This organization honors fallen soldiers with graveside wreaths
TUE, DEC 19
With over 1 million volunteers, Wreaths Across America has paid tribute to veterans with over 1.5 million wreaths at 1,422 cemeteries nationwide.
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Dunkin Donuts Employee Chased My Car
It is so easy to complain about service, so when an employee goes above and beyond good service into stunning actions, he deserves praise! Never so grateful to have someone chase my car before.
Having a rough day with a lot on my mind. I needed a good cup of coffee. Placed my order and the clerk thought the clerk had a great personality. There was an elderly lady ahead of me, who just wanted to talk. She didn't notice I was there, and when she did, she apologized. I told her it was ok and I was in no hurry. The clerk treated her with patience and respect.
I placed my order and left. I forgot one of the drinks but didn't notice. Next thing I knew, Guillermo was standing next to my car with the drink in his hand.
This is Guillermo Gerristen, an employee of Dunkin Donuts on Red Bug Road, Oviedo FL. He's the one who chased my car, not just into the parking lot, but on the next road while I was waiting for the light.
I had to go back to thank him properly, naturally with my camera since it was something that we just don't get to experience often enough!
Having a rough day with a lot on my mind. I needed a good cup of coffee. Placed my order and the clerk thought the clerk had a great personality. There was an elderly lady ahead of me, who just wanted to talk. She didn't notice I was there, and when she did, she apologized. I told her it was ok and I was in no hurry. The clerk treated her with patience and respect.
I placed my order and left. I forgot one of the drinks but didn't notice. Next thing I knew, Guillermo was standing next to my car with the drink in his hand.
This is Guillermo Gerristen, an employee of Dunkin Donuts on Red Bug Road, Oviedo FL. He's the one who chased my car, not just into the parking lot, but on the next road while I was waiting for the light.
I had to go back to thank him properly, naturally with my camera since it was something that we just don't get to experience often enough!
Thoughts and Prayers Mean Less Without Actions
Actions Save Lives, Thoughts Equal Silence
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 20, 2017
Call this what you will, but right now consider it as a confession from a Chaplain losing hope. It is getting harder and harder to believe that any word I can write here, will make enough of a difference. As long as people keep saying all kinds of things, the end result, shows more harm being done, than the good they may have hoped for.
Suicide is a heartbreaking end of a life. It is done simply because hope has been lost. How do we help them hang on if we simply think about them? How do we help them believe they actually matter, if we do nothing to even understand them?
Perhaps the most important question is, how does anyone expect to accomplish any of that by talking about a number from reports they did not bother to read?
I had another of those conversations with a PTSD veteran about the number everyone talks about. That twisted number of "22" referring to the number of veterans committing suicide. It was yet one more of those times when I explained the facts followed up by the data that was missing from the report. He said "22 a day is the number everyone knows" and he walked away soon after that.
Stunts tied to a slogan have done more harm than good, because talking about a number of veterans losing their battle with PTSD proves to another veteran hope may never be restored. What makes it worse is when they discover how many other veterans didn't matter enough to be considered within the number quoted.
The facts are out there and veterans are not that stupid. Believe it or not, most actually want to heal, so they do their own searching looking for answers.
Do the awareness folks understand what it is like for them to discover they were not even worth the time it took to read the reports or wonder enough to know if that was even accurate?
If you really want to change the outcome, it is time for actions and not stunts. PTSD is complicated. We've been researching it for decades and the answers are out there, but too many won't even look.
If you know a veteran who has you concerned, pick up the phone or spend some time with them. Buy them a cup of coffee. Offer to take them to have them over for dinner if they are alone, or take them out for lunch. Send them an email to let them know you're thinking of them.
All too often, we overlook what mattered to us when we felt lonely or forgotten.
If you belong to a veterans group, invite them to spend a couple of hours when the group.
Above all else, if you really want to make a difference, the next time you read any account on the "22" or "20" a day, please leave this simple question. "Did they even bother to read the reports?"
Nothing will ever change until prove we care enough to take action and stop repeating something that is not true.
Would you want to discover you didn't even matter enough for the groups to understand even the basics of how much suffering is out there?
Veterans considered life so precious they were willing to die to save someone else. These folks are not even curious enough to wonder why that changed.
More on this topic
Stop raising awareness without learning first
If Suicide Awareness worked, this wouldn't have happened
Vietnam Veterans Left Out of Awareness
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 20, 2017
Call this what you will, but right now consider it as a confession from a Chaplain losing hope. It is getting harder and harder to believe that any word I can write here, will make enough of a difference. As long as people keep saying all kinds of things, the end result, shows more harm being done, than the good they may have hoped for.
"Great thoughts speak only to the thoughtful mind, but great actions speak to all mankind." Theodore RooseveltIt is one thing to think something has to change. Quite another thing to know how to make it so. We cannot change what we do not understand.
Suicide is a heartbreaking end of a life. It is done simply because hope has been lost. How do we help them hang on if we simply think about them? How do we help them believe they actually matter, if we do nothing to even understand them?
Perhaps the most important question is, how does anyone expect to accomplish any of that by talking about a number from reports they did not bother to read?
I had another of those conversations with a PTSD veteran about the number everyone talks about. That twisted number of "22" referring to the number of veterans committing suicide. It was yet one more of those times when I explained the facts followed up by the data that was missing from the report. He said "22 a day is the number everyone knows" and he walked away soon after that.
