patrick.net

#thanksgiving2020 I want to talk about being thankful. Excuse me, for one moment I need to talk about a very unpleasant subject-being under hostile fire in a war zone. Most war movies do not get it right. The most terrifying part of the experience is the incredible noise level from weapons firing and jet aircraft launching attacks overhead. Every now and then, an AK-47 bullet comes so close to you that you can literally feel the wind off it. What I felt in moments like that went beyond fear. For me, it was the most inadequate feeling that I could have as a human. One has to be stoic. One has to practice incredible self-discipline. If you panic, you die.

At the end of the patrol when I was back in my cubicle in the barracks, reality set in with the following words:

"Oh my God there was someone out there with a real gun firing real bullets at me."

I was emotionally devastated and drained after that. One night after a patrol I was standing up and urinating. I fainted.

After what we have gone through in this year, the same words go through my mind again. Elena and I did not get infected this year. Elena and I did not lose our employment. Elena and I did not lose our house. Oh, thank you God for protecting us from all the awful things that have happened to millions around the world!!! I suspect that most of the rest of you were blessed and protected by God in whatever form this deity takes for you.

I will leave you to reflect on this!