Newsletter






Click here for Archived Campbell Watch Emails Wf on CNN (18Sep06) Dear Friend, It has been entirely too long since I last sent up an update. Sadly, I only have a few minutes before I have to run to class... but I promise a more proper update by the end of this week. In the mean time, I was just interviewed by CNN today and it is going to air later today. > Patrick Campbell on CNN Lou Dobbs Tonight > Today, September 18, 2006 > 6 pm - 7 pm EST (sometime between then) > RE: Government Contracts in Iraq (Halliburton, KBR) I hope you all get to watch the segment. Regardless, please don't wait for my update to send me updates on your life. I really do miss hearing from you! Shalom my friend, Patrick Wf p.s. I finally regained access to the photo gallery on my website and I have uploaded hundreds on new photos. It also is a lot more easy to use, so please check it out at: http://patrickmcamp bell.com/ v-web/gallery/ Sgt Wf on NPR (23June06) Friends, just a quick note... today (Saturday) @ 2 pm PST NPR will be broadcasting an interview I did with them earlier this week. For those of you who like to laugh at how i sound on the radio... you can listen to the online webcast at: http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org/ They even already have a picture and description of me up on their website. If you are a Southern Californian you can tune into KPCC 89.3 and listen live! Also I will be in SoCal June 29th-July 3rd for a wedding so please feel free to give me a call. Recap: Sgt Wf on NPR Sat, June 24 @ 2 pm PST (or 5 pm EST) listen at either http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org/ or if you are in SoCal to KPCC 89.3 I hope you all are having amazing summers and I can't wait to hear from everyone. Patrick Wf p.s. This short email is a reprieve from last week's. I laughed so hard after the last email... i know it was way too long when everyone who wrote back said the same thing, "that was a long email, so how was belize?" Sergeant Warmfuzzy (30May06) Dear Friends, I just turned in my last final for the semester so the summer has officially begun! J Executive Summary: Our trip to Belize was a resounding success, in just 10 days we were able to treat over 5,000 local Belizeans and 3,000 animals/livestock. I took over 500 pictures, the best of which I am trying to upload as I type (especially the Mayan Temples). I was promoted to Sergeant and now I have joined the corps of Non Commissioned Officers, aka NCOs. And although Belize is an English speaking country, I was able to practice my Spanish the entire trip. I have uploaded over 200 pictures from Belize, graduation, NYC, St Patty’s Day & other random events (check out the links below). The Real update: Every time I told people that I was going to Belize in the middle of finals I received the “are you crazy” look topped with a hint of jealousy. I always immediately qualified that statement by saying that I was going with the ARMY, but everyone was already picturing me sitting by the beach sipping pina coladas. Now that I am back… I can say that Belize was a lot of hard work!!!! http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/belize We landed in Belize City and the humidity was suffocating. In classic ARMY efficiency we had people trying to travel without passports or leaving their luggage at the baggage claim and walking straight through customs. After two hours we finally got ourselves together and hopped on a bus with Melvin our bus driver. http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/ow/Belize_OW_Melyn He sped West, away from the beaches and the pina coladas and toward the burning sugar cane factories. http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/ow/Belize_SugarCaneFactory We arrived at the St. Christopher hotel in Orange Walk. Orange Walk is both a town and district (similar to a state) that boarders Mexico and Guatemala. The single most frustrating aspect of traveling with the ARMY for me is the buddy system. You cannot go anywhere without a buddy… I love to explore and what interests me is not what interests most of my ARMY “buddies.” Thankfully the hotel had a beautiful running behind it. http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/ow/Belize_RiverBehindStChris Even though the river was 100 ft away and inside the hotel area, someone complained that I had walked off alone. This became a big bone of contention between me and members of the FP (force protection) group assigned to us. No matter how frustrated I got I knew that having this river to sit by would calm me immediately. The hotel was run by a beautiful family who everyone seemed to want to adopt. The city was small, Chinese food restraints littered almost every block. The main city square had a lone statue of a nursing mother: http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/ow/Belize_NursingMother By American standards this statue would seem risqué, but it seemed a perfect fit next to the slides and gazebo. Roaming the streets were kids on bikes, older men and women and the Menites, German immigrants much like our Quakers who had settled in Belize, riding in backs of non-Menite trucks. The first day was spent on briefings. Our Force Protection