Thanks to our Vets from Laurel and Hardy Days to Afghanistan

My dad was a merchant marine and served this country and his family very well.

The book Dogs and Rose is dedicating part of the proceeds to veterans.

On this day, I would like honor all those who served our country to helping make our world that much safer.

In my work with veterans, I began the week celebrating me with those at El Camino College on Tuesday 11-7.

All the military expressed their immense gratitude on the ability to exchange their service for an education.

There were four people from various ranks of service:

 One worked to train soldiers for Marksmanship.

 He is pursuing a degree in political science to earn a law degree.

The second worked in the navy and his greatest lesson was learning discipline and the motto “I can do anything.”

Mottos to live by

 “Never give up be it positive or negative news”.

 “Patience” and the ability to stand up for  herself

Lessons applied school experience

One said there was both good and bad.

Part of the military training keeps you always on alert and protecting your turf.

This often lead to distractions and a wandering mind.

Yet, for the most part faculty were willing to work around their schedules and needs.

Challenges on transition is something everyone needs to know

One said, ‘Fitting in was challenging as they were not new students and it had been a long time since they were back in school. “

Another said, they felt he best keep quiet to avoid conflict.

One offered the  BEST ADVICE everyone’s experience in the military is different and one should not attempt to assume everyone worked on the frontline.

Challenges in Transitioning from Military to Academia

One person was given 2 months off work without any support from friends, family, or a job network.

Her solution was getting a job in a restaurant and eventually her co-workers all brought her into their group.

Another stated the classroom caused increase anxiety. For example, if he  saw a shadow walking past the door. It took be back to days on the battle field and the need to protect his comrades or in this case his classmates.

The women, shared her message that it was tough being in a classroom where the leaders failed to lead and the teacher had lost control.  In the military you follow the orders or pay the price with extra exercise.

An older gentleman said, due to his age he was often mistaken as the teacher.

Direct socialization with classmates became a real hardship.

One had physical ailment caused by eternal bleeding which made some days better than others.

The hearing aids provided a special situation where they sat in front to hear the teacher and all their devices would take in the noise from behind them and it made it very difficult to hear the lessons.

Successful programs

Keep an open mind.

Be patient and listen

Service is something that need to be shared.

Take whatever you learn and share it would others.

Hawthorne’s Program Coffee with Cop

Local police officers would sit and chat with local citizens over coffee.

This did great wonders to break down the barriers between the law and the residents.

Remembering their Comrads

A wall was erected that included photos of those who had lost a member of their troop

Another wall was to remember or send messages to those in service.

Finally there was a wall to celebrate what’s next.

It highlight those who served in the military and were now successful in the business world.

Across the city, I attended another celebration for Veterans at Los Angeles Mission College on Friday the 9th.

Their message was Today We Honor a Veteran and Tomorrow we Honor a Graduate.

Mission College had invited field representative from Congressman Tony Cardenas Office were there to share their remarks. The president, Monte E. Perez is a huge supporter of the veterans and was looking to secure a new building to dedicate to the military. The event was extremely well organized by Richard Castaneda a Veteran Liaison/US Army Disabled Veteran.

Sunday, the 12th

I visited Cari Van Sternberg who is featured as one of the Vet’s in my book with his dog Puki,

One interesting note he shared on presenting him my signature gift fresh roses was the fact that one of his old jobs was working in a flower shop and one of his clients who got flowers on a weekly basis was Stan Harvey from the classical Hollywood Cinema Days of the 1930 which included the original Laurel and Hardy.

Wishing all my friends through all the ranks the most beautiful day and road ahead in the world we live. Your work and service to our country is truly appreciated.