11-11-11 and the Cornelius Veterans Monument

Shortly after 11 AM on Veteran’s Day – 11/11/11 - as the jet aircraft vapors from the military flyover still lined the sky overhead, the mayor of my small town stood and proudly made a proclamation. To the hundreds of gatherers, including veterans from wars and conflicts dating back nearly a century, our mayor dedicated my town’s veterans monument to the community. It was one of those “I remember when…” moments to be sure. Sitting amidst a collection of veterans old and young, I could not have been more proud.

The monument includes the names of more than 1,100 veterans, living or deceased, who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, received an honorable discharge and live or have lived in Cornelius. The purpose of the veterans monument is for the Town of Cornelius to show its appreciation and to pay tribute to those who served, or are presently serving, our great nation in the defense of its freedoms. A 31/2-foot by 51/2-foot granite panel balances six white pillars. A stone podium and flagpole sit at the northern edge. It is a beautiful site.

A former mayor came up with the idea several years ago after an old veterans plaque was lost during the construction and relocation of the town hall. When he approached town administrators to upgrade the replacement to something that might stand in perpetuity, they agreed to contribute $50,000 if the community could raise the remainder. Citizens, town leaders and staff, business owners, police and fire fighters joined together in the fundraising efforts that spanned more than one year. Efforts included two poker runs, a gala, a charity softball game, a bar-b-que lunch, individual donations and more. Serious small town fundraising. Amazing community spirit. The effort got a significant boost when three area Rotaries joined together and donated the remaining $15,000. The final bill for the Cornelius Veterans Memorial Monument at Rotary Plaza was $186,000. Nice upgrade.

On that crisp and clear morning, I thought about what it means to have served. I remembered the day I raised my right hand and swore to defend the Constitution. I remember the weight of my commitment I felt the first time I was saluted as an officer. I remembered the exhilaration that pulsed through my veins after my first flight in a fighter jet. And I remembered how, after my spinal cord injury, I unwillingly became a member of a community I was not yet ready to enter.

Being a veteran is a privilege that I am now, 20 years later, just beginning to understand and appreciate. I didn’t fight in a war, soldiers alongside me did not die or lose limbs and I never felt the horrific terror that comes with staring down the barrel of an enemy rifle. I was never a prisoner of war and I don’t belong to one of those veteran organizations where you wear a certain medal, colored blazer or pointed hat. Very seldom do I gather with other veterans and share war stories over a cup of coffee but I am a veteran nevertheless. I am proud one, too.

And now, in Cornelius, North Carolina, on the shores of a lake I have called home for 17 years, I have a place where I can go to think, reflect, cherish, learn and remember. I have a place where I know I belong. As a citizen. As a member of a community. As a veteran.

During the Thanksgiving holiday a few weeks ago, I took my wife, Sarah, and my parents, Bill and Helene, to visit the monument. Our dog, Carly, came, too. I was happy we all visited together. I know everyone appreciated it. My Dad is a Navy veteran and we shared a sense of pride. Sarah and my Mom found my name immediately. And I think Carly had fun, too, even though she appeared to be more interested in barking at the motorcycles that drove through downtown.

Here are a few photos from our visit.

The monument is worth a visit. If you happen to be driving up or down I-77 just north of Charlotte, head east off exit 28 and continue straight about 2 miles. The Cornelius Veterans Memorial Monument at Rotary Plaza will be on your left just as the road ends. Pull off and park behind the town hall. Give yourself a few minutes and stretch your legs. I might be there thinking, writing or reflecting. Today is the 70^th remembrance of Pearl Harbor and I’m there right now. In the rain.

We, as Americans, are lucky to have the freedoms we enjoy. We all know that freedom isn’t free but sometimes we either forget or take it for granted. Maybe that’s just one reason why there are monuments like this. They help us remember.

And they will help future generations learn.

Bye.

I'm On A Bridge...

Speaking of my almost forgotten and overlooked trip to Pittsburgh for the National Veterans Wheelchair Games this summer, I remembered one more cool thing I wanted to share. OK, two.

Look off in the distance in the baseball stadium picture above. See the yellow bridge? No, not that one, the closer one. That's the Roberto Clemente Bridge named after an awesomely pioneering Pittsburgh Pirate baseballer. Google him if you forgot who he is. Anyway, there was a Veterans Games banner spanning the entire width of the bridge (see photos two and three). Long story short, I was rolling under it one evening on the way home from watching the Pirates lose and I noticed the dude in the racing wheelchair on the banner looked familiar. Yep, it is yours truly. I guess when you roll enough laps on the track over the years, a VA cameraman is bound to capture you. What an honor!

Ok, and here's the second cool thing. Outside PNC Park there are a few amazing larger-than-life statues. I focused my lens on a certain one (see photo number four). Remember Willie Stargell? Pops? He played his entire 21 year career with the Pirates including the years when I was a kid learning about baseball. He even won two World Series with Pittsburgh and was an MVP. (Don't hate me Boston, the Pirates are NL.) What I'll always remember about watching Pittsburgh were their cool hats and the "Stargell Stars" Pops awarded to teammates when they did something awesome. I bought a Pirates hat and colored the whole thing in with gold stars just so I could be like him. Willie was a leader in the truest sense. He was an unselfish player who put his teammates first. No wonder he is a Hall of Famer. That mustache rocks, too.

I was on a bridge and Stargell still rules Pittsburgh.

Bye.

Let the Games Begin!

I'm a bit late in sharing these photos (I'll admit it, I totally forgot they were even on the camera's memory stick) so please turn your calendars back to early August. The National Veterans Wheelchair Games made its 2011 stop in Pittsburgh and here's a riddle. What does a racer who is resting his overused shoulder do to keep busy and, oh yeah, compete? The answers (as depicted in the photos above) are as follows:

A) Hang at the Andy Warhol Museum
B) Chill with the *Real* Rocky and Franco
C) Attempt to throw the javelin (last time I threw the javelin was in high school)
D) Attempt to throw the shot put (last time I threw a shot put was when I was a kid trying to crush my sisters' feet).

I also played table tennis and tried my "Minnesota Fats hand" at 9-ball. What do I have to show for the efforts? Great memories, new experiences, 3 bronze medals and 1 gold in...wait for it...keep waiting...now sit down for it...9-ball. Actually, to be honest, I got my ass handed to me in the Class 1B Gold Medal 9-Ball Match by a British dude who, I think, lives for the sport and a-r-r-i-v-e-d already covered in chalk (I'm guessing he spent the morning practicing on a super top secret, hidden table), but since the Veterans Games, being internationally friendly, awards double golds whenever an American and either a Brit or Puerto Rican vet compete against each other, we both came away with gold. I certainly missed competing on the track but a healthy shoulder and staying away from the sweaty endurance stuff was more important.

We will see what happens in the next months as the 2012 Games in Richmond, VA, draw closer. Who knows, maybe I'll revisit my Veterans Games nemesis...the slalom. Or maybe not.

Bye.

In Search of Incredible

If you have just 5 or 6 free minutes, can I ask you to check out this video please? It's a pretty cool shoot with Jason Mraz and a friend of mine named Jessie Billauer. A few years ago, Jessie and I were exchanging stories of how we were injured and it turns out the waves, water and sandbar of the Gulf of Mexico (in my case) and the Pacific (in Jessie's case) came together in the same fashion and tossed us both around the same way. We both broke our necks when we hit the bottom. Jessie's a pretty laid back and open guy and I think you'll appreciate his purpose for living. His outlook always brings me back to the beauty of each day and reminds me that if we don't live in the today, there won't be a tomorrow.

Bye.

A Life-Affirming Honor

Every, well, once-in-a-lifetime, something amazingly life-affirming rolls your way. It gives meaning to the countless hours, days, weeks, months and years we plug away doing what we're doing to simply keep the train called life heading in the right direction. Earlier this month, Tufts University awarded me their highest athletic honor and it wasn't for my otherwise average stint on the Jumbo varsity soccer team, rugby team or intramural fraternity basketball team over two decades ago. It was for what I have done since. After I broke my neck.

As the 2011 recipient of the Tufts Athletics Distinguished Achievement Award, I humbly join a few familiar Boston sports folks including Red Auerbach, Joan Benoit-Samuelson, Curt Gowdy, Johnny Kelly, Dave Cowens, Nancy Kerrigan, John Hannah, Gino Capeletti, Johnny Pesky, Bud Collins, Kristine Lilly, Dan Duquette, Lisa Lax, Nancy Stern, Robert Kraft, Don Megerle, Jen Toomey and Bobbi Gibb.

I'm humbled beyond belief and my life is, again, altered.

Here's the video that introduced my keynote address to the homecoming athletic family.



Bye.

The Kayaking System - 2011

During the summer of 2010, I was introduced to all thee gadgets and gizmos of adaptive kayaking during a clinic at the National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Colorado. Up to that point, my experience with adaptive kayaking had been camping seats and duct tape. Having heard incredible stories from a disabled friend who kayaked the entire length of Alaska's Inside Passage, I knew I wanted to give it a try as soon as I saw the real possibilities of the sport. The equipment I used - a kayak with outriggers and an adapted seat complete with a backrest, cushion and lateral stabilizers plus a paddle rigged with quad friendly wrist grips - opened my eyes to the enjoyment of cutting across the surface of the water and enjoying the sights and sounds of nature.

When I returned home, I began working on developing a system for our dock that let me independently enjoy the sport right in our backyard. Instead of launching from a beach or shoreline, I figured if I could put the boat in the water then simply lower myself from the wheelchair in to positioned kayak, I'd be good to go. I first got the idea from seeing how Shake-A-Leg had modified their docks to help disabled sailors get on their boats and I customized it a bit.

The photos below show the system I developed and began using this summer. The key to the system is a battery powered lifting device called "Sure Hands" that effectively grabs me under the arms and lifts me from the chair. Two hooks positioned under my knees ensure my legs come along, too. The system works via an attached remote control. Once I'm above the wheelchair, I grab the horizontal rail to swing out over the water, lower myself down into the kayak, unhook my legs and simply push the "Sure Hands" out from my under my arms. I get myself comfortably situated and then head out onto the water. More practice will help improve timing, balance and comfort and hopefully by next summer, once I learn how to move in a straight line, I'll be able to begin my journey right in the back yard and kayak all the way to Alaska. Or maybe the Outer Banks. Or maybe the swamps of the Deep South. Or maybe the Wailua River in Kauai. Who wants to come?

Bye.

Mike

A look back at No Barriers Summit 2011

Many of you know I volunteer as a Director of No Barriers USA, a unique non-profit that helps increase the opportunities people have to get active and experience the many facets of the outdoors. We are about art, music, culture, science, technology and, of course, sports. One of the bigger events we orchestrate every two years is a huge outdoor "festival" type event we call the No Barriers Summit. Here's a little summary video of our 2011 project held in Winter Park, Colorado, in early July. It was a special few days in the mountains. Enjoy...




Bye.

Mike