Pow-wow with the Governor

[Thumper]

Just received a couple'a pics of the Governor and me (and Lynn) gettin' my "you're a hero" medal last month. :D

S'posed to autograph a couple of 'em and send to me later. I gots ta' admit, it was kind'a cool. Nice guy ... for an ex-Navy dude. ;)


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[Buckrub]

Good for you.............thank you for your service, and you are ugly.

[Thumper]

... and FAT! :(

[Niner]

Tell us some more about this Hero thingy.

[Captain]

Very cool. Congrats Jim and like Bucky said thanks for your service.

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

[LJ3]

Very nice Jimbo! You da maing!

Niner, the medal was for a KFC eating contest, not much of a big deal.

[LJ3]

Niner, you can get up to speed with this thread (http://www.goodhunting.info/showthread.php?5106-Off-to-meet-with-the-Governor&highlight=thumper+medal).

[BarryBobPosthole]

Dang, I was going to tell Niner he got the award for being a sandwich.
BKB

[Thumper]

Ha! Bite me P-hole! I gots ta' admit ... I had to think about that one for a couple minutes before it hit me. ;)

Silly as it may sound ... I kind of connected with the guy a little bit. He gave a short speech before the presentation which I expected to turn into nothing more than a campaign speech for the upcoming election. But he never once sounded like he had a political agenda. He seemed sincere in what he was saying and I kind of connected with that. We're the same age (born same year), graduated h/s the same year, we both went to college for a year and we both entered the military the same year, so we both went through the Vietnam mess. (and his dad was a truck driver!)

Where I really connected was when he told the story of him getting out of the military. He spoke of how unpopular "we" were back then and the crap he ran into when he came home. It REALLY hit home with me. I went to S.E. Asia and stayed for over 3 years, never once leaving until I got out of the service and came home. A lot was going on "back home" in those years, but hey, it was all "foreign" to me! Let's just say, I didn't have much of a welcome when I landed in the U.S. I grew up watching WWII movies and old news reels where the GI's were treated like hero's when they returned home. Ticker tape parades, cheering crowds, dancing in the streets, etc. etc. "My" war ended and when I came home, I ran into a crowd of long-haired punks at the San Francisco Airport who said some pretty nasty things ... then continued taunting me. I was in my dress greens and walking beside a Light Colonel at the time. When I'd endured enough of the verbal abuse, I reached the point I was gonna deck these punks and the Colonel grabbed my elbow, told me to keep my head high, don't say a word and walk a straight line. I followed his advice and am glad I did, because I have no doubt whatsoever I would have ended up in jail on my first day home in almost 4 years.

I'll be honest here ... it took me many years to get over that little episode and as you might be able to tell from this post ... I've actually NEVER gotten over it. It's ALWAYS in the back of my mind and it's pretty hurtful. Anyway, the Governor had a very similar story and talked about it before the presentation. It really hit home with me and I honestly felt a bit of a bond with him. It made me appreciate the award he was handing out even more because I felt it came from his heart instead of being simply a political photo op (which is what I "thought" it would really be). It may sound a bit goofy and the "medal" is strictly symbolic ... but I think it means more to me than the "real" medals I was awarded in the military.

[Bwana]

As I said before Thumper, THANK YOU for all that you did and the medal is well deserved.