Stunts tied to a slogan have done more harm than good, because talking about a number of veterans losing their battle with PTSD proves to another veteran hope may never be restored. What makes it worse is when they discover how many other veterans didn't matter enough to be considered within the number quoted.
The facts are out there and veterans are not that stupid. Believe it or not, most actually want to heal, so they do their own searching looking for answers.
Do the awareness folks understand what it is like for them to discover they were not even worth the time it took to read the reports or wonder enough to know if that was even accurate?
If you really want to change the outcome, it is time for actions and not stunts. PTSD is complicated. We've been researching it for decades and the answers are out there, but too many won't even look.
If you know a veteran who has you concerned, pick up the phone or spend some time with them. Buy them a cup of coffee. Offer to take them to have them over for dinner if they are alone, or take them out for lunch. Send them an email to let them know you're thinking of them.
All too often, we overlook what mattered to us when we felt lonely or forgotten.
If you belong to a veterans group, invite them to spend a couple of hours when the group.
Above all else, if you really want to make a difference, the next time you read any account on the "22" or "20" a day, please leave this simple question. "Did they even bother to read the reports?"
Nothing will ever change until prove we care enough to take action and stop repeating something that is not true.
Would you want to discover you didn't even matter enough for the groups to understand even the basics of how much suffering is out there?
Veterans considered life so precious they were willing to die to save someone else. These folks are not even curious enough to wonder why that changed.
Stop raising awareness without learning first
If Suicide Awareness worked, this wouldn't have happened
Vietnam Veterans Left Out of Awareness
Sikhs Believe Feeding Veterans Is Gift to God
For Sikhs in Sonoma County, to feed veterans is to give directly to God
Press Democrat
Chris Smith
December 19, 2017
**Totally awesome! Just made my day!
Press Democrat
Chris Smith
December 19, 2017
This is the 10th straight year that Sikhs wearing traditional turbans or scarves have graciously welcomed and fed veterans at a December session of Vet Connect, which each Tuesday provides a variety of services and materials to help people who served in the military.
Mandeep Nagra, right, welcomes veteran Jamie Fox to a vegetarian Indian lunch at the Veterans Memorial Building in Santa Rosa on Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Christopher Chung/Press Democrat
Indian cuisine is something Army veteran Joe LaFrance never tried before Tuesday, when he dug into a complimentary feast in Santa Rosa.
The buffet of chickpea-flour fritters, called pakora, with fresh mint sauce, and lentil soup, savory vegetables, yogurt, cumin rice, paratha flatbread, rice pudding and chai tea was prepared for military vets by members of the Sikh temple in Santa Rosa.
It has LaFrance, who returned from numerous tours of duty with post traumatic stress disorder, looking forward to his next Indian meal.
“It’s something new,” said the 54-year-old veteran of Desert Storm, Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq. “You get tired of eating the same food all the time.”
As he sat at a table at the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building and gazed at the more than 20 local Sikhs who spent hours preparing the food and invited all veterans to come and eat their fill, LaFrance said, “It’s nice to be remembered.” A leader of the annual luncheon is Dr. Mandeep Nagra, an internist who studied in Punjab, India, and practices at the Veterans Administration clinic in Santa Rosa.
He said a fundamental belief of Sikhs motivates them to provide food to people in need: To feed a hungry mouth is to make a donation directly to God.read more here
**Totally awesome! Just made my day!
Royal Green Jackets PTSD Veteran Suicide in Jail
War veteran with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder killed himself in his cell at HMP Liverpool
Liverpool Echo UK
Luke Traynor
December 20, 2017
Liverpool Coroner’s Court heard how dad-of-two Mr Duffey had made two attempts to kill himself in 2000 and 2011, and was discharged from the armed forces on medical grounds, 17 years ago.
Afterwards, Mr Duffey, from Wallasey, fell into a pattern of alcohol and drug abuse.
He was remanded into custody in 2015 for breaching his licence conditions, before he participated in an intensive six month scheme for “at-risk” prisoners.
The jury heard evidence that healthcare staff within the prison were not equipped to provide treatment for PTSD due to staff vacancies.
read more here
Liverpool Echo UK
Luke Traynor
December 20, 2017
John Duffey's mental health was made worse by bullying, drug use and debt, inquest told
A war veteran who suffered with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) following tours in Northern Ireland hanged himself at Walton jail.
Bullying, debt and drug use at the jail worsened the conditions that led former army corporal John Duffey to take his own life almost 18 months ago, an inquest heard.
John Duffey's mental health was made worse by bullying, drug use and debt, inquest toldThe 44-year-old, who had previously served with the Royal Green Jackets, was found in his cell on July 16, 2016, on HMP Liverpool’s J Wing.
Liverpool Coroner’s Court heard how dad-of-two Mr Duffey had made two attempts to kill himself in 2000 and 2011, and was discharged from the armed forces on medical grounds, 17 years ago.
Afterwards, Mr Duffey, from Wallasey, fell into a pattern of alcohol and drug abuse.
He was remanded into custody in 2015 for breaching his licence conditions, before he participated in an intensive six month scheme for “at-risk” prisoners.
The jury heard evidence that healthcare staff within the prison were not equipped to provide treatment for PTSD due to staff vacancies.
read more here
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