An American Hero

“When I made it back (to the United States) I made a promise to God that I will never let the memory (of my fallen teammates) die,” “I thought I would keep their memory alive by writing the book and that would be it. I didn’t know I would be giving talks like this.” Marcus Luttrell

There are all sorts of heroes in this world. Some big, some small, some may be your own personal hero, some you may never know at all. They can be classified as a hero for a myriad of reasons. We often only hear about the "childhood" version of a hero, a character in a cape, or a famous sports player. The first is fictitious, and the second, well, generally, is not usually a hero at all, but just someone who is skilled at what they do. No offense to those sports personalities but we are all good at something, some of us just get recognized for it more than others.

But I'm talking about a real hero, the kind that embodies the honorable characteristics of what a hero should be, as the dictionary puts it: a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities, a person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life. An American Hero.

I met such a hero today, a real true patriot, a person who voluntarily chose a career to protect you and me. He sacrificed it all and will pay for it the rest of his life because of it. He's a larger than life giant standing at 6'5" but his 250 pounds is far less now as the lingering effects of his injuries have taken its toll.

If you are wondering who this "hero" is, his name is Marcus Luttrell. I'm betting that you have never heard of that name and have no clue who this man is. It wouldn't surprise me. For two reasons. First Marcus spent his career as a Navy SEAL. As with all special forces in the military you don't hear much about them because it could jeopardize their safety and the job they have to do. But I'm also guessing that you may not have heard of him because just like countless others who serve our country so faithfully every day, they are just generalized as "the military". When you do hear about them it's usually a pitiful blurb in a newspaper, or a number notating how many have died. It's quite a disservice to those who have given so much, who get so little in return in recognition for what they have done.


So who is the Marcus and why is he a hero? Well, if you want the full story you can read his book "Lone Survivor - The eyewitness account of Operation Redwing & the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10." You may not be interested in some military book, but what happened in this book has everything to do with you and me.

Marcus was the only survivor in what was the largest loss of life in the history of the SEALs (a total of 19 SEALs). It is nothing less than a miracle that Marcus is still alive. Losing his best friends and fellow SEAL teammates in a standoff with 150 Taliban, Marcus was injured almost beyond repair, among other things, a broken back, pelvis, smashed in nose, cut in half tongue, shot several times, legs marred with injuries with no feeling, crawled using his elbows for several miles while being hunted, later to be beaten by the Taliban, protected by Pashtun villagers, and eventually rescued (but not before 16 other SEALs who were sent in to rescue him were shot down by the Taliban). But that's not the only reason that he is a hero. Marcus painfully chose to recount what happened during Operation Redwing to honor the fallen heroes, his best friend's Danny Dietz, Michael Murphy, and Matt Axelson. What these men did was incredibly heroic. I can't recount their stories here, it still makes me cry.

Marcus doesn't consider himself a hero, a patriot yes, but not a hero. Contrary to SEAL folklore he said "I'm just a man, I do not wear a cape on my back"

Marcus was pleasant and more than willing to sign books and take pictures. Due to his injuries he had to quit after 30 minutes, but as he walked away he turned and told the University staff, "tell the rest to leave their books here along with their phone numbers. I'll come back and sign them and you can contact them so they can come pick them up" (all 450 of them). That is amazing.

I wondered if I cried because I'm a girl, but Kenny C. said he couldn't stop crying as he read the end of the book. Mike L. said it affected him too and Mate said "If anyone reads this book and is not effected then there is something wrong with that person." I will say, as I read the final moments of this operation I actually sobbed, not just cried but sobbed. I would love to read the book again but it was so emotionally charging for me that I've not had the strength pick it up again.

Our small band who made the trip, Candace, Karie, Kenny, Leah, and Laura. Michelle, Mate, Laura S., and Mike were not able to make it, and of course Celeste couldn't make it either.

