Saddle up boys and girls. Today is a strong message that has been 46 years in the making. Your attention span is short so I won’t waste time playing with your mind while I finally get the to point. I recently went to Washington DC and absolutely loved most of it. My hotel was insanely expensive and the staff was 50% stupid, but that makes sense because half the government is made up of morons. We can argue which half another day because your opinion like mine means nothing. This message today is for 100% of the people so I hope you find some pride in it and possibly share it with others. Yeah I’m asking for you to spread these words I’m writing today. Please.
I called my Dad and told him I was in DC. He immediately asked if I was going to visit the Vietnam memorial or wall as some call it. I’m a bit ashamed to admit that I hadn’t thought of it before he asked, but I’m sure I would have. My visit there was very last minute and my first goal was to see the White House. When I got off the phone I wondered how I could be so dumb to not have that as my first stop, but I’m far from perfect as all of you already know. I decided then to do something special although I wasn’t sure what that would look like.
My Dad aka My Hero graduated high school in 1967 and I doubt any of his teachers would have called him gifted in academics. Ironically the movie the Graduate came out in 1967 FYI. College wasn’t in his immediate future, but I can attest that the man is incredibly smart when it comes to things that matter. You want it fixed, he can do it. You want it shot, he will hit it with the first bullet. You want a story told with pizazz, he is your guy. You want someone with heart to listen to your problems, there isn’t a human alive with more caring in his words. With college out of the question and a questionable night driving a fast car he was volunteered to the ARMY, 1st Air Cavalry. This country was at war in a far off place and he said “I’ll Go!”
What happened over there was awful. I’ve read many books to try and understand what he went through, but none of them are enough. I call it the great/horrid theory. Try describing a great sunset to someone that wasn’t there even with pictures. You always end up saying “you had to see it, the pictures don’t do it justice.” Now think about someone trying to describe absolute horror. Even with pictures and all the adjectives in the English language we can’t begin to understand the disgustingly awful things these 18 year old boys had to endure. The books I have read made me want to throw up and that is just someone relaying the experience. You can’t let experiences like those go no matter how much substance you take. Some went to drugs, some went to alcohol, some just took their lives, and all of them lucky enough to come home were forever changed.
I decided to make a sign and hold it up at the wall as a tribute to the sacrifice my Father and others made in that far off country that now manufactures corporations products dirt cheap. We can talk about that second part another day. 58,220 Americans died in that awful war. Many of you, like me read that number and breezed right by it, but when you see that wall with the tiny letters engraved into it and how freaking big it is that number hits different. Very different. To me I saw 58,220 families that never were. FknBucky’s that never got to get born because they were lost in an argument. It makes me cry when I think about it. My father was one of the lucky ones that survived and was able to over come all of the horrible he witnessed to start a family. That doesn’t mean he is perfect. In fact he will be the first to admit he made mistakes along the way, but he is still here which is a testament to his incredible strength and I love him for it.
I drove to Staples and got a large poster board, a metal sign stand, and some markers to take back to my hotel. I then made my sign free hand and accidentally drew the N backwards as you can see in the picture. I should have bought a spare board, but sometimes when things are done on a whim and from the heart they are imperfect. I then headed out from my hotel for the 1 mile journey to the Vietnam memorial with my stand, poster, and service dog. I didn’t really take into account how difficult that was going to be, but I had already committed. I know this is a long blog today, but I assure you the ending is worth it so stay with me.
I rolled up and found a respectful place to set up. I started to pull things out, put my stand together, and purposely kept the words hidden to not spoil the surprise. It was about 1 PM, the sky was blue, the air was about 60 degrees, and the memorial was quite busy with spring break groups walking by constantly. I saw some kids place letters at the wall like the one I photographed above. I finished setting up, Annie sat next to me, and we quietly watched people walk by. I was sweating and nervous thinking “what the F am I doing??” These people are going to laugh at me, they won’t get it, some might get mad, I should just take a photo and leave. I didn’t leave. I stayed and smiled at people as they read my sign.
It read: These Men Died, My Father Survived, I hope I’m, ENOUGH
It didn’t take long for people to smile back. A few men wearing Veteran hats gave me a thumbs up. Soon a Vietnam Veteran came by to thank me for what I was doing. He said he thought it was going to be a pro Hamas sign, but showed a large toothless smile when he read what I had written. A good number of people stopped to ask me about my Dad and eventually told me to thank him for his sacrifice, some asked me why I made the sign, and some tried to put money in Annie’s water bowl. Haha. I didn’t accept any money, but was appreciative anyone would want to give and asked them to buy a homeless person a meal instead. There are a lot of homeless people in DC so they didn’t have to go far.
Many people looked at me and mouthed the words “You are Enough”. I want to stress that I am blessed to be here. I’m blessed to be my father’s child. My life, like his, has been full of hardships, but it has also been a beautiful journey of happy wonderful times. My father taught me to focus on the good in life, he taught me to face my problems head on, over come them, and then let go of the bad. He taught me to find the humor in everything. Those words are much easier to say than do, but we never stop trying. Those people were right. I am enough, but more importantly so is my Father.
This photo is my Dad’s 70th birthday. This man has made a large impact on many lives.
This blog, like my day in DC, sitting in the sun at the Vietnam Memorial is a tribute and dedicated to Victor McKinley. My hero. He is enough. He always has been.
Thank you Dad for being ENOUGH.
FknBucky
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My friend Ryno’s Uncle: ROY L GRIFFIN JR – It was my honor to find his name and take this photograph. Please REMEMBER his name and if you want please share this blog as a small tribute to the 58,220 men and women that gave their lives for our freedom.
FknBucky 