Holy smokes!
First of all let me apologize for not being more prompt about updating this blog. This summer has just flown by. I have to try to remember everything I have done and everywhere I have been.
So last I left off I was headed to Washington DC right? That visit went well got to see the Change of Command at Eight & I and visit some of our newly wounded Marines at Bethesda (this was one of 3 trips I made to Bethesda this summer). It is always humbling to see these young men; all they want to do is be back with their units. But then the realization sets in that they will never be back in their units as a guy with boots on the ground; and they tend to crawl into their cocoons. However visits like this bring guys that have been there and done that right there to their bedside and they see that there is in fact life after injury. That is definitely one of the highlights of these visits.
Next I spent 17 glorious days at Mt Hood in Oregon and let me tell you, I sure had some breakthroughs in my techniques. It was a very productive camp for me and I also learned that even the best skiers in the world do the basic drills that we did every day. Overall it was a great camp!
The trip to Germany had some last minute BS that ended up having it cancelled. Instead we went to Washington DC. The trip was so humbling and amazing at the same time. These men instantly turned into 18 year old men when mixed with us and the story telling began. Some of the harrowing stories were just unbelievable. The sacrifice that these men made can never be put into words; but I was honored to spend a few days in DC with them. We also went to visit men in at Walter Reed and Bethesda, which was very difficult for a few of the WWII Vets; many of the guys that survived their wounds now would have lived back in WWII so I don’t think they were fully prepared for what they were going to see.
I had to miss the August Camp in NY because I went to Las Vegas for a Bachelor Party……what happens in Vegas!
The Rhode Island Paralympic Camp from the 15-19th of August in Rhode Island was a pretty cool program, I got to try out many of the summer sports. Met some very great guys and gals and enjoyed the East Coast.
I went to NYC at the end of Sept for the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Run, and let me tell you this was a pretty emotional weekend for me for a couple of reasons. One it was 10 years since the attacks at WTC and also the attacks are the reason I re-enlisted. It was a pretty amazing weekend. I got to fight a live fire at the FDNY training facility; and the highlight was that I decided to Run a 5k and although it was very slow I managed to finish! It was the first time I had run since the day before my surgery in 2005.
October 1st marked a huge change in my life I moved all of my household belongings in to storage and headed to Phoenix for the month. I spent the month with my Parents and Daughter, preparing for my impending move to Basalt CO for my winter training at Aspen. It was awesome to hang out with them for the month. At the end of Oct I went to DC again for the Marine Corps Marathon. It also marked the 3rd trip to Bethesda this year. I had mechanical problems at the Marathon and was unable to finish….but there is always next year!
November 1st had me moving up to Basalt. We also spent two weeks in Copper Mountain Skiing. Sandwiched in those two weeks was a trip to DC (4th of the year) with my Parents and Emily for Veterans Day. It was a superb trip to say the least and also very special to spend it with Emily, she sure is turning into a great young lady and makes me proud to be her Dad!
That pretty much wraps up my summer….whew. I will try to stay more on top of this as my season begins! Hope all is well with all of you and God Bless!
Jon