So that brings us to today. Marcus is a native of the state I live in . He also lives in our backyard (not literally but about an hour north). He was scheduled to speak at the local University that graduated from. A handful of us piled in my van to attend his speech which was well worth it. We were lucky enough to get good seats and thanks to Kenny C. we were also able to secure a good spot in line for the book signing too. As I sat there I wondered why we as a people have a need to see such spectacular people in person, what is it that drives us to want to connect with those who have faced insurmountable battles? and then it hit me, in the situation with Marcus Luttrell, he is not only a hero, but a living representative of every man or woman who has served or lost their life serving our country, especially those in the special forces as they have the most dangerous jobs of all. He stands as a symbol of those we should be honoring, those who give so much so we can have even more. Marcus promised that if he survived he would never let Michael, Danny, and Axe's heroism die. He's done just that, and for this I'm thankful that he shared the story. The need to be there was this inner desire to say "hey, your story meant something to me, what you and those men did meant something to me, I get it, and I will never forget it."

"People make mistakes and bad things happen," Luttrell said, summing up the events, "We fought as hard as we could. My greatest honor was to serve my country."

Holly Luttrell, the horse whisperer and mother of twin Navy SEALs, Morgan and Marcus. She too was happy to sign our books and answered our questions.

You may never read his book, but here is some food for thought, below, in Marcus' own words. As you read it, think about it, 4 SEALs, 1 seriously injured, 3 dead, 16 other SEALs killed verses the 3 goat herders that they mercifully let go, who within moments were either part of the Taliban or notified the Taliban. Knowing this, don't be too quick to judge Marcus' opinions below. He was there.

“We had captured them (3 men) until we could determine what to do, when about 100 goats came up,” Luttrell said. “Despite what you may have heard, war is not black and white — it is very gray. “Those goats were the biggest instrument in our decision — we decided to let them go and pushed back to our original position.”

WHAT was the right thing to do on the mountain? In the book, Luttrell describes how the team talked it out, trying to find the best course of action. If they killed the men, they worried, the American media would get wind of it, and they'd be charged with murder. Luttrell wondered what great commanders in the past - Napoleon, Omar Bradley, MacArthur - would have done. "Would they have made the ice-cold military decision to execute these cats because they posed a clear and present danger to their men?" On the other hand, he felt the promptings of "another soul. My Christian soul." "Something kept whispering in the back of my mind, it would be wrong to execute these unarmed men in cold blood."

"It was the stupidest, most southern-fried, lamebrained decision I ever made in my life," Luttrell writes. "I must have been out of my mind. I had actually cast a vote which I knew could sign our death warrant. " At least, that's how I look back on those moments now. Probably not then, but for nearly every waking hour of my life since. No night passes when I don't wake in a cold sweat thinking of those moments on that mountain. I'll never get over it." He's certain the goatherds betrayed their presence to the Taliban. "In my opinion, we should have killed them," he says today. "I regret it every day. I miss my friends."

HE wrote the book to pay tribute to his friends' heroism, he said. "No matter what I say or what I put into words, it won't do justice to what they did out there."

... and as if it wasn't enough for Marcus to live through .. earlier this year he faced another horrific experience. Upon returning to the US in 2005, the government gave him a "recovery" puppy as he went through rehabilitation. He named the dog "DASY" the letters standing for Daniel "Danny" Dietz, Matthew "Axe" Axelson, Southern boy (Marcus), and Michael "Yankee" Murphy in honor of his fellow SEAL teamates and friends who died in operation RedWing. On April 1st of this year, a group of teenagers with nothing to do went around town killing animals. They shot and killed "Dasy", Marcus four year old dog, who helped him through recovery and the loss of his friends.

Upon signing our books, Marcus' message to us was simple. He signed "Never Quit - Marcus Luttrell"

Semper Fi

As a little boy Dustin liked tractors. He loved his grandpa's farm and all those cool farm "man-toys" that he could climb in-out-and-on, which he still enjoys doing. I had painted his room green, not because of John Deere, but to do something different from the standard "boy-blue" color.

My brother painted this on Dustin's wall. We framed it with some moulding.

I think the green walls somehow began to represent military fatigue green. Dustin's interest has turned towards the military. It might have started in 2005 when we had the opportunity to ride in our friend Turman's 6th Cav. WWII jeep in the local parade. Or maybe when he got to hold that huge bazooka, or when he learned about George Washington and the battles he led, or when he dug 4 little green Army men out of the Larsen's sand pit and held on to those men like they were worth a million dollars. Or it could just be one of those stages boys go through.

