Dear Friend,
Here in DC it is finally shorts and rainbows time (sandals for those non-west coasters) and I can't wait to earn my tan. Sadly, I am still inside digging myself out of the hole I dug for myself while I was on my trip to Europe and maybe during Easter Break I will finally be able to return those emails I know I owe each of you.
That being said, I am proud to say that I was able to both upload the pictures from my Europe trip and put the CNN clip on my website (www.patrickmcampbell.com).
Lastly, for those of you in DC... I am planning on having the first Margarita Sunday party of the season on April 15th. So clear your calendars!
Wf in Europe 2007:
LONDON: http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/UK
The trip started auspiciously when the flight attendants had to ask for medical assistance because a passenger passed out twice in the bathroom. I had just fallen asleep! Even though I was tired and cranky because I got no sleep… as Colleen would say, “I love it!” London for me was less about the sights and more about visiting friends. I feel very blessed to see so many friends while I was there (Elisabeth, Alex and Nina) and we spent the majority of our time drinking beer in a pub. Elisabeth was a great host and I am genuinely sorry for thinking her super soft blanket was a towel.
Few Fun London observations:
Ø Main staple of food for Londoners is called Curry (we call it Indian food);
Ø So many foreigners roam the streets they write which way to look at the cross walks (http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/UK/EL_LookRight);
Ø In an odd sense of post revolutionary war humor, their parliament’s tour guides wear blue coats, while the tour guides at the US Capitol wear red coats (think about it);
Ø Debates in parliament are like advanced catholic aerobics, at the end of a speech they all stand up and try to be recognized (sit down and get up, sit down and get up);
Ø Not quite sure when slides became modern art, but the London modern art museum had 4 & 5 story sides with a wait time of over an hour, its not long till going to Six Flags will be considered being cultured (http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/UK/EL_Slides);
Ø Lastly, even aside from Mad Cow scares… burgers in London just don’t taste right.
Honestly the most memorable part of London for me was the trip to Stansted airport. I met some wonderful Canadian tourists (all of use wearing Keen shoes) and the first of two amazing people that would just rock my world. Her name is Kadded and we were instant friends. She is French and speaks 5 languages, I helped her with loading her luggage and we started talking and didn’t stop for 4 hours. We weren’t even sitting next to each other, but the conversation didn’t slow down. It was one of those moments when you say goodbye that you leave feeling as though your life is richer for having met. (http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/UK/EL_KaddedandPC)
ROME: http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/rome
If I thought my trip to London started auspiciously, it was only getting me ready for Rome. I was flying Ryan Air (see rant on Ryan Air further down) and we were diverted to a city on the eastern coast of Italy. Our flight was delayed for hours and of course I made friends. The people in front of us was quite the lovely couple, the wife works out of Los Angeles and the husband reminds me of an actor and used to play on the Italian Olympic team for basketball. (http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/rome/ER_ItalianFamily) My two exit row neighbors were an Italian and a Brit (Paola & Jessica) and it wasn’t 20 minutes into the flight that I had them discussing intensely personal relationship stories. I always laugh when I find myself giving relationship advice, considering my longest relationship was 6 months (and 4 of those months I was in Iraq).
Due to being late we missed the last public transportation into the city and thankfully my new friends offered a ride. Unfortunately when the ride arrived it was small Italian jeep with four seats for four people. Did I mention that we had three big bags between us and no trunk. So Paola and I had to lay on top of the bags, with only 6 inches of room between our noses and the roof. We also had to cover ourselves with blankets so we wouldn’t pulled over by the Carabinieri police (I stupidly asked why the Jamaican police would be guarding the airports). (http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/rome/ER_BeingSmuggled)
Rome was far away the most awe inspiring place I have ever been. Thank you to Dallas and others who voted to put Rome on my itinerary. Here are some of my thoughts on Rome:
Ø My tour guide was right when she said, “It is hard to understand what one man is capable of accomplishing in their lifetime, until you see Michelangelo’s work in the Sistine Chapel.”
Ø Who ever said that they do it bigger in Texas never visited Rome.
Ø The view from the top of St. Peter’s cathedral is the most romantic spot I have ever been (I almost tried to make out with myself), though I am surprised more people don’t die or get seriously injured climbing those tight 300 steps. (http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/rome/EV_ViewfromCupola)
Ø There are so many old historical monuments, churches, and what nots that the Italian government can’t keep up with it all and anything less then a thousand years old is still considered new.
