Persistence of Survival

As this year swiftly comes to a close, and looking back, I'm aware that I have acquired skills that all those who went through the Vietnam War era, also surely acquired. As the death toll in the current war continues to mount, I'm reminded that the military base that I was once assigned to, was one of several where the bodies of returning servicemen were logged-in, before being forwarded to their families for burial.

Forty odd years later, I still tend to drive towards the middle of the street, as if to avoid some deadly hazard that might have been planted at roadside. In a restaurant, I invariably sit with my back against the wall that allows me to see and face the front door when possible. I'm quick, usually much quicker than the average person, to hit the ground at the slightest sound that smacks of danger. I also tend to withhold and guard my emotions, which I think is a defense mechanism against the multiple tragedies that the war produced. Also I'm quick to size up a situation and give it a red or green light in my mind - in a fraction of a second, relative to the danger it might pose to me and others near me.

These skills persist and don't go away - they can't, because they become a part of you. Psychiatrists are just learning to identify them and how they affect one's life, persistently. I bet the vets who are returning from the war in the Middle East, have acquired these same skills, and have to learn as we did, to adapt them to this far different environment when they come home.

This persisting survival mode has served me well and has carried me through to another year. Certainly, of course, I have God to thank for all this, for without Him, I wouldn't have made it this far.

And now, I've been blessed and privileged to climb to the mountain top, and I've seen the promised land of 2007 - Happy New Year to all - it's going to be a great one!