Two Burritos and a Beer
Today I had the most incredibly humbling experience all thanks to my craving for Chipotle.
I walked in and there were two tall buff guys in front of me, one turned around and looked to be in his late 20's or early 30's. They both had tattoos and upon further inspection one of them was in a medical boot. A little girl sitting facing these men couldn't keep her eyes off of the one directly in front of me. I wondered what could keep this little girl peeled away from her McDonalds kids meal (one I'm sure her mom had gotten her to suffice her while mommy got what she wanted, a Chipotle salad). He turned around and I now saw, this man had clearly experienced something that wasn't a good experience. I pondered if it had been a car accident, motor cycle accident, or male stupidity; what would come next nearly brought me to tears.
The lady at the beginning of the Chipotle line asked him what had happened, he said a suicide bomber had tried to kill him. Now standing next to him in line I could see he had lost one of his eyes, his nose incredibly swollen, half of his face incredibly damaged, and he had more scars on his arms than I could count; and this is all I could see, I can only imagine there were more. This man had put his life on the line for my safety, for his country, he was and is a hero. He told the lady that a suicide bomber had tried to kill him, but chuckled and added "I killed him and all of his buddies" not only did he make it out alive, he took out horrible men who want to kill our soldiers and have no respect for authority or people.
As the first guy pulled out his credit card to pay for his and his buddies meal, I told them no, I was buying their lunch. They looked at me stunned. They couldn't believe this college girl wanted to buy their lunch. I asked them if I had heard correctly that they were Armed Forces, they said yes, and I then reiterated, YES I'm going to buy your lunch. They were shocked. They couldn't believe I wanted to buy their lunch, I told them they were some of the most esteemed people in my mind, I told them my dad was former Air Force and I couldn't be more honored to buy their lunch after their sacrifices. They shook my hands and said thank you over and over and as I walked away told me to have a blessed day.
The funny thing is, I was the one who walked away blessed. These two men came from God knows where, the one would never be as handsome as he once was, as one side of his face was nearly unharmed, the other mangled that this little girl was fascinated and afraid of. The other could have more going on underneath it all than any civilian could ever imagine. The hero might have been "scary" looking to some, like that little girl, but to me he wore the face of a true hero. I am so thankful to have both eyes, both arms without scars, not have to go to "the sand box" to fight for my freedom, these men did it for me. That's more of a hero than Superman could ever be.
I cannot say how thankful I am to all the Armed Forces and the sacrifices they give. My uncle is now in the sand box and I cannot imagine what my cousin and aunt are going through. I'm thankful that my dad never got deployed to the sand box, and that I was too young to remember him being deployed when I was really young. Nevertheless, I'm incredibly thankful and I'm reminded that my freedom is not free. Some don't come home, and those that do often have a hard time coming back, my small offering of lunch seemed so inadequate after what they had done for me and this country.
So this isn't to pat me on the back and say "yay, I did a good deed" this is to say thank you so much for all those who risk their lives, and those who don't make it home. I was just able to say thank you by buying two burritos and a beer.
*disclaimer, he had shown his ID to the checkout lady, so he was 21, so it's legal and such*
I walked in and there were two tall buff guys in front of me, one turned around and looked to be in his late 20's or early 30's. They both had tattoos and upon further inspection one of them was in a medical boot. A little girl sitting facing these men couldn't keep her eyes off of the one directly in front of me. I wondered what could keep this little girl peeled away from her McDonalds kids meal (one I'm sure her mom had gotten her to suffice her while mommy got what she wanted, a Chipotle salad). He turned around and I now saw, this man had clearly experienced something that wasn't a good experience. I pondered if it had been a car accident, motor cycle accident, or male stupidity; what would come next nearly brought me to tears.
The lady at the beginning of the Chipotle line asked him what had happened, he said a suicide bomber had tried to kill him. Now standing next to him in line I could see he had lost one of his eyes, his nose incredibly swollen, half of his face incredibly damaged, and he had more scars on his arms than I could count; and this is all I could see, I can only imagine there were more. This man had put his life on the line for my safety, for his country, he was and is a hero. He told the lady that a suicide bomber had tried to kill him, but chuckled and added "I killed him and all of his buddies" not only did he make it out alive, he took out horrible men who want to kill our soldiers and have no respect for authority or people.
As the first guy pulled out his credit card to pay for his and his buddies meal, I told them no, I was buying their lunch. They looked at me stunned. They couldn't believe this college girl wanted to buy their lunch. I asked them if I had heard correctly that they were Armed Forces, they said yes, and I then reiterated, YES I'm going to buy your lunch. They were shocked. They couldn't believe I wanted to buy their lunch, I told them they were some of the most esteemed people in my mind, I told them my dad was former Air Force and I couldn't be more honored to buy their lunch after their sacrifices. They shook my hands and said thank you over and over and as I walked away told me to have a blessed day.
The funny thing is, I was the one who walked away blessed. These two men came from God knows where, the one would never be as handsome as he once was, as one side of his face was nearly unharmed, the other mangled that this little girl was fascinated and afraid of. The other could have more going on underneath it all than any civilian could ever imagine. The hero might have been "scary" looking to some, like that little girl, but to me he wore the face of a true hero. I am so thankful to have both eyes, both arms without scars, not have to go to "the sand box" to fight for my freedom, these men did it for me. That's more of a hero than Superman could ever be.
I cannot say how thankful I am to all the Armed Forces and the sacrifices they give. My uncle is now in the sand box and I cannot imagine what my cousin and aunt are going through. I'm thankful that my dad never got deployed to the sand box, and that I was too young to remember him being deployed when I was really young. Nevertheless, I'm incredibly thankful and I'm reminded that my freedom is not free. Some don't come home, and those that do often have a hard time coming back, my small offering of lunch seemed so inadequate after what they had done for me and this country.
So this isn't to pat me on the back and say "yay, I did a good deed" this is to say thank you so much for all those who risk their lives, and those who don't make it home. I was just able to say thank you by buying two burritos and a beer.
*disclaimer, he had shown his ID to the checkout lady, so he was 21, so it's legal and such*
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