Honestly though, ever since I can remember, if Dustin saw a soldier in any type of uniform he would stop and take notice. So it is we've entered the "little green Army men" stage. For more than a year Dustin was focused on becoming an Air Force pilot. That's changed slightly as he would really like to fly the AH-64 Apache helicopter (because the helmet controls the gun.. quite fascinating really), especially now that he realizes that all the branches of the service have pilots.

2005 our family in the WWII jeep.

Back when I was a kid the Air Force provided posters that you could wrap your text books with showing the old "Aim High" Air Force motto. I thought it would be fun to get one of those to hang in Dustin's room. I searched the internet and couldn't find ONE SINGLE military poster. I did find a fighter jet calendar. $12.00 bucks. Not bad. Framed those, hung them up. Dustin was thrilled. I was feeling frugal. One autographed B1 bomber picture from author Chris Stewart. Still feeling frugal, but frustrated that I couldn't find any posters. Then an idea struck me..... "I wonder if the recruiter's have any?" One phone call and visits to the Marine, Navy, Army, and Air Force recruiter's later I'm loaded with posters galore. Each recruiter I visited told me not to worry, they have mom's coming in there all the time asking for stuff. (and I thought I had an original idea!) Dustin is now overjoyed with his military wall decor. Now lest you think that the recruiters were stingy, think again. I came home with a lot more than posters. Our last stop was the Army. Instead of just giving us a poster, they brought us back to the storage room and loaded us up with 2 grocery sized Army bags full of: pens, pencils, flashlights, umbrellas, cards, iPod holders, cups, backpacks, mouse pads, lanyards... you name it they gave it to us. They said they were out of the Army camp chairs otherwise they would have given us a few of those. It ended up being comical. When Celeste was here it seemed that every corner you turned in our house you would run into some sort of Army paraphernalia. The short of the long story, I'm still feeling pretty frugal. $12.00 calendar, few dollar frames and a bunch of free posters. Can't beat that price.

Fighter jets. The picture in the middle has an explanation, I'll blog on that later.

From Aunt Melissa a few years ago.

Dustin's hat collection. Army, Marine (3), National Guard, Air Force, Navy

There are more posters in the closet. I won't post those. They are the "cool" ones, uh, you know the ones with the "guns"

Anyway, this has been a fun stage for several reasons. For one, I LOVE history. World, political, and military history. I grew up around the military (not in my family, just the town I lived in) and have always been interested in it. So at least it's something I can interact with my son on. We can enjoy the Military channel together, or reading books like "Super Sonic Saints." At the same time I recognize that for a little boy its most likely all about being "cool". I mean really, who can look at a serviceman or woman in uniform and not get that "cool patriotic teary eyed I love my country feeling." At least I do. But to a seven year old a soldier carrying a huge M16 rifle just looks pretty darn "cool."

With that said, I've decided that I would teach Dustin the depth of history. Since I love history, instilling it in my kids isn't such a bad idea. I want him to know that being a soldier isn't about looking cool and carrying a big gun. I want him to know that it has to do with responsibility and honor, in protecting our freedoms and helping others remain or become free. That's a huge responsibility and often carries with it a heavy cost of sacrifice. While many boys glorify the ugliness of war while playing violent video games killing without feeling, Dustin is learning the importance of our military, with purpose, with feeling. He's learning about our country, its history, and those who sacrificed so much for it and for us. He's learning that there are a ton of careers in the military. I'm ok if he's excited about all the tactical gear, weaponry, vehicles, and machines. I get it.. because I love those things too. I'm just absolutely fascinated with the detailed aspects of the military.

But what I want Dustin to understand is that the super cool looking soldier carrying a M16 rifle, is someones son, brother, father, husband, cousin, or NEPHEW.... and for us, that is real. (not to exclude service women, add them to the sentence)

Tonight we made our last call to our nephew Jonathon. He's Dustin's hero, always has been. Somehow ever since Dustin was born and figured out who Jonathon was he's been his hero. Jonathon is the cousin that Dustin loves the most, looks up to the most, respects the most and wants to be with the most. Regardless of being a bit older Jonathon is the one that all of the other cousins will chase and love to be tickled by. He never seems to tire of their constant harassment to gain his attention. I'm sure Jonathon has his grumpy days but I've NEVER seen him grumpy towards the cousins. He's one of those patient, gentle giants towards them a natural born leader, they all love it, and we all love him.