detail headed by an Air Force Sergeant listed code words, coordinates, escape plans… We weren’t allowed to write them down, so everyone promptly forgot 99% of what was said. We had a local doctor talk about common maladies for the region and how they were being treated. He said that almost every parent bringing their child into our clinic will want something for intestinal worms. This was a quick reminder to not drink the water or eat the ice (a big problem for me). As always they needed to introduce to some dreaded local bug, much like the camel spider in Iraq. They call it the Doctor Fly… it looks like a bee, but has some chemical on its feet that numbs the skin so that you don’t feel it till it has already landed and bit you. For most people nothing happens, but for an unfortunate group (about 25%) it will cause you to swell and itch severely for a couple of days. http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/ow/Belize_OW_DreadedDoctorFly I though it was just another myth until it bit three soldiers on the last day there and boy did they swell up! The last thing they told us was that we should enjoy the A/C in our hotel rooms because the next day we would be moving out of the hotel and moving into a sports complex (aka a gymnasium with conference rooms), sleeping on cots with no A/C or hot water. So much for my relaxing days by the river! I was also told that all the E-4s (I wasn’t promoted till the last day) were going to have to do KP (kitchen Patrol) and I was first up. They said be ready to leave at 0430 the next morning. So what did I do the night before? I went out with one my ARMY buddies and two of my new friends from Ireland who had just graduated from medical school. We hit the bar next door and partied like rock stars. The bartender was letting us pour own drinks and we had a grand old time! I back to my room at 0115. http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/nl/Belize_Night_Irish At 0330 I heard a knock on the door… they had changed the time and I needed to be ready 15 minutes ago. And so the sleep deprivation began! We had a cook travel with us… she was quite talented, but unfortunately like most artists without the right tools it is hard to create anything worth while. The ARMY graciousily sent us boxes on boxes of ARMY rations that cook for large numbers of people. All you need to do is take them out of the box and drop the sealed pans in huge pots of water. Waffles, Sausages, Gravy… all of it cooked in a big pot of water. Some of it was edible and some of it was definitely not. We spent all day cleaning and preparing the Sports Complex… like I said no hot water or A/C. All the boys slept in one conference room and all the girls slept in the other (I say boys/girls because I felt like I was in HS). I would also be remiss to not mention everywhere we went we traveled with a BDF, a Belizean Defense Force. The BDF had about 15 soldiers… a volunteer battalion much like our National Guard. They had Vietnam era m-16s that looked like that had been handed down. The soldiers took wonderful care of us and would later prove invaluable as translators at the clinics. I made some very good friends just playing around with them and practicing my Spanish. They teased me mercilessly… mainly because I understood what they were saying but didn’t know enough to get back at them ;)! http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/ow/Belize_OW_BDFFriends As were sorting all our equipment, someone offhandedly mentioned to me that because the optometrist who was scheduled to come with us did not have a passport that they s/he had cancelled the last minute. Then my commander came up to me and said that I would be working the optometry section and that I should start familiarizing myself with the equipment. Let me say this for the record, I don’t know damn thing about optometry. I have glasses that I don’t wear, but that is about it. I figure they knew I was a quick learner… and that I wouldn’t complain… but I felt like I myself had just been dropped in a bit pot of boiling water and like the waffles I was worried that I would not turn out well. We had one big case of optometry equipment containing; Two eye charts, a complete lens set with the crazy three slot glasses, two fancy eye exam scopes and what seemed to be my saving grace… an automated prescription finder. It was designed for people like myself… just point the machine at the eye, follow the beeps and it would tell you the prescription. I might not be an optometrist but I can read instructions… or at least I thought. The next day we drove to our first site… August Pine Ridge. We took over a local Catholic elementary school. We set up our various stations… Check-in, Dental, General Medicine, Pediatrics, Pharmacy, and Vision. I was going to be working with a doctor and nurse (both full bird colonels) in the vision section… The funny thing is that although they had years more medical training then me and ranked WAY above me, we were all equally unqualified to be running this station. Since I had figured out the fancy automatic equipment… I would check their eyes with the machine, write down the prescription and send them to the other two to sort through the 2000+ pairs of