Ø The few times I was in an Italian car, I felt as though I was on a bumper car ride as opposed to driving down a road.
Ø For those Berkeley people, Trivoli Fountain is much akin to Sproul Fountain, (http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/rome/ER_TrivoliFountainwFriends) if you sit there long enough you will see everyone walk by.
Ø Of all the cities I visited, I want to visit Rome again.
Ø Lastly, Sara’s friend Mary is the hostess with the mostest!
Right before I left for the airport to catch my flight to Athens I received an email from my DC National Guard unit. The email essentially said that my name was on the list to get deployed back to Iraq in a month or two. I felt as thought I had been sucker punched and the thought of having to leave my life again, right as I got things back in order, just filled me with despair and sadness. I am not afraid to admit that I called my friend Sara at 3 am EST sobbing. Although I am the only one in my unit who has been deployed, since President Bush has relaxed the requirements for times between deployments I am fair game again. Bless Sara’s soul I was able to transfer my fear, anger and sadness onto her and by the end of the call I had her crying and I was sobering up… realizing I am soldier and that if god has carried me this far he would not just now be abandoning me.
Before I get a thousand emails about me getting redeployed… it turns out that my name was mistakenly added to the list and for now I am not getting deployed. I didn’t find out that it was a mistake till I got home from my trip, so you can imagine that the rest of the trip was spent pondering what life would be like living in Baghdad again. This near miss or scare reinforced to me how important a trip like this really is. There is never a perfect time to travel, but who knows if you will ever have the opportunity to take that trip in the future.
ATHENS: http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/athens
As you can imagine I was in a sour mood when I got on the plane to Cyprus. I didn’t talk to anyone. As I silently watched everyone during the flight, one woman continued to catch my eye, if only just because the Greek flight attendant was overtly hitting on her. The flight attendants didn’t speak English so I was convinced she was Greek. All in all the flight was uneventful.
I had a 5-hour lay over in Athens and I had been scheming during the flight to ditch the airport and try to steal away and see downtown Athens. When we deplaned the entire flight passed by the Departure gate board except for me and my object of attention during the flight. I asked her if she knew where she was going, fully expecting her to turn to me and say she didn’t speak any English. She replied in perfect English, “Yep… it is just that my flight doesn’t leave for another 4 ½ hours.” Born in Kuwait, grew up in San Diego, got a masters in Boston… spoke Spanish and Arabic… I was blown away.
What happened next was far away the most magical five hours of my trip. From the airport it was a 45 minute train ride to downtown and in order to make it back safely for our flights we would only have 15 minutes to run around. Screw playing it safe. We took pictures of each other all over. We made it to some historic park, where she convinced me to pose like a Greek god on column. (http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/athens/EA_GreekGod)We got in trouble for that. Then I had her pose behind a headless statue of a Greek goddess. (http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/athens/EA_GreekGoddess) We got in trouble for that. We even got in trouble for posing in front of a giant afro… I loved every second of it. (http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/athens/EA_Afro)
My new friend Manar and I talked non-stop for five straight hours. My face was tired from smiling so much. She taught me many things on this amazing adventure. While we were rummaging through a long alley of little shops I asked her what she was looking for and she simply replied, “I am not looking for anything, whatever it is will see me.” Maybe it is a very Taoist approach to life, but I can’t believe how much calmed my life has been since I have been waiting for things to see me. Manar also reminded me of how amazing it is to share even a short period of your life with someone who inspires you, makes you laugh and challenges you all at the same time. I know 10 years from now we will be joking together… “Remember when we were in Athens?!?”
CYPRUS: http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/cyprus
Of all the places I visited on this trip, Cyprus was the closest to being an actual vacation. I was visiting my good friend Maria… a friend who I met only once on a place 4 years ago and have kept in touch ever since. (http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/cyprus/EC_MariaandPC) I flew into Larcana and we drove up to the Capitol Nicosia. The food was there amazing and to be honest overwhelming. I am full just thinking about some of the meals I had there. (http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/cyprus/EC_Food)
The two quick stories that I want to share from Cyprus both involve Turkey. The first story involved me going to my first Turkish Bath. Maria said it was a must do and I went and checked it out. I knew I would like when I entered and they were playing new age music (much like Enya). I paid some money and they led me to some curtained off sofa. I was told everything I would need was in a basket. The basket contained sandals, a towel, a metal pan and some small piece of black cloth/elastic. When I looked at this tiny piece of material I realized it was a disposable thong (no, I didn’t take a picture). To be honest I was deathly afraid that I would put the thing on backwards and when it came time to enter the bath and remove the towel that they would laugh at me. Guys… the cloth goes in front. The bath was amazing… like a giant steam room, with great relaxing music. We all laid out on giant slabs of concrete like lizards basking in the sun. Time to time I would dose myself with hot water and I could feel myself sweating out all my anxiety.