Jonathon has always taken the time to interact with Dustin. He made sure his mom gave Dustin one of his Marine hats from boot camp, even though it was hard for her to give that second one up. That meant a lot too Dustin, and it is one of Dustin's most prized possessions which he wears often. When we would receive a letter, he would mention Dustin. If Jonathon calls he will always talk to Daria and Dustin too.

You might be wondering what I meant by "our last call." I'll explain. This Sunday, the 13th, Jonathon will be on his way to Afghanistan. We're not sure for how long or when we will get to hear from him next. We are all anxious as he will be going to the "hot zone." Jonathon in his calm positive manner told me earlier this year "well, that's what we've been trained for, that's why we are here." We are praying for his protection and will honor his decision to serve by being a little bit better, recognizing our freedoms more frequently, and remembering those who carry the weight of this country and other countries on their backs. We love you Jonathon!

the ultimate tickle!

Jonathon & Dustin

Conversation today....

Dustin "mom! can I buy my lunch at school tomorrow? 'cause I never get too.."

Daria "Dustin, there aren't a lot of healthy choices on the menu"

Dustin "YES! there's a salad!"

Mom "Oh, so you're going to buy a salad for lunch?"

Dustin "no, I want the burger"

Ok, it's not that I have anything against school lunches. I mean they do offer square meals.. (if you call white Wonder bread a grain and fried sweet potato fries a vegetable...) with a lot of extra choices (like Oreo's, chips, pizza, etc). Seriously, though, it's no big deal, it's just worked better for me to make what I consider a more delicious meal with quality ingredients for a lot cheaper, so that's what I've done. It has also taught my kids responsibility as for the most part, since Kindergarten, they've had to make their own lunch. However, Dustin will get to buy his lunch tomorrow. In our home it's sort of a "special treat" to buy your lunch at school, and yes, he's buying the all nutritious burger with fries... oh and a salad if they have one (he said).

Dustin and Daria on their way to Taekwondo. Notice Daria's "do we really have to take a picture fake smile"

With the onset of summer vacation my blog fell into the "postless" blog. Now with the onset of school, my blog is back in business.

We enjoyed a great summer ... AT HOME. Yep, no huge vacation (much to Karie and Celeste's dismay). Ken claims he's still too sore from the 5000 miles + that he drove on our super incredible vacation last year. WHATEVER! Our activities included delightful visits from family and friends, various activities and visiting places close by, much of which I'll post later.

This summer Daria and Dustin started Taekwondo. I always knew that when I had kids I would want them to take some form of Martial Arts. Ok, growing up I idolized Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris, but that's not why I enrolled them. Back when Daria was one year old, we visited my friend Jen G. during one of her Karate classes. I was impressed at the values that Martial Arts teaches the young students. What a great way to instill integrity, respect, self-discipline mingled with physical strength and courage.

I thought when I mentioned it to the kids that Daria would complain. I knew she wanted to try gymnastics, but I felt strongly that she needed to be in Taekwondo. She's smaller, going into 5th grade and will hit a lot of different obstacles as she is venturing on turning 11 years old. I want her to have the confidence to go along with all the values we are already teaching her. Surprisingly she did not complain when I signed her up. In fact she seems to be highly engaged in it when she is in class. She has however complained a few times since, but when she actually gets to class her whole attitude changes and I can see her rising to new potential.

Kia!!!! that's what they yell

Dustin. Well, it's almost just a given to enroll him. Dustin is such a ball of positive energy. But even positive energy can be too much sometimes. I felt that he needed a physical outlet coupled along with something that teaches those core values. Specifically respect and self control. This was the perfect fit and Dustin thinks it will give him a head start to be in the Special Forces one day (seriously people, this is what I live with! gotta love it). The other day he asked to play flag football. Since he's already in a sport (Taekwondo) I told him he would have to wait a year (that's how long they are signed up for). He then replied "well I think I just might do Taekwondo again instead of flag football." He really wants to get to a black belt (which will take longer than a year).