donated glasses to find the right fit. This system had three major flaws… 1) we did organize the glasses well so it took a long time to find anything, 2) the machine took too long compared to the line & lastly 3) the machine never worked. Sure it spit out a number… but it was no more helpful then starting completely randomly. Each one of us had worked out some sort of system. Our glasses ranged from +1000 to -1000… I was very methodical and just split the number in half and tried to narrow the range. The doctor working who with us was convinced that it was a function of age and with this one tool which measures the cylinder of a pair of glasses she could find the right prescription. Unfortunately the challenge did not stop once we found a pair that actually helped the person see, because then they would want a pair that cuter, smaller or more femine/masculine. Since all the glasses were donated… I understood their pain, but there was little we could do. I felt like I was a used car salesman doing anything I could to put this poor people in any pair of glasses they would take. By the end of the day… all three of us were frustrated and I promised myself to be more organized the next day. The other stations hit there own bumps, but on the whole were a big success. Dental which solely did examinations and extractions (no cleaning… just pulling) was chugging out puffy cheeked kids stuffed full of gauze. The doctors and their medics examined people for all types of complaints and were able to prescribe anything and everything. When in doubt, no one left without some vitamins. The people who should be commended the most were the soldiers checking the families in. The lines wrapped around building and keeping up with them all and not loosing it was a Herculean task. http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/APR/Belize_APR_PAD http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/album16/Belize_SP_SchoolBusArrived The next day like a prayer from heaven had been answered… right as we opened up the vision station (with the glasses much more organized) in walked a Red Cross optometrist and her two assistants. http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/APR/Belize_APR_OptometristAssistants I was so relived… and spent the first two hours just sitting around watching as she processed twice as many people as three of us had done the entire day before. I profusely thanked her for saving our butts. Then she dropped the bomb… this was only going to be a one day visit. So I begged her to impart of her optical knowledge onto this hungry student, though she didn’t need much convincing. For the next two hours she gave the practical version of optometry school. She showed me how to use crazy three slotted glasses and explained to me what the all the different lenses meant. http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/album16/Belize_SP_ToolsoftheTrade She told me how age affects the eye and what prescriptions to start with depending on the results of an eye test. It was like the clouds clearing after a storm… it all began to be very clear and made simple, but beautiful sense. She noticed that I was soaking this all up like a sponge so she decided to show me a couple neat tests. She pulled out a retina scope, which is a tool that projects light attached to magnifying glass which allows someone at close range to see inside the pupil, deep into soul. What I saw was absolutely breath taking… it looked the beginning of a new universe. The back drop was a light khaki color with red dots everywhere, overlapping each other closer to the center of eye, with 4 thin tentacle-like nerves connecting in a sea of red. I felt as if I was seeing a new world… I finally understood why they say eyes are the gate way to the soul! Once I knew what I was doing… my time in the vision section went from supremely frustrating to supremely gratifying. The moment you can help someone to see clearly for first time in 20 years is hard to describe in words. Their body tenses up in excitement, a smile beams bright, they nod vigorously and they let out an exhale… relief. My favorite picture from the trip was of a 75 year old women, missing most of her teeth who had not been able to see clearly for 20 years, smiling like Cheshire cat after trying on a pair of ARMY issued BCGs (birth control glasses… so ugly wearing them would guarantee that you would never get laid). http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/APR/Belize_APR_BCGCanSee Almost all the older men and women who came in our clinic needed glasses to read their bible or knit. Not to sound cheesy, but we were allowing people to reestablish their relationship with go… Although I wasn’t doing medical work per se, I was so happy to be where I was. After the second day, once we had figured out what we were doing, the days began to blur… A typical day was as follows: 0500 Wake-Up 0510 Run (ok maybe only twice) 0600 Cold Shower 0615 Breakfast (what you could stomach) 0700 Load Truck with supplies and bus off to site 0800 Open Clinic We would start by giving each patient the standard vision test using the E chart … which was always a riot. Because very few people spoke English and my Spanish though improving is marginal at best, it was extremely hard to explain to people to tell us which the E was facing or put otherwise… was it a E, a W, a M or a 3… it took longer sometimes to do the vision test then find them glasses. Once we found their vision in each eye we would send the problem cases to the table and play with the super cool three slotted lenses. Otherwise we would use our handy notes from the optometrist and start trying on glasses. Day 1 we treated about 60 people, but by Day 4/5 we were up to about 150/day. We were a well oiled machine! 