The second story highlights my geopolitical ignorance on issues outside of the United States and Iraq/Afghanistan. I did not know that half of Cyprus was occupied by Turkey and that the Capitol of Cyprus is the last divided Capitol in the world. (http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/signs/DividedCapitol) They literally drew a line straight down the city and that demilitarized zone is patrolled by UN soldiers. Every male serves in the Cypriot army and is required to keep their weapon after their enlistment is up, just in case. Recent loosening of border access between the two, meant I was allowed to walk to Northern Cyprus on the Turkey side. To be honest that side seemed like being back in Iraq… tons of young men lining the streets, with no women anywhere to be seen (save two Russian tourists). I honestly don’t know enough about the situation to make informed commentary, save that both side was aggressively embarking on a propaganda campaign against one another. (http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/cyprus/EC_Turkeyforever) The Turkish side even painted a big Turkish flag on the only mountain in the area, which can be seen for miles and they put up blinking lights so that their presence be seen at night.
This leg of the trip overall was relaxing… I met Maria’s friends who were wonderful. Her boyfriend was a true catch, they compliment each other well. Maria did take me to a small Cypriot village (http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/cyprus/EC_Omodose3) where I got to taste local wine. If any of you want to prove your “manliness” then I suggest a shot of Grappo (lets just say it puts moonshine to shame). The last piece of the story is that while I was in Cyprus I saw the total eclipse of the moon. The last time their was a total eclipse of the moon was the day we crossed the berm (border) driving into Iraq. Even though it scared me two years ago, I know that eclipses are signs of good luck and I felt like god was still watching over me (winking at me if you will).
IRELAND: http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/ireland
I flew into Ireland late on Monday, of course I made friends (who I would later see in Dublin). I happened to land right as one of the biggest storms of the season hit. Flooding and high wind advisories were in effect and it was time for me to learn to drive on the wrong side of the road! I was renting a car because I needed to do some serious sight seeing. I told the people at AVIS that I was heading to Donegal (Northwest Ireland, normally around a 4-5 hour drive)… they all laughed at me. If I could learn to drive a Humvee, at night wearing night vision goggles on a low visibility night… I could conquer this.
The trip took me 7 hours and my back was so tense from all the times I would hit a flooded part of the road and try not to spin out of control. I only forgot what side to drive on once. The people at AVIS said, “Just keep the center line to your right and you will always be ok.” To be honest that worked wonders.
Donegal County is sleepy county in Northwest Ireland, that has many beautiful beaches, lined with bed and breakfasts. One of the few places were the kids actually learn Gaelic (come to find out I was close to Enya’s family… so close!!). I have distant relatives who live up in towns called Glentiles and Ballyfoney that I was visiting. My first night I had an amazing Guinness in pub full of the town drunks (one being a multi-millionaire) where everyone sang Irish and Scottish folk music all night. I can’t explain it, but I felt like I was finally home. (http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/ireland/EI_Towndrunk)
Before I met up with my family I went sight seeing and happened upon Silver Strand Beach (Ireland style). This crescent shaped beach outlined by cliffs and waterfalls was a true treasure. I took the 200 or so steps down and for an hour I was the only person on the beach, listening to the rain and the waves crashing and the waterfalls crashing down all at once. (http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/ireland/EI_DonegalSilverStrand3) I also found the Irish cliffs. I climbed to the top of these cliffs and I felt like I was in the presence of god. If one could only understand how much one man could accomplish by looking at the Sistine Chapel, one could only understand how god draws our landscapes after seeing something like this. The rain turned to hail while I was there, but even though it was cold and painful… I felt at peace. (http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/ireland/EI_DonegalCliffs)
I know I have been droning on for a long time, so I will not bore you with stories about my long lost relatives. Save a few observations… it is insane that no matter how far apart you are on the family tree, it is scary how similar we can still be. My family in Ireland are truly wonderful people, salt of the Earth people who still burn turf (dried out bog mud) to heat their house and cook on their stove. (http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/ireland/EI_FamilyTurfStove) My family lived by the beach, surrounded by green fields. I always knew I was a water person.