For the few short months that they have been in Taekwondo, it has been a bit magical to watch. When they broke their first "confidence" board you could actually see something light up and click inside their heads. I can see why they called it a "confidence" board. I even felt confident for them. This week they both earned their first black stripe on their white belts. At this school you have to earn 3 black stripes before you can test for the next belt. The stripes are earned during progress weeks. Again, I could see the sense of accomplishment as they both got their stripes. Another benefit...making goals and actually seeing the hard work through to meet the goal. It's all starting to make sense how this type of activity builds boys and girls.

Keo Sa Nim (this instructor rocks! He is so good with the kids) puts the black stripe on the kids belts

Now, on another note, regarding physical fitness. I am SOOOO amazed at what the instructors can get these kids to do. One evening while watching class I decided to write down exactly what they did for warm up. This is what I came up with. Ok parent's, read this list and try it out, see if you can do it. I challenge you! If you can't just know that a bunch of 8-12 year olds can.

20 jumping jacks
20 squat jumps
20 squats
20 knuckle push-ups
10 wide push-ups
20 forward back push ups (that's where one hand is forward the other back)
10 elbow plants
10 All 4's push ups (I'll post a picture of this. This is where you do a push up but you push your
whole body up in the air)
2 times running laps
2 times running knee dashes
2 times bounding run
2 times bear crawl
2 times crab craw facing forward
1 time gorilla walk with knuckles

Tired yet??? and this is just a warm up.

Daria doing one of the all 4's push ups. It's harder than you think!

Cooking negative 101

I've been pretty lucky. Ever since day one, both of my kids have been good eaters. I was one of those extreme moms who made all of my own baby food. Looking back on it I can't believe I actually accomplished that. A woman will do anything to justify quitting her job to stay home with her new baby. My logic was "think how much money I'll save by making my own baby food." I laugh about it now, but it really was one of the ways I cut costs in order to stay home.
I never went through the "I'm not hungry stage". You know the one, your 18 month old all of the sudden decides that they are no longer hungry and somehow miraculously survives on one bowl of cheerios per day, nothing else, and yet they still have an enormous amount of energy and their body still grows. I was not fortunate enough to experience that. In fact my kids always seemed to be hungry, and I took comfort in that fact that they would eat everything I presented them. Both of my kids loved eating cherry tomatoes as a snack at school and actually even like brussel sprouts.

Unfortunately those glory days are over. Not the eating part. Daria and Dustin still have a healthy appetite. The unfortunate part is that all of the sudden almost every meal in my tiny bag of recipes, disgusts them. Yep, I've entered the "I can't' stand that stage". Now this might not be a problem for the average Super Mom, but it's a problem for me. Why? Well, because I truly lack in the "cooking" arena. It's taken me 17 years to really become a good cook, and "good" has a lot of imagination in it. Cooking is not my favorite thing to do. Some of my friends love to cook, love to bake. I'd rather have some sort of set up like the Jetson's did, where you push a button and some homemade gourmet meal pops out of the wall. Since that's not an option, I find myself constantly struggling to find healthy, cost efficient recipes, and NOW, recipes that most the family likes. Meals that Daria LOVED she all of the sudden can't stand. The same goes for Dustin. Or better yet, Daria might like a certain meal but no one else, or Dustin likes what Daria doesn't. One thing I just can't succumb to doing is making a variety of options for one meal. I cook it, you eat it (sounds a little strict but seriously people, what do you do?). For the most part I try to cook what Ken likes. He's the one who works hard every day so we can even afford food, so I figure he should get first shot at the menu, and he never complains.

