A Texan In Paris

“Remember: English is the language of domination,” shouted our tour guide.
Then, demonstrating a football stiff arm, he explained our strategy for getting safely past aggressive city taxicabs.
“Dominate!”
In a group that represented the US, Canada, England, and Australia, we were fitted for bikes. The shiny red bikes had names like Cupcake and the blue ones had manly names like Road Runner. And Road Kill.
“That guys is from Texas and I bet 10 Euros, he is Pine Cove trained,” I whispered to my daughters as our Fat Tire Tour in Paris began.
What are the odds? My daughters didn’t believe me.
“I’m tellin’ ya, I bet he’s from Fredericksburg,” I insisted.
Paris is a cosmopolitan city, a place where people from everywhere come to bask in the richness of some of the best art collections in the world.
It is also the capital of a country that designates a whole government agency to preserving the French language from English intrusions.
Not an easy task in an age of “Le Ipad.”
My oldest daughter pedaled up front and began small talk.
Turns out I was wrong about one thing.
The guy was from San Antonio.
His camp name was Opa; Andrew is his real name.
You might be wondering how I recognized the Pine Cove influence, but only if you have never met a Pine Cove Christian Camps counselor.
Maybe it was the way he knew how to make it fun for everyone else.
Maybe it was the attentive way he made his customers feel like friends.
Pine Cove has this way of turning men into servant leaders.
I hate to admit this, but Texas A&M didn’t hurt him any either. When we met, Andrew was finishing up a stint with Fat Tire Tours, then beginning a career in California doing something fancy. I can’t remember what exactly.
One thing I know, with a servant’s heart and a ton of confidence, Andrew is sure to be successful.
Maybe domination isn’t the first word that comes to mind when you think about successful servant leaders or international detent.
But when it comes to competing in a global market, having an attitude and a skill set that stands out - because it is based in faith, not fear - is exactly what we want for our kiddoes. Andrew was easy to pick out of the crowd.
So I say, “Dominate.”
Cathy Primer Krafve, aka Checklist Charlie, lives and writes with a Texas twang. Comments are invited at checklistcharlie.blogspot.com.

Now available: Benefits for the Brave

July is a great month to give some thought to how we honor our returning troops.
In East Texas, one woman stands out for leading the charge when it comes to connecting our returning troops with much-needed resources.
Julianne Sanford started Lone Star Military Resource Group to create a way for returning heroes, veterans, and their families to find the resources that are already out there.
First, combining her 20 years experience as a military wife and Family Readiness Trainer, she collaborated with ACCESS, Anderson Cherokee Community Enrichment Services, to publish a thorough listing of services available to military personnel in Anderson and Cherokee Counties. This listing, called Benefits for the Brave, includes state and federal agencies, along with Texas and US nonprofits and businesses with grants. As far as I know, it is the only listing like it in our state or perhaps the nation.
Benefits for the Brave is a massive accomplishment in and of itself.
However, almost before the ink was dry, she and ACCESS
Chief Administrative Officer Kate Pate decided to host a symposium called “Caring for all who Serve” in Jacksonville as part of a week long series of events which happened just this past May.
The one-day symposium brought together a brain trust of folks in our area who are making a difference in the lives of our heroes.
For example, Lori Thomas and Karl Little from Andrews Center, Tyler, were there. Lori and Karl are quietly connecting vets with services in Smith County, including launching the just opened Green Zone.
The Green Zone is a place where our veterans can find fellow-heroes who understand the challenges they face. Lori and Karl offer have an impressive combined experience and network of people available to help.
With them was JD Collette who is single handedly traveling around East Texas setting up peer groups to support veterans and returning warriors in many ways, but in particular, giving our heroes a safe place to address any PTSD symptoms they may still be dealing with even after years of civilian life. Traveling to a different small town each evening, JD has quietly established peer groups all over East Texas.
Jacksonville’s conference was the largest gathering of service resource folks in our area that I know of so far.
All the experts at the conference that I spoke to agreed that the best progress is made when all Americans step up to show their gratitude. Locally, Welcome Home Soldiers and Patriot Guard came to mind.
With the success of the Jacksonville events, more such opportunities likely to happen throughout our region.
Cathy Primer Krafve, aka Checklist Charlie, lives and writes with a Texas twang. Comments are invited at checklistcharlie.blogspot.com.

Free Speech Worth Dying For

I love writing about veterans, as you know, if you read my stuff.
I try never to leave an interview without thanking the hero, whether young or old, for serving our country.
So you would think that I would write about amazing and brave military heroes on July 4th.
I could. My column would be the perfect place to do it. Here, I could share anonymously some of the things that people have entrusted to me as we visit about their experiences.
The stories that never make the paper are my favorite part of this job and nowhere are the stories more inspiring than in the quiet moments when soldiers and sailors and airmen share the things they don’t want anyone else to know.
I often tear up as they tell me the experiences they have had; about comrades they have lost, but not forgotten. They often will talk about the sacrifices made by men next to them who didn’t return, but they never want me to print the ongoing sacrifices they make or what it keeps costing their family to allow them to serve.
If there is one thing that stands out about our military heroes to me, though, it is that they believe that some things are worth dying for.
Take for instance, freedom of speech, which is what I devote my July 4th column to every year.
Every year, journalists lose their life for covering stories in regions or countries where tyrants scare people to death, starting with trying to control the media by killing journalists.
Free speech and freedom of the press are two of the many freedoms that veterans and enlisted heroes will tell you are worth defending.
Freedom of speech, supported by an independent, courageous free press, is essential for a self-governing people to be free of tyranny.
Our military heroes understand that.
If we remember why they are willing to die for our country, for the freedom you and I enjoy, we will be willing to make our own sacrifices when necessary.
While they fight abroad, we will be willing to stand up for what is right at home.
We can enjoy the blessings of freedom as we to seek justice in our communities by participating in free, vibrant public discourse without fear of threats or violent, government-sponsored repercussions.
In the moment when our freedom of speech is threatened, we should defend it. In honor of those who paid the price for it.
When you think about it, just like our warriors, valuing freedom has the potential to make heroes out of all of us.
Cathy Primer Krafve, aka Checklist Charlie, lives and writes with a Texas twang. Comments are invited at checklistcharlie.blogspot.com.