The last stop on my cross Ireland trek was a surfer town called Sligo where I met up with some family friends. I stayed with a radical family, who used to own a surf shop and their home could have easily been a home in Santa Cruz. I got my first taste of the Wii and they were such good hosts.
DUBLIN: http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/Dublin
Dublin was both literally and figuratively the perfect night cap for the trip. My hotel I booked online was not 5 blocks from I wanted to be, but more like 5 miles. I finally found a new hotel that was run by bartenders in between serving drinks (the price was right). I spent my last weekend abroad roaming the streets of Dublin. I was lucky that one of my good friends from Senator Feinstein’s office was meeting up with me.
The first night I made some friends from Trinity University and they took me out dancing all night long. I was like the big brother watching over my younger sister and her friends. I had a blast. The second day I picked up Shahead from the airport and after getting settled we went to the Guinness Brewing Factory. To be perfectly frank I never believed it when people told me that Guinness tasted so much better in Ireland, but they were right. The factory was a well oiled tourist machine. Shahead got to start a whole brew of Guinness, somewhere around 175,000 beers and by the end of the tour I had drank like 5 of them! The view from the Sky Bar was impressive… good thing, because after 5 beers I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. (http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/Dublin/ED_Guinnessskybar)
Later that night I made some friends at dinner that joined Shahead, Shahead’s friend and I for a drunk dancing fest. I was dancing like a mad man, like I always do… but the crowd was little young. Someone definitely had serious gas and was exposing us to noxious fumes every 5 minutes. (http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/Dublin/ED_DinnerFriends2)
Despite being completely hung over I made it up the next day for a run and I found myself down to the Dublin beach. The beach was at low tide, but oddly enough the water had receded more then a mile from the shoreline. I came to find out that because the beach had such small decline that small drop in tide meant the water had further to go. I got to play with some dogs on the beach, though when I was running home I had mud prints all over me. After running I made it to a pub just in time to see Ireland trounce the UK in rugby. Right after the game people were dancing in the street.
On my last night in Ireland, I was supposed to hang out with my friend Shahead and her friend… but they had made some new males friends and I wasn’t too interested in reenacting the hit TV show “5th Wheel.” That night I just prowled the streets of an area called Temple Bar. Just a side note, Temple Bar is like Adams Morgan on “Craic.” People are drunk sooner, puking more and bachelorette parties more numerous (AKA Hen Parties). I made friends with a British Hen party and spent the night teaching the bride to be to dance. (http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/Dublin/ED_HenParty)
We left at 4 am that morning and I needed a vacation from my vacation! As fate would have it, I made a great friend waiting for the plane to being loading. We both suffered the same fate with Ryan Air. Ryan Air is a super cheap airline that flies all over Europe for $40/flight. Sadly though, if you say that you are brining two pieces of luggage (you have pay for the second one)… that does not mean that you get twice the weight limit. For the second time in a week I was being forced to pay $100 at the gate because of a Ryan air rule or policy. I would complain more, but I met this great US college student studying abroad named Meg. We chatted all the way to London (of course).
When I landed in the London the line to clear customs was over 2 miles long and stupid me I only had 1 ½ hour layover in London. There was no way I was going to make my connection. Somehow my new friend Meg sweet talked the customs person to let me skip in front of at least 1,000 people and I made my flight. God works in mysterious ways!
Overall, best trip of my life… I am so glad I went, because god only knows what the future has for each of us. To be honest I definitely have the travel bug now and I am thinking Africa is my next stop. Though I don’t want to travel alone… I know I can meet people anywhere, but after meeting Manar… I wish the whole trip I was getting into that type of trouble!
Here is one more album of funny signs I saw while I was there. My personal favorite is the one that says “They want your Pod.” http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/signs
Shalom my friend,
Patrick
p.s. I spent a quick weekend in California at reunion of the California Association of Student Councils (CASC). Yes… I am the biggest student government geek you have ever met! It was amazing to see everyone again, these people are truly some of the most amazing people I know in life and I felt good just being around them!
New Chapters
Dear Friend,
I have missed catching up with each of you and I know it has been over 3 months since my last update. I have a lot new chapters to report about, but since I am tired I promise this won't be an epic update.
Executive Summary:
The long and short is that I am feeling very happy and balanced right now. Work, school and even family seems to be moving in a positive direction. The stories below are about how I got to this point over the past couple of months.
