One More Thing...

“For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.“ -- Romans 8:24, 25 • Thanks to all of you who have been gently urging me to get back into the newsletter business. I have been concentrating on my rehabilitation and settling into living by myself in my apartment in Sioux Falls. Char and I decided that living here is the best thing for me right now as I am close to the VA (where I am treated like a rock star) and close to two outstanding civilian hospitals. My health is my number one priority, so being close by to the requisite services is prudent. Our house is not handicap accessible, and making it so is cost prohibitive right now. We will keep praying and humbly ask that you do the same. • I have my 50th college reunion coming up at the end of September. I am excited to see many of my classmates, probably for the last time. One develops two very strong allegiances when one goes to a service academy. The first allegiance is to the institution, but the strongest allegiance is to the class. I am closer to some of my classmates than I was to many of my family members. Over time, many pass on. I have lost most of my closest friends, though there are still many, many more with whom I have a strong bond. When one goes through so much with others, those bonds are strong and remain so.

I was blessed in that I never let the classroom get in the way of my education. I was not the best book student at the academy. I wanted to experience as much as I could, so I did as many extracurricular activities as I could. Thus, I got to know nearly all of my classmates on a personal level. Those connections, outside the classroom, allowed us to share common interests. When people associate voluntarily, those bonds are likely to be stronger than those formed through mandatory association. What a concept. I did everything from singing in the Cadet Chorale to feeding the falcon mascots to jumping out of airplanes just for the fun of it (32 jumps). I was on the rally committee, was stage director for the annual talent show, helped run large political science conferences and was a walk-on to our football team. My time at the academy was the most important four years of my life. I treasure those memories. • I am now able to walk with a walker. I’ve made a great deal of progress while at the VA and at Touchmark (where I live). Today, for example, I got up, had my coffee, watched my religious sermons, did my in-room exercises, went to the gym for a workout, came up to the apartment for lunch, started working on this newsletter and took off down the hall to feed the two dogs on the floor some special treats. I am a walking, breathing miracle—a clear demonstration of the power of prayer. • Pray for our men and women in uniform. Their plight is perilous right now. We need to pray for strong Christian leadership in the ranks. It’s always worked in the past, and that leadership will carry our men and women forward.