So the conversation usually goes like this. "Mom, what's for dinner tonight?" (I fantasize responding by saying "a knuckle sandwich" but due to better judgment withhold that comment). I then list off what I will be cooking. "Do we like that?" "Have we had that before?" or the most dreaded "Ohhh, I hate that " "But you used to love that" "well I don't like it anymore." Then, being the mom, I get the fun opportunity to be the "mean mom" and give the age old lecture of "when you are 18 you can cook what you want" or "people all over the world only get a bowl of rice every day, you should be thankful you have this dinner" Ok, actually I've not used those replies. I'd love to but haven't. I have however used the "when you start complaining about choices there's a big problem" (this is usually my response when Dustin looks in the pantry and complains that there isn't anything to eat for breakfast. There are always things to eat for breakfast, just not what he wants. Or he will say he's tired of the same old thing. I then find myself fantasizing again imagining myself feeding my kids oatmeal for a month straight so they can actually then appreciate the meals we do get to eat.......) I suppose I will just have to take a big deep breath and remind myself "that this too shall pass"....

Terabytes, hard drives, lamps and oil...... a lesson learned.. this story is not what you think it's about

I can't express to you how much I use my computer. You name it, that's what I use it for. I've been diligent about backing up my data automatically 3 times a week relying heavily on my external backup hard drive. I've been burned before and figured I'd learned my lesson.

Back in March I purchased a new computer. Remember, I thought I learned my lesson about backing up data. If I had learned my lesson from before I would have immediately hooked up my back up source. Instead, for the next few months my external hard drive sat on my desk staring me in the face and every day I would see it and think to myself "I need to hook that up and start backing up my computer". The truth is even if you've been burned before by losing data, even if you think you've learned your lesson, there are different variables that can trick you into thinking you're safe. In this case the variable was "this is a new computer so I shouldn't have any serious problems to worry about, yet." With that thought, I took the attitude of "I'll do it tomorrow"

Well, I'm here to tell you that "tomorrow" came, and no the data on my computer was not backed up. Fortunately I had the backups from my old computer up until the beginning of April, so only lost about 2 months worth of data. Losing 2 months of data, while painful, could be worse and it was worse. What I did not have backed up (among other things) WAS..................... the pictures that I took at Ken's parent's 50th wedding anniversary which they asked me to photograph. At first I wasn't too concerned. We popped that hard drive out and hooked it up like an external drive(because this usually works when trying to retrieve data from a hard drive). But this time the drive was dead. Gone. My two month old new computer's hard drive bit the dust, and along with it was the only set of pictures from a 50th wedding anniversary.

Imagine the feelings that Ken and I felt. It's that deep sick to the stomach, gut wrenching, despair, grief stricken feeling. For those who've lost a home to a natural disaster, I would assume it is similar to that. Something you will never be able to get back.

Now believe it or not this story isn't about losing data on a hard drive. This story is about something else I learned. During this dreaded weekend as I was researching my options an incredible impression came across my mind and I learned probably one of the most valuable lessons I would need to know or be reminded of and apply now. I pondered with amazement the depth of feelings over the loss of something material. Then as the Lord often does, he teaches me a lesson from things in the world about things beyond this world. In the book of Alma there is a reference to the fact that temporal things are related to spiritual things. Immediately what came to mind was the parable of the 10 virgins.

You know there were 10 virgins who were preparing for the coming of the bridegroom. All of them had lamps and all of them for a time were putting oil in those lamps and kept them burning bright. But because they didn't know when the bridegroom would come, 5 of them became lazy or procrastinated maintaining the oil in their lamps. They had the "I'll fill it tomorrow" attitude. I think they might have taken comfort in the fact that they had a lamp and knew where they could buy oil, just like I took comfort in owning a back up hard drive that I could schedule backups on. The problem is a back up drive that is not hooked up and scheduled is just as useless as a lamp without oil and burning. These thoughts rushed upon my mind and the spirit quietly said "Karie, are you doing the things that you should be doing to keep oil in your lamp and keep it burning bright?" I realized that this was a gentle reminder from a loving Heavenly Father to encourage me to make sure I am focused in the right direction and doing the things that will keep my testimony strong. Fortunately the answer is yes I'm doing my best. I thought about the painful feelings I had over losing those photos and realized that if it was that painful over a material object, how much more incredibly powerfully devastating would be the feelings I could feel when Christ returns and if my lamp was not filled with oil and burning bright. That was a very humbling thought. I think we all get our "lamp" when we realize that we've got the budding of a testimony. Then it's up to us for the rest of our lives to keep that lamp filled and burning by doing those things that strengthen our testimony and keep us on the correct path. Are we putting off for tomorrow what we could do today? Do we just let our lamps sit on our desk and think "I'll fill it tomorrow?" It was great a great lesson for me to be reminded of. Something I've always known but as most of us, need those gentle reminders to re-prioritize.

