Too wonderful to just let pass
This can't be ignored, it's too wonderful to just let this pass by, but this I hope will show that our Scene is, IMHO, one of the closest representations of the Kingdom of God on earth.
Last year we tried to do a holiday gift thing for the service men and women hospitalized up at Walter Reed. It didn't work out because of some logistical stuff. This year Lori got the idea to make gift bags of CDs, stickers, candy and assorted other stuff and take them up. Tons of bands and labels and DJs chipped in and made it happen. Lori, Dave, Domi, Kirsten and I all made it to the hospital to visit the orthopedic ward (Terrorfakt couldn't make it because of snow in NY)
Suffice to say it's a pretty wild thing. The first guy we met was about 23 years old. He's a medic who had a bomb go off in an apartment his group was looking around in. The explosion broke both his legs and one arm, tore a hole in his side. So what does he do? He's the medic. Using one hand he drags himself over and ties 2 tourniquets on his major and does what he can to help the other guys.
He's 23, there with his wife and their 15 month old baby, who is adorable. He had been in Iraq 46 days. One leg is being amputated below the knee. One hand is smashed, the elbow shattered. His arm is stitched to his side. his legs are folded like a 4 and sewn together for skin grafts. He fucking LOVES Rock Band and loves talking to us.
Across the hall we met one of the men he helped save, AFTER he had been injured. He'd just had surgery, but wanted to see us. He seemed a bit out of it. He didn't know that the medic who helped patch him up after the IED explosion was there. Or what he had done. When we told him about it he did his best to clap his hands and thank the him. Both his hands were covered in what looked like socks because of soft tissue damage.
I'm not sure what I was expecting. The injuries were bad. Two of the three men we visited were injured just last month. The three groups previous all had someone excuse themselves to cry. But every guy there wanted to talk about what had happened to them. They welcomed five strangers in, introduced us to their families and were all happy to have us there. They thanked us as much as we thanked them.
One thing I thought about was that these guys are SO young. At their age I was just starting DJing. I was freelancing and Fergus was a newborn. Here they are wife, kids, and life altering combat injuries. When the war started they were barely 18. I remember my pal joining the Navy. He was the old man at 26.
I'd like to say I have some kind of epiphany to impart. I don't. Everything you hear about the bravery and humility of our soldiers is true. They are incredible people who do a fucked up job. You feel great meeting these guys, but then feel bad for meeting them between reconstructive or amputation surgery. Sometimes you're really proud to have people like this in the same room. Sometimes I just wanted to get the fuck out rather than stare at the guy's arm stitched to his side. Or walking down the hallway and trying, politely, not to notice the double amputee in the wheelchair.
It's different than in everyday life. When I'd visit my dad at his hospital, the folks their had been hurt by slipping on ice, falling off a cliff (looking at you mike). Here every person has been maimed in combat. Their HMMWV had been hit with a type of IED. Or a refrigerator in an apartment had been rigged with explosives.
This is something that I'd wanted to do since I heard Rollins talk about a few years back. I'm really thankful to Lori for making it happen. I'm very happy that I overcame my own trepidation and skipped work to be part of it. We were there a little over an hour and I have more to talk about than I do after whole month at work. From Gia and Sasha at Walter Reed. To the men and families we met. To the story about Microsoft donating 360s and Rock Band.
Basically it's something I won't soon forget. And will probably do again if Walter Reed is willing.
Last year we tried to do a holiday gift thing for the service men and women hospitalized up at Walter Reed. It didn't work out because of some logistical stuff. This year Lori got the idea to make gift bags of CDs, stickers, candy and assorted other stuff and take them up. Tons of bands and labels and DJs chipped in and made it happen. Lori, Dave, Domi, Kirsten and I all made it to the hospital to visit the orthopedic ward (Terrorfakt couldn't make it because of snow in NY)
Suffice to say it's a pretty wild thing. The first guy we met was about 23 years old. He's a medic who had a bomb go off in an apartment his group was looking around in. The explosion broke both his legs and one arm, tore a hole in his side. So what does he do? He's the medic. Using one hand he drags himself over and ties 2 tourniquets on his major and does what he can to help the other guys.
He's 23, there with his wife and their 15 month old baby, who is adorable. He had been in Iraq 46 days. One leg is being amputated below the knee. One hand is smashed, the elbow shattered. His arm is stitched to his side. his legs are folded like a 4 and sewn together for skin grafts. He fucking LOVES Rock Band and loves talking to us.
Across the hall we met one of the men he helped save, AFTER he had been injured. He'd just had surgery, but wanted to see us. He seemed a bit out of it. He didn't know that the medic who helped patch him up after the IED explosion was there. Or what he had done. When we told him about it he did his best to clap his hands and thank the him. Both his hands were covered in what looked like socks because of soft tissue damage.
I'm not sure what I was expecting. The injuries were bad. Two of the three men we visited were injured just last month. The three groups previous all had someone excuse themselves to cry. But every guy there wanted to talk about what had happened to them. They welcomed five strangers in, introduced us to their families and were all happy to have us there. They thanked us as much as we thanked them.
One thing I thought about was that these guys are SO young. At their age I was just starting DJing. I was freelancing and Fergus was a newborn. Here they are wife, kids, and life altering combat injuries. When the war started they were barely 18. I remember my pal joining the Navy. He was the old man at 26.
I'd like to say I have some kind of epiphany to impart. I don't. Everything you hear about the bravery and humility of our soldiers is true. They are incredible people who do a fucked up job. You feel great meeting these guys, but then feel bad for meeting them between reconstructive or amputation surgery. Sometimes you're really proud to have people like this in the same room. Sometimes I just wanted to get the fuck out rather than stare at the guy's arm stitched to his side. Or walking down the hallway and trying, politely, not to notice the double amputee in the wheelchair.
It's different than in everyday life. When I'd visit my dad at his hospital, the folks their had been hurt by slipping on ice, falling off a cliff (looking at you mike). Here every person has been maimed in combat. Their HMMWV had been hit with a type of IED. Or a refrigerator in an apartment had been rigged with explosives.
This is something that I'd wanted to do since I heard Rollins talk about a few years back. I'm really thankful to Lori for making it happen. I'm very happy that I overcame my own trepidation and skipped work to be part of it. We were there a little over an hour and I have more to talk about than I do after whole month at work. From Gia and Sasha at Walter Reed. To the men and families we met. To the story about Microsoft donating 360s and Rock Band.
Basically it's something I won't soon forget. And will probably do again if Walter Reed is willing.