1) Going to Europe (Feb 23 - Mar 11)
2) Starting Counseling for PTSD
3) Finding Peace and balance in life
EUROPE
On September 11th, 2001... I showed up to work early and typed up my two week notice to quit my job at Senator Boxer's office. My father and I were planning a one month trip to Europe and like so many other things that day, my plans changed.
Six years later I am finally going to Europe for the first time in my life. For the first time I am going to travel without a group, a mission or my family. I bought the ticket last night and now I spend all my free time day dreaming about the trip. This trip is about taking charge of my life and doing something healthy for myself. Everyday I get more excited about this decision.
However, since I have never been to Europe I need your advice... I am going to spending time in London, Cyprus & Ireland. I have time for one more country (3 days) between when I visit London & Cyprus.
Fri Feb 23 DC -> London
Tue Feb 27 London --> ??
Fri Mar 2 ?? --> Cyprus
Mon Mar 5 Cyprus --> Ireland/Scotland
Sun Mar 11 Ireland -> London -> DC
** Where should I go for three days during the middle of the week?
** What should I see in London, Cyprus, Ireland or TBD?
** Anyone I know already in Europe that I should try to see? or meet?
I am booking plane tickets this weekend... so please get your votes for Country #4 by Friday! :)
COUNSELING
(Long Pause) To be perfectly frank I have been dreading writing about this new chapter of my life for a host of reasons. I have no doubt that the long drought in Campbell Watches has been due to my reluctance to broach this topic. (Deep breath) Well... here we go:
I went because of a promise I made to my friend Wes and co-worker Linda. Both of them made me promise I would go. They knew what I refused to admit myself. My experiences had changed me dramatically.
The Vet Center was far out of the way... no where near a metro. When I made my appointment I lied that the reason I was coming was purely for professional interest dealing with my job in veterans advocacy.
I had spent the days building up to my first session reflecting on the idea of how much I had changed. Before I left, I think it was fair to say I was one of the nicest people, most had ever met. Since coming home I had surprised people with how selfish or just plain inconsiderate I could be. Not that I had necessarily become an asshole, just had some very UN-patrick like episodes.
When I asked myself the question what do people say about me now? For the first time in my life I realized that might not like the answer.
Now there is a certain edge to being an asshole, it is what attracts women to bad boys and causes people to follow the maverick (e.g., James Dean & Ferris Bueller). I was enjoying the freedom that came along with being selfish, but completely ignoring the problems associated with it.
During that first session, I did not tell my counselor anything that I had not already told my friends. As you know I tend to be very open and matter of fact about a lot of things. It was what he said back to me that caught me off guard.
He called it Cognitive Dissonance. Where the person you want to be and the person you are become separated. Once he said those two little words, my mind started racing and analyzing my behavior over the past year. To be honest I tuned him out when he told me that this was normal for people who witnessed war.
What stuck with me was the idea that my ability to empathize with other people's suffering from everyday problems seemed to be shut off. I was short with my friends, seemed impatient when they told me about their life and generally kind of despised when people complained about stupid drama. These weren't real problems... at least not to me. All this coming from the person who just a year before could not get enough of people sharing their story/problems with him.
I left the session glad I went. However, except for learning those two little words, I was thinking that nothing really came of it. Boy was I wrong!
Two days later I was in the movie theatre with my roommate Kim... we were watching the previews before the movie Blood Diamond. A preview for a movie starring Samuel Jackson & Jessica Biel that was about the Iraq war and the struggle soldiers face when they get home flashed across the scene. Sixty seconds. I was in tears. Next preview... the water works stopped. Thank gawd.
On the drive home... I started to talk to Kim about the preview when the tears came pouring out. I really should have pulled over. Driving through DC, while sobbing wasn't safe... but I didn't... i couldn't stop till I got home.
Why was I crying? Because for the first time in a year I started to feel again. (tearing up) I could feel hurt, remorse, anger, sadness and above all empathy. It felt like the old care bear Patrick just need to burst through and had a lot of buried emotion it brought with him.
Alright... here is the deal... Two things:
1) Going to Counseling was admitting defeat for me. My entire life my mother said that any problem we had should be fixed by counseling. I have always prided myself as being the normal one in the family and going to counseling meant I wasn't strong enough, smart enough to get through it.
2) Soldiers don't complain, they don't ask for help, and they don't cry! We are trained to survive and overcome any adversary... and PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) is just another adversary in the war.