Ultimately for the price of an arm and a leg I was able to recover the data on my hard drive from these amazing guys at a data recovery company that recovers data for people like me and organizations like the FBI. Had those anniversary pictures not been on there I would have just swallowed my feelings and cut my losses, but a 50th wedding anniversary only happens once. What would you pay for that? and with that the last lesson I learned was that even though I was able to pay to recover the data, when tomorrow comes there won't be any "oil" recovery guys to run to if our lamp is out of oil.

Backup your testimony....

The Power of an OPINION, a RESPONSE, and a RECOMMENDATION ... cool things do happen.

The master mind behind Sam Brighton

That's right, one of the valuable lessons my dad taught me was that opinions can be powerful or at least matter. I remember once while checking out of a condo, my dad filled out the "opinion card" before we left, and while doing so, gave me some advice, "if there is an opinion card, fill it out." Yeah right. Do hotels, companies, restaurants , or people who provide services really read those things? According to my dad, they do, and gauging on my years of experience in corporate America I agree. How else do we know how to better our services?

Which brings me to the point of my story. Think your voice isn't heard? think again.

Late last year our book club began reading a phenomenal set of books titled "The Great and Terrible" by Chris Stewart. Phenomenal doesn't even come close to describing these books nor their content. How about thrilling, thought provoking, life changing, insightful, intense, gripping, eye opening, and moving, to name just a few. At times I felt that I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. Stewart has this incredible ability to weave a myriad of characters from different situations into a riveting story. These six books are at the top of my list of all time favorites. I could write an enormous blog post on the books themselves, but for the sake of time I'll leave it up to each of you to just pick up the books and enjoy them yourselves. You won't be disappointed.

I digress...As I said there are 6 volumes to this series. The sixth and unfortunately last volume, which was as well written and amazing as the previous 5, turned out to be my least favorite in the series. Why? well, because I just didn't want the story to end, nor end so quickly. It left me feeling like a freight train hitting a brick wall. Not a good feeling. In fact while reading the 6th volume I kept turning to the dust jacket reading the painful words "the exciting conclusion..." Really? how in the world can it end?

This brings me back to my dad's advice that those who provide services do listen to opinions. Well, ok, this is stretching it a bit, but hear me out, it's got a great outcome. Due to my complete unwillingness to accept that the series had ended I decided I was going to write a letter/ e-mail to this author, thanking him for writing the books AND "is it really over?, can't you write a few more?" As if my opinion would actually be read (wait, didn't my dad say it would?). Realistically what were the chances of me even finding his contact information let alone my letter getting into the right hands or even being read? Since the worst that could happen was my letter not being read, I figured I had nothing to lose. So off I went and wrote a letter.

The gals in the book club chuckled when I said I was going to write a letter to Chris Stewart. Now don't misunderstand, they weren't chuckling because they thought I was lame - because every one of them felt the same way I did about the books. They chuckled because they knew if there was anyone who would actually brave doing that, it would be me. In fact I think their words were "You should do it!". I'm not afraid to take the time to find a needle in a haystack and eventually found Stewart's work e-mail address. "Great" I thought. Bother a busy man at work, I'm sure he will appreciate that. My purpose was not to elicit a response. I really just wanted to express my enjoyment over the books and wishful thinking that the series was not over. So wasn't I blown away when I received an e-mail back from Chris Stewart replying to my "sob, sob, is it really over?" e-mail. How completely cool is that!

This brings me to another important point.

The power of a RESPONSE. Or better yet, kudos to Chris Stewart. Here is a man who is obviously busy. Owns his own company, has a family, writes books, speaks at Deseret Book programs, and most likely has a church calling. Yet amid that busy schedule, was willing to reply to some fan of his books, which he wasn't obligated to do. I'm probably not the first but who's counting. If I didn't have a huge respect for this man already as an author, well my respect for him multiplied tenfold. This guy knows the importance of his readers and didn't seem to spare any qualms about responding, which really made an impact on me that he takes his talent seriously. Wait... there's more. As it turned out Mr. Stewart was going to be in town for a Time Out for Women event sponsored by Deseret Book , where he would be one of the speakers. Not only did he respond to my e-mail but said he would be happy to meet our book club.