1130 Lunch This meant MREs (meals ready to eat) for some or eating whatever meal was provided by the school. I gorged myself in the local cuisine… I mean I love Sabutas!!! Fried tortillas that resemble soft tacos!!! 1600 Close down clinic By the end of the trip we were seeing over 500-600 patients a day. 1700 Dinner (whatever was hand made was excellent, everything else not so much) 1745 Pill Packing Because we were giving out soooo many pills each day every night we had to count pills and label the bags with the proper prescription. After 25 of us spent 4 hours labeling bags the first day, I begged to have access to a car. When I came back with the prescriptions printed on mailing labels… it seemed nothing short of a miracle. 2015 Dinner @ Lee’s Chinese Food (always Lee’s) 2100 Nightlife/Internet 2300 Sleep Between the three sites, the people changed… so did the site, but the work still stayed the same. Aside from Sgt Hughes trying to pass a kidney stone and needing to get medically evacuated the trip was rather non-dramatic. http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/APR/Belize_APR_JustaKidneyStone Sgt Hughes just looks like he is smiling… it was rather brutal to watch. After 10 days of a high tempo pace we closed down shop, cleaned our gymnasium and became tourists for 36 hours. The first day we took a river boat tour down to a Mayan temple called Lamani. http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/LI The pictures nearly speak for themselves, but the views from atop of the temples over the rain forests were breath taking. There were howler monkeys… I swung the vines of the trees like Tarzan… alligators along the river… bats… rare plants and flowers. The second day we went down to Belize City… much to my chagrin we were marched one store and were forced to do all our shopping at that one store. http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/BC Thankfully we left and finally on the last day hit the beach. It was an overcommercialized beach solely tourists, but it was water and I played and played and played. By the time they drug me out, I was completely sunburn. Overall the trip was a resounding success. I learned a great deal, was able to help people live better lives and I got to see more of the world. Not to end this update on a down note… but there are some important parts to this story that I can’t write in a Campbell Watch, for it is not entirely my story to tell. I will say this, as with my previous two deployments what was going on back home was infinitely harder to deal with then anything I was faced with overseas. Even in the span of two weeks… “a lot seemed to change” while I was away. I believe everything happens for a reason, but it so much harder to stay grounded when you overseas, especially with the ARMY. That being said… I am thoroughly excited about this summer… and hope all of you choose to join me during a Margaretville Sunday on roof. I hope to be starting my job tomorrow… I will write about that when I actually figure out what I will be doing. ;) Thank you for reading this far… I hope you enjoyed the pictures! Shalom my friends, Patrick Wf p.s. I uploaded over 200 news pictures from through the semester on my website… please take a moment to peruse them! Graduation Week (CUA & G-town) (34 pics) http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/gw NYC Trip (7 pics) http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/NYC2 Random Law School Pics (20 pics added) http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/LawSchool Schwartz Twins B-Day Party (13 pics) http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/schwartz St. Patrick’s Day Celebration (14 pics) http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/StPDay Rachel Steinfield’s B-Day (4 pics) http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/rachel Elisabeth’s House Party (4 pics) http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/Lis Belize or Bust (05May06) Dear Friends, I am proud to announce that I have successfully survived my first law school finals in two years (yes, it has been that long). Although I have no idea how I did… in reality I don’t really care, because tomorrow at 0500 I leave for my two-week/year National Guard duty down in Belize. We will be setting up medical clinics in three cities along the Belize/Mexico border. I will take plenty of pictures and will post them on my website as soon as I return. I have no idea if I will have internet access while I am there, so please excuse me if you don’t hear from me till I get back May 20th. In other news, I will be spending the summer working as a lobbyist for the Iraqi & Afghanistan Veterans Association (IAVA). I will be opening up their DC shop and I am looking to build that office from the ground up. You might remember that I was Vet of the Week with the IAVA a month or so ago. They are an incredible organization fighting for a sensible plan in Iraq that involves smart foreign policy, equipping our soldiers and then taking care of those same soldiers when they return. We are looking for a couple good interns if you know any who will be in the DC area this summer. (http://www.iava.org/index.php) It is time for me to tiddy up those last odds and ends… Last announcement… if you are in the DC area this summer, I will be sponsoring Margaretville Sundays @ the Meridian on our roof. They will start roughly at 4 p.m. and will last till they kick us out. We have a pool… BBQs… so come prepared. More to come. Shalom my friends, Patrick Wf p.s. what little free time I had during finals week I spent with my two good friends Sarah & Mia (both from Cal). I put some pictures on the website if you are bored: http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/finalsweek Clydesdale (26Mar06) Dear Friends, I earned a new nickname this weekend… Clydesdale. On Saturday I participated in my second marathon by running the inaugural National Marathon in Washington, DC. I am proud to say that I survived and finished though just barely… here is the rest of the story: Five a.m. is entirely too early to be up on a Saturday morning. Thankfully I had a full nights sleep the night before, so I felt rested. I knew that I needed to eat a real breakfast. My last marathon taught me that not eating equals getting real dizzy and nauseated during the run. I ate 1 ½ English muffins with peanut butter and drank a 32 oz. bottle of Gatorade. I was so nervous that I started coughing up the Gatorade. Thankfully I had a good team supporting me, my roommate (a four time marathon runner) named Paul and my friend Candice (a marathon runner in training). They woke up with me at the butt crack of dawn and gathered all my stuff into bags and loaded it into the car. We left at 6 a.m. and were at the DC armory by about 6:15. The temperature was in the high 30’s and I was wearing my new Mizuno running shoes, army shorts, a short sleeved brown under armour shirt, my rain proof ARMY jacket, a pair of black gloves and my trusty Ironman Velcro watch. The forecast called for 30% chance of rain and light winds (thank god for no wind on race day). There were almost 2,000 runners (almost 2/3s were doing the half marathon). Since runners are told to hydrate by drinking almost 1 gallon of water a day for the week leading up the marathon, it almost goes without saying that when the runners arrive at the start line everyone needs to piss. Unfortunately when I got in line for the Port-a-johns 30 minutes before the race started the line was almost 100 runners deep. I met my first marathon friend… Kit. This was his 7 or 8th marathon. He was the one who told me that in some marathons they have Clydesdale divisions for marathon runners over 200 lbs. He took one look at me and said, “Yep, you are definitely a Clydesdale.” For those of you equestrian challenged, Clydesdale are the large stout horses that appear in all the Budweiser commercials. Thirty minutes later we were still in line and the announcer was yelling at people to get to the start line… some of the people ran to the wood line and those of us who had to do a little more then pee, were cheering on our running compadres as they did “power squats” in the toilets. I made it to the start line 30 seconds before the gun went off… although I was miffed about waiting in line so long… I totally forgot about being nervous about the race. I crossed the start line one minute after the gun went off… there were crowds of people lurching forward, but no one was really moving all that fast. About 200 ft into the race, I witnessed a runner’s nightmare. Someone tripped on one of the many feet and fell down and hurt themselves. They were out of the race… four months of training down the tubes. The first mile was just a lap around the armory. It was a good warm up lap and it was good to see my support team (Paul & Candice) one more time. Paul asked if I wanted him to take my ARMY jacket and I said I would see him at mile 8 and give it to him then. As the crowd spread out… I found that my legs were feeling good and none of my previous injuries (knee and heel) were creaking or aching. This was going to be a good run I told myself. I saw a pace setter in front of me and sped up to catch him. I was looking for the 9:09min pacer, which would run a 4:00 marathon, but I caught up to the 8:49 pacer. I was feeling so good that I was thinking about which marathon I would be running next, until I quickly reminded myself of the pain that was to come. We sped down East Capitol, past the Capitol building and turned onto Constitution Avenue. At mile 3 a fellow runner named John started to chat me up. He is in the Air Force and flies C-17s. This was his 6th marathon, but he now prefers running ultra marathons (ultra = means anything more then 26.2 miles, including upwards of 100 miles). He was my new best friend. Now many people said they would meet me along the trail… but lets be real 7 a.