That day at the movies I let go of those two erroneous beliefs... going to counseling was the best thing I could have ever done for myself. And crying... well maybe soldiers don't cry, but Patrick Campbell cried during Titanic, to not cry after seeing what I saw wouldn't make a lick of sense.
Tomorrow I have my third counseling session. Last counseling session we talked about how I have survivor's guilt... partially true... ok mostly true, but in my opinion stemming from an over developed sense of trying to be my own form super hero.
So who am i now... I am not sure... but I do know that I feel much better about the person I have become then I did 3 months ago.
thank you again for those people who stood by me and put up with my un-patrick like moments. And to those of you who I pushed away... I still pray for the day we come back into each other's lives.
BALANCE
It is funny how little there is to write when things seem to be in balance.
Law school is going well, one year left (Dec 07). I am taking a much lighter load... that makes me happy.
I am still working with IAVA (Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America). Since we last talked I have done a host of Radio/TV/Newspaper interviews (especially with BBC for some reason), congressional testimonies, and meeting congressman/staffers about veterans issues. I feel extremely useful and a bit overwhelmed. Just the way I like it.
Here are a couple of segments I made it in:
http://www.channel4.com/news/special-reports/special-reports-storypage.jsp?id=4372
http://middleeastwindow.com/video/veterans
Random question... anyone know of any good first triathlons sometime in May? I need to start training for something and since I have access to a swimming pool... why not expand!
Lastly... family, despite it's challenges has made some serious positive progress over the past couple months. I am encouraged that the family is starting to work together again and help each other out. I forgot how good it feels to have your biological be "your family". :)
So it was long, though I hope not epic. I am well (even superfantastic) and after subjecting you to all this... I hope you pay me in kind by sending me an update.
Shalom my friends,
Patrick Wf
p.s. Congrats to Annie Siracusa for most recent wedding. I have never had such good wedding food and seen a better band! May god bless her new journey!
Lost Phone/Testimony/Scorecard
Dear Friend,
For the past few weeks I might have seemed a little distant to the rest of the world… all I can say is that “life took over.” I hope you understand. I am happy to report that at least today I slept in a little and had some time to myself!
Lost Cell Phone:
So… I am a klutz… and lost my cell phone… if you could please email me your contact information so that I can enter it into my new phone (I have my same number).
10-Yr Reunion:
The weekend of Oct 28th I will be in SoCal organizing my HS 10 yr reunion. I would love to see some of you while I am in Camarillo that weekend. If you would like to help with the reunion please email me… and if you have any current pictures of ACHS class of 1996ers we could definitely use them.
Congressional Testimony:
I am tempted to tell you how my testimony went, but I think you would get a much better idea if you check out the video on my website (www.patrickmcampbell.com). There are two clips, both are different parts of my second testimony that deals with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
A note about PTSD... I have made a promise to a friend that I am going to seek some professional counseling from the VA (Dept. of Veterans Affairs). As I have alluded to in past emails, coming home from Iraq wasn’t the storybook ending that I envisioned. It is so easy for all of us to let our guard down the moment we land and pretend that our experiences over there didn’t get to us as much as they did.
Sadly, the real casualties of my experience in Iraq were some of my closest friends. What I did to those friends was inexcusable and I hesitate to place blame on anything other then myself. However, it has become clear to me that Iraq changed me and without acknowledging that both personally and publicly I don’t believe that I can begin the healing process. Iraq changed me in a lot of ways… the majority of which were positive. As a dear friend once said I must begin sanding the rough edges of my life.
Please don’t think that I am sitting here writing this email depressed. I am just being reflective, in a very public manner. In actuality, life has been extremely good to me and I feel blessed everyday that I am still alive…with a full use of my limbs and a full head of hair… ok… maybe just alive and full use of my limbs.
Legislative Scorecard:
For the past three weeks… I have spent all my free time combing through all the votes that Congress has cast over the past 5 years and identifying those votes that affect veterans from Iraq & Afghanistan. With Congress voting over 5,000 times since 9/11, this has been a formidable task. Once I identified the various important pieces (over 300) of legislation, I had to decide which votes were pro-veteran and which were not. After a grueling process of checking and rechecking… I am proud to say that tomorrow the organization I work for will be rolling out our legislative scorecard grading legislators on how they voted on various veteran issues. If you would like to check it out… go to: http://www.iava.org/index.php
Well my computer is about to die and it is getting late…
Thank you for sticking with me… I might not say it enough… but I am always grateful to have you be apart of my life.
Shalom my friends,
Patrick Wf
