Life Keeps Rolling

https://www.leadthewayfund.org/honor-our-fallen/ SGT Cameron Meddock showed up to battalion at a weird time for me. I was injured and working on moving companies and I had seen a lot of new guys come and go. Cam was not one of those guys. Some people show up and you just know. Cam was such a nice and genuine dude. We could sit around and shoot the shit and goof off about all things Texas with my best buddy Jason L. Upton and then watch Cam’s demeanor completely shift at the range. Put a weapon in his hands and tell him to perform and perform he did. Cam excelled in all things Ranger and it was humbling to witness before I left the company.  SGT Leandro Jasso was a great example of the grit that it takes to excel in Ranger Bn. We were privates together in 1D, and competition between squads was alive and well. I will always remember the wrestling match that we had right before pre-deployment leave and the subsequent shiner that I brought home with me from a swift boot to the face. You

Being the youngest of 3 has its ups and downs. Zach and Josh always got the back seat of the van. Zach and Josh had the big bedroom, and to top it all off, they had the TV in their bedroom! Back then it seemed unfair that they received special treatment and I didn't. As I grew older I learned to realize that our possessions aren't what define us. Looking back on it, it doesn't seem justified to think that they had it great and I didn't. Guess who got to go food shopping with mom and pick ANY candy that I wanted? Yeah, me! Because of their negligence I was given a much later (and realistic) curfew.  I think an issue that we have as a society is that we tend to not live in the moment. Huge corporations go under, presidential candidates announce their run for office, wars get waged, people get life threatening injuries and only then do we take a step back to realize that things were better before.   Josh joined his war and started his army career with Basic traini

“The jealous are troublesome to others, but torment to themselves” - William Penn Torment is a pretty good way to describe feeling jealous. It’s a normal reaction... wanting something that is not yours. Normally it involves wealth, vehicles, simple pleasures... tangible items. What about body image? When I was a skinny little teenager all that I wanted was broad shoulders, a defined chest, abs and biceps. When I was a broke army private all that I wanted was better living conditions and more respect. When I was hauling ass on my motorcycle and maxing out my RPM’s on the highway all that I wanted was a bigger Harley Davidson with a sixth gear. When I became paralyzed all that I wanted was a working body. At first, everything made me jealous. The simplest things, just because I was now unable to do them. Someone opening a door by themselves. Someone opening a bottle of water. Someone using their hands for literally anything. The ease of someone getting in and out of a vehicle. Someone be