What is bravery?

People have told me, on occasion, that I’m brave or that I was brave at some time in my past. I guess I was when I think about it, but I know what really is brave when I see it. You can recognize it in others better than in yourself.

I am supposed to be outside painting while my wife sleeps. It’s a beautiful sunny day in Minnesota and I delayed going out to get to work “while the dew baked off” or some silly nonsense like that. In fact, I just wanted to eat some Mexican cookies from Don Pancho’s Bakery (sorry, no website I could find) and drink my coffee to wake up. While nibbling (* OK, gorging*) I flicked on the Military Channel. And I saw bravery.

In 1969 there was a horrible fire on board the U.S.S. Enterprise while she was on her way to Vietnam. 28 sailors died in the fire and explosions. I sat crying while I watched them head back to fight the fire time and again. I knew what they felt but only from a distance. I’ve been on ships and subs that had fires. You fight it or you die. It’s that simple. You can’t just “leave the building” and wait for the fire department to show up. You are the fire department. (And, for the record, I was never part of those hose teams. I was always a “rider” and we were rather specifically told not to get in the way unless nobody else was there to deal with a casualty.)

I realized watching this documentary that bravery is sometimes as simple as doing the right thing even when you’re scared to death. It’s taking the next action and the one after that even when you know you’re going to die. It’s putting others above self.

Jesus did that for us. His was the ultimate bravery as he allowed himself to be forsaken by the Father so that we might attain eternal life in Heaven. He fogives us our sins and makes that allowance for us being human.

Amazingly, the United States Navy did the same thing with the Enterprise fire – they realized that nobody was responsible, it was a failure in design of some equipment and they didn’t go after the crew. Times have changed. I’m sure that now the Navy would ruin at least two or three innocent sailors and besmirch many others in their “Zero Defects” mentality. Maybe a little bit of forgiveness is in order when bad things happen. The reality is that many of the really awful things we experience were not willful, or even caused by neglect. They simply are a culmination of things resulting in tragedy.

But, back to heroism. I salute the crew of the Enterprise. I salute the brave men and women who serve today around the world. And I thank God for his forgiveness.

Back to the shorts!

Congratulations to all the Genesis Finalists!

I’ll be resuming my normal semi-homeless attire immediately.

2012 Genesis Finalists

Here are the finalists for the 2012 Genesis Contest.
Winners will be announced during ACFW’s annual conference gala in September in Dallas.

Contemporary Fiction
Michelle Massaro
Anne Prado
Chris Storm

Contemporary Romance
Brenda Anderson
Amy Matteo
Cindy Wilson

Historical Fiction
Nancy Kimball
Kathleen L. Maher
Terri Wangard

Historical Romance
Karen Barnett
Brandy Vallance
Becca Witham

Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rich Bullock
Christen Civiletto Morris
Matthew Sheehy

Romantic Suspense
Arlene Coulter
Kelli Hughett
Pat Trainum

Speculative Fiction
Caleb Jennings Breakey
Carla Laureano
Amanda G. Stevens

Women’s Fiction
Susan Hill
Rachel Moore
Erin Taylor Young

Young Adult
Kathleen Freeman
Teresa Lockhart
Rondi Olson

Congratulations to all who participated in the 2012 Genesis Contest!

These are my Big-Boy pants. I must remember to wear them this week.

I normally wear shorts all summer. This week I’ve had to drag out the Big-Boy pants. Why? Because the fine people at the American Christian Fiction Writers have delayed the announcement of the Genesis contest finalists.

Originally scheduled for the 28th or 29th (depending on whether you believed the email or the website) the announcement was… well it was announced yesterday that the real announcement was postponed indefinitely, but hopefully really soon.  I swear, you could literally hear millions of hair follicles scream in agony across the nation as hair was pulled out by the roots in the privacy of dozens of author’s homes and work places. Kind of like when the Vulcan ship is wiped out and Spock cringes at the console on Star Trek from the scream of 400 souls being lost on the USS Intrepid.

 

As I pointed out to a colleague who is also a semifinalist, Galatians 5:22-23 is a wonderful passage but employing it in a contest with such high stakes will test the hoobie-joobie right out of your faith.

So, I put on my Big-Boy pants and I’m going to keep smiling. I only checked my email and voice mail once today. I will try to maintain that again tomorrow. Friday all bets are off. I’m going back to shorts.

Memorial Day 2012.

It’s come again. The day when we honor our fallen as a nation.

That sums up my feelings pretty precisely. I’ll spare you the screed about mattress sales, car sales, liquor store events, and special discounts on patio umbrellas this “holiday” weekend. I take the holiday and view it as  Holy Day. I spend this weekend honoring my comrades. I understand why many don’t “get” the day or what it means to people like me, but it still galls me that far too many view it as an opportunity to get in an extra round of golf and nothing more.

I have friends who went out and never came back. Friends and colleagues who died as a result of what they did for this country. I’m counting those lost to suicide and depression from the stress and strain of the lives we led on active duty as having fallen in the line of duty. The list of the fallen I know is growing far too rapidly. It started with two classmates in the Navy over 25 years ago who crashed on the deck of a carrier, skidded over the edge and were never recovered, and hasn’t ended yet. I like the video posted above, but it neglects the Cold War. Many brave men died in that conflict on forgotten outposts and in silent combat far from the publics’ eyes. Lest we forget, we won that war, defeating the monsterous evil that was the Soviet Union.

Monday I will get up early, go and have breakfast at Mickey’s and then head home to shower, shine my boots, and put on my jacket and tie. I will proceed to Resurrection Cemetery and lead the military service after the Catholic Mass. I consider it an honor to be allowed the opportunity to speak on behalf of my comrades to the assembled people.

Please don’t misunderstand me, but Monday is not the day to honor the memory of your Grandmother Alice who never served in the military. Do that on her birthday or the anniversary of her passing. Alice was undoubtedly a fine woman but she’s not the reason for the day. If you would like to get a flavor of what the day is about take a trip to a local military cemetery. Gaze out at the rows of uniformly spaced white stones that represent marching legions of defenders fallen in defense of our liberties. If that’s not possible geographically, head to your nearest cemetery and look for a military headstone. There’s lots of them out there, usually plain vanilla with name, rank, branch of service, etc.

Take a minute to look for the ones where they passed away during a period of conflict, usually as a young man or woman between 17 and 40 years of age. Give them a moment’s reflection and consider who they might have been, and the fact that they gave their life so that we may live our lives in freedom.  They were once alive, young, vibrant, and looking to the future. They trained and went forward when ordered to do so, many of them volunteers. All of them, even the ones who were scared to the core of their being, were brave beyond measure. They saw their friends go down around them and kept on going until they paid the ultimate sacrifice as well.

I suggest that this weekend you spend ten minutes in quiet contemplation of what these warriors gave to preserve our nation. And then go online to a reputable military charity and make a donation so that the living have a bit of comfort in their service. I annually donate to a charity this time of year to honor my comrades. A few of the places that I spend my coin are listed below. Each of them is a reputable charity with a good record.

God bless those who have fallen.  God bless those who serve.

Recommended Charities:

http://www.soldiersangels.org/

http://www.fisherhouse.org/

http://www.uso.org/