend we were just drinking and having fun in Austin (trying to get laid).
Well, at the end of the night I couldn't help but notice that one of our members was gone. Since he left his gf with us, I didn't immediately think he went home with anyone.
Well, it turned out he got his own cab back to the hotel I was staying at. Not having a room of his own, he was just in the lobby and I falsely assumed everything was ok. One of the other members decided to drive back to Hood, and the girlfriend went to the lobby to pick up her man.
I was already in my comfy jammy shorts and getting ready to pop an Ambien when the gf knocked on my door telling me that he was crying and that she didn't know how to calm him down. I didn't know how to either, but I went to see what I could do anyway.
He was sobbing and getting angry which is an unhealthy combination (and especially in a vet) but I just let him vent. He spoke of his experiences and I spoke of mine, pointing out at how much they mirror each other. He spoke of his feelings and I spoke of mine. He was wondering how to cope, and I told him what I did to cope.
In the end, I had no suggestions or answers to any of his questions. I merely let him know that everything he's going through, I already went through and I told him what I did to cope. I apologized that I could do nothing to help him, but he corrected me, saying that he felt much better.
His gf even called me the next day to thank me and also told me that he thanked her for her forcing him to talk to me. He didn't like that I saw him cry, but hey, that was a minuscule price to pay for a quality shoulder to cry on.
I told him that when I first joined the antiwar movement, I went to bed every night convinced that it was a fight not worth fighting and that I was going to quit only to wake up the next day and have something push me just a little bit further.
He asked what I do now for motivation and I told him that now, I remind myself every day how easy it would be to do nothing... and I drive on.
Rest will come another day.
This is the second time since joining the antiwar movement that I've found myself in sink-or-swim situations and both times I just treaded water, but the reward has been exquisite.
To cap off the story, I'm now going to volunteer to be a Vets4Vets counselor.
Also, I'm wearing underwear again.
and congrats on the undies! i'm not sure when i'll be in lala land again...maybe in the summer?