Meet the Book Club? Imagine the ideas brewing. If he's willing to meet us, would he be willing to meet "with" us? The prospects of meeting with an author of some super great books to ask any question you like was too tempting to resist. That's when Jen said "you should invite him to lunch." Thanks Jen, glad the pressure is on me again.

I sat at the dinner table discussing this with Ken. "I don't want this guy to think I'm stalking him, he's probably going to regret answering my e-mail. What do you think?" Ken looked at me like I was from another planet (because when it comes to being outgoing, Ken and I ARE from two different planets. But that's ok, I think Ken is often amused with my "I'm not afraid to talk to a stranger" attitude.) Then he said "Why not, you should do it." Ok, so the husband doesn't think I'm out of my mind, and again I figured the worst response I could get was a "no".

The "Book Club" with Chris Stewart.

Ultimately the quality of person that Chris Stewart is, continued to be top notch. Obviously he wasn't coming here to solely meet with some fanatic book club, we knew that. He had a lot on his plate with the day's events, but made a stellar effort to meet with us and somehow never tired of our multiple attempts. Lunch was probable but not possible. He invited us back behind the scenes, signed our books, answered what questions he could in the limited time frame that he had, and made every effort to meet with us after the event for a picture taking opportunity. Remember when I mentioned that he was a busy man. Well, to add to my "I'm already impressed with this author's willingness to reach out to his readers", in his e-mail he mentioned that he would bring something for dreamer-pilot- to- be-Dustin, Stewart himself being a previous Air Force pilot. Now I don't know about you but sometimes I can't even remember what I was supposed to be doing five minutes ago, let alone have some huge function to speak at and still remember I promised some 7 year old boy I would bring him something. Chris did remember and brought an autographed picture taken from the B1 bomber flight he was part of during his huge world record flight around the world, for Dustin. That now hangs on Dustin's wall next to all the other fighter plane pictures. It doesn't end there. Since Chris was unable to meet with us for a discussion, he said that any questions we have we could e-mail him. Seriously, it doesn't get better than this. Imagine how different this story would have been had he not responded. Well, ok there would be NO story.

Which brings me to my two last points.

The power of a RECOMMENDATION. This all started with Janalen, who met Chris last year and encouraged our book club to read the Great and Terrible series. One person. One recommendation. Guess how many people in our little circle have read it? TWENTY-THREE and counting. I can't seem to keep my copies at home as I continually get requests to borrow them. I'm hoping that my 4th volume that was autographed will make its way back to me! Recommendations can be a powerful tool. I hope we are helping keep the bread on the table Chris.

.....The power of CHANGE

I joined the book club at church for one reason. To get out of my comfort zone. I am purely a non-fiction reader who thinks that two of the best books ever written are John Adams by David McCullough and Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell (if you haven't read those books and you are an American, you SHOULD, every American should read them). I could read those books over and over again. Give me a book/biography/magazine on political/military/world history and you've got my attention. Sure I've read a handful of fiction before but it just doesn't wet my appetite.

However, while nursing my wounds that the Great and Terrible series was over, I realized that I liked Stewarts style of writing. He has primarily written military techno thrillers. So on a whim I ordered one, then the other, then all of them. I've not been disappointed. They are just as well written, enjoyable and as intense as the Great and Terrible's. The characters are believable, likeable, and sometimes sinister. In the process I found something new about myself. That I can actually enjoy fiction, well military fiction that is. I've always been able to soak up military stuff, and think I've found a new genre that I truly enjoy. Tom Clancy here I come?? who knows.

In the end, it would be really cool to have a couple of hours to sit down and be able to pick Stewart's brain on military, political, and religious stuff, but I won't push my luck and will just enjoy the fun turn of events that sending one "opinion" e-mail has brought about.

Thanks Chris! for writing super appealing books and valuing us as readers and answering my endless e-mails! Two years and counting dude, two years... and maybe.... possibly more GREAT...... and TERRIBLE??