4th of July

We all celebrate the 4th of July in honor of our independence. We would not have independence without those heros that sacrifice their lives for us. In this time of war where so many wounded soldiers are coming home amputees, I am often asked (especially on holidays like Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day) if I am a member of the military. I really wish I could say yes, but I just respond, "No, it was just a car accident." I wish I could say that I was doing something so selfless.

This year I am flying on the holiday. I am wearing shorts so it is obvious I wear a prosthetic, I'm also wearing an American flag shirt. Several people in the airport walked up to me and told me "Happy 4th of July" or some variation of that. On my last flight of the night to Richmond, my ticket had me seated near the back of the plane, so I asked the attendant if there was a seat up closer that I could move to. She said, "I was hoping you would ask, I didn't want to offend you by offering." Many times people will underestimate what and how much an amputee can do, offering a free upgrade to first class, now that's not offensive. The gesture was nice though, I totally see where she was coming from.

 When I first started going to the gym that I've been going to for about 2 years now, people would come up to me and commend me for going to the gym and how hard I workout at the gym. I mean I don't workout THAT hard. At first, I would think, "Geez, what do they think I should be doing, staying at home and not go out in public?" The more I would think about it, they were just giving me a compliment.