Last weekend, I played in the 2nd
Annual Aaron Gifford Memorial Pickleball Tournament.
It was fun. Met many enjoyable people
from eleven different states, on two beautiful New Mexico spring
days, and ran around a lot. Healthy exercise, and a chance for local
pickleballers to play with referees and strict rule, and play game
after game in the hot sun, even when they felt tired or dehydrated.
There was even a court for beginners to try out the game and learn.
If some of those folks got hooked, the exercise could improve their
health and even their longevity.
It was also a good event for a good
cause.
Aaron was a beautiful young man,
inside and out. He served three tours of duty in Iraq. He returned
with PTSD – more troubled than he admitted, sleepless at night,
restless. He didn't get help. Maybe it wasn't manly; maybe he
underestimated the enemy inside him; or maybe he just didn't want to
bother anyone with his troubles. In the end -- as 22 veterans do
each day -- he killed himself.
His mother, CeCe Hunter, has turned
that unspeakable loss into a win for others. With the help of her
family, and a family of pickleball players, she created this
Tournament.
Last year, the Aaron Gifford
Tournament donated to Mission 22, started by veterans, named for
those 22 daily tragedies, and designed to decrease that number by
helping fellow vets. Mission 22 (and the tournament locally) spread
the word that psychological help is available and can be effective
with PTSD. Many vets doubt that anything can help them. If one vet
who needed help got it because s/he heard about Mission 22 through
this Tournament, or Mission 22 used Aaron's contribution to help
someone avoid emulating him, that's a huge win.
This year, seeking to do something
locally meaningful, the Tournament assisted the Community of Hope to
get homeless vets into homes. This excellent local program can house
a homeless vet for $3,000. Even before we played, the Aaron Gifford
Memorial Tournament had presented Camp Hope with a $6,000 check. The
final tally could include another $12-$15,000. That'd be six or
seven homes for men or women who served their country.
Energized by the task at hand, CeCe
also appeared on radio shows and wrote an op-ed in this newspaper.
She not only has helped spread the word to vets and their families
that help is available, but has created some of that help.
A huge military-looking vehicle,
nicknamed “The Punisher,” stood near the NMSU Tennis Center
during the Tournament, a stark reminder of both the dangers of war
and the camaraderie between soldiers. (It was built by a local
Marine veteran in honor of Chris Kyle.) Many players were vets, some
wearing caps identifying the nature of their service. “Thank you
for your service” was an oft-heard phrase.
I have disagreed with politicians
sending young folks into some wars; but our country has a clear duty
to do our best to repair the damage war does to those who serve.
It's appalling how poorly we meet that obligation. It's a sad irony
that the politicians who shout loudest for war are sometimes the most
unwilling to spend actual dollars to help the veterans (victims) of
those wars.
Credit CeCe and Camp Hope for stepping
up – and please consider contributing to Camp Hope in Aaron's
memory.
-30-
[The above column appeared Sunday, 14 April 2018, in the Las Cruces Sun-News, as well as on KRWG's website. A spoken version will air during the week on KRWG and on KTAL-LP, 101.5 FM, Las Cruces Community Radio ( )www.lccommunityradio.org). I was too far away from my keyboard to post this Sunday morning, so I'm doing so now.]
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