Waaay back in the beginning, there was a lady who went by the nomme de blog “Fuzzybear Lioness”…
Fuzzybear Lioness was a diminutive school music teacher who was having a tough time of things, but still found time to try to understand the mindset of warriors. She solicited insight from such notables as Neptunus Lex (“aged king” my foot, skipper!!!), and The Veterans of Castle Argghhh!!!, John Donovan, Dusty the Warthawg Pilot, and Chief Bill the Rotorhead. She even tapped into my brain housing group. Along the way she met up with the likes of Chuck, Captain “Z” of From My Position… On The Way!
And then the nightmare hit…
In June, 2005, Chuck got himself “blown up real nice” (that’s the term we use today among the Bonecrushers)…
Once the smoke cleared, and Chuck had been pulled out of the canal by his XO, ( CPT Jason Spencer, a hero in his own right) he was found to be missing some pieces/parts. They shipped him out of Country and into the medical pipeline to the States. Once there (to make a long story short), they patched him together, and got him mostly out of danger. Because of his wounds, he couldn’t tippity tap on the keyboard of his laptop, and a gracious soul sent him a voice activated program, with which Chuck was able to get on the Internet, research his own recovery options, and let folks know that he was still alive…
Fuzzybear caught wind of the idea, and turned it into VALOUR-IT…
And Soldier’s Angels caught wind of Fuzzybear…
And the rest, as they say, is history, which pretty much unfolded before my eyes, being one of the original backboards off of which Fuzzybear bounced the idea (remember that… This was 2005 - Pre-National Guard days for me…)
But wait, there’s more…
You see, Soldier’s Angels was started as a grassroot support the troops movement by Patti Patton-Bader, who, you may recall, won a recent competition in the military division of “America’s Favorite Mom”, and she used her winnings to fund care packages to the deployed troops.
Well, here’s the fun and ironic twist…
I’m the company mail-dude, and we received this in the mail right before Christmas:
And looky who sent ‘em!
Care to comment on how funny Fate can be? Who’da thunk it?
Thanks Patti, the guys appreciated the love from home…
December 29th, 2008 - 17:00
Thank you for sharing this story and for all you do!!! Hooah!
December 29th, 2008 - 17:58
That seems like such a long time ago. I remember reading Carren’s posts from that time and yours and FbL’s. SA has grown so much…and it remains the best thing I’ve ever done…ever. I’m grateful for all our Military…and I’m grateful that SA has given me the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than myself.
December 29th, 2008 - 18:56
That is so cool.
Yes, it’s been a long, strange (but very wonderful) trip…
December 29th, 2008 - 22:39
I remember reading Chuck (and loving his humor) before the event, and following the updates from Carren after. That so much good has come from that rotten day is a testament to the spirit of all involved – Chuck & Carren, and especially FbL.
I know my life is richer for knowing all of you
December 31st, 2008 - 11:20
Heh. I just realized that it goes back even further–to the end of 2004. B, it’s been four years since I did something crazy and emailed someone I only knew from a comment I had just read on a milblog… wow.
December 31st, 2008 - 19:00
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the blog post From the Front: 12/31/2008 News and Personal dispatches from the front and the home front.