O/T Humbled

jon f mn

Well-known Member
Last night I had to get an anual inspection done on my truck. In the shop is a hispanic guy working the counter. He is clearly exmilitary. His right arm is gone 8" from the shoulder, his left has a scar below the elbo that must have nearly cut off that arm too. When he stepped back from the counter I saw his right leg missing below the knee and his left leg had a scar that made the arm one look like a sceeter bite. It covered most of the bottom 1/2 of his leg. This guy was happy, and pleasant, and clearly the hardest worker in the place. I watched him lean down to use his stump to hold the paper so he could right on it like it was nothing, and run around back there in his false leg better than I do on two good ones. All I could think of was how I spent the last 2 weeks whining like a baby cuz I lost a few thousand dollars on a broken truck. More than a little humbling.
 
I knew a guy when I was a kid Black gentalman across the field from us. Lost just about his whole right side in WWII. Arm gone shoulder about half gone leg messed up bad,face scared up. But he was always happy and enjoying life. Never complained about what had happened to him. Told me that was what God had planned for him so he wasn't upset.

He had the respect of everyone in our town. Lots of us kids went fishing on his side of the lake. He taught us a lot about life. Made us kids turn out better. When he passed away. You couldn't get in the door for the service. Place was packed. Vets from three wars were his honor guard.
 
I have to give myself a reality check every time I start grumbling about things. When you get right down to it, I really don"t have ANYTHING to complain about.

James and I are way better off than a lot of folks and a lot of our military families.
 
Sometimes you need something like that to bring you back to reality about how insignificant your own problems are.

Our nephew and his wife adopted a Bulgarian girl who was born with only one leg. Her right leg is only a short stump. But it certainly hasn't slowed her down any.

She was about a year old when they adopted her, and now she's a beautiful young teenager. They've had prothesis' made for her, and naturally they have to make larger ones as she grows. One time when she was on crutches, I saw her get into a footrace with her sister across a parking lot and she almost won! I've never seen anyone move like that on crutches before. And she was laughing the whole way.

She's been an inspiration for the whole family. And you can't help but wonder what kind of future she would have had if she'd remained in an orphanage in Bulgaria.
 
Best pic I've seen about the Olympics was doube-amputee runner Oscar Pistorius "racing" a 5 yr old double amputee girl with similar "cheetah" style prostheses. Outstanding.
 
Guy up the road a few miles lost both legs in 'Nam. Watch him climb a ladder with a shoulder full of shingles, or whip himself and his wheel chair in and out of a truck to fuel it up. I don't know if I feel more sorry for Ernie, or he feels more sorry for me. But he can humble you just by knowing him.
 
Wow. All of these replies below about people who face such adversity in life with an attitude that is so much more than positive. Leaves me nearly speechless - Wow!
 
i know a man that lost a arm and leg in a corn snapper as a young man, it was amazing at the things he could do,now his age has slowed him down,was talking to another mans mother-in-law years after he lost his hand in a silage cutter accident she made the statement that she thought after the accident he wouldn't so hard,she said i believe it made him worse, she was my grandmother
 

had a married in cousin once (may still be around?) that was born with just a nub of a thumb and little finger on the right hand and and his left forearm stopped about halfway with nothin on it..... Unbelieveable the stuff he could do and I don't remember any modifications. He could shoot a rifle or shotgun as good as any of us, used power tools, handsaw, hammer, etc and keep up with the rest of the crew.

FF and we have a Warrior Transition unit in our community. Soldiers with different injuries (mental and physical) make it up. I get a kick outta watching them do PT with the soldiers in their units. See a formation running with a bunch of stragglers stringing behind, but a guy with a fake leg up frt leading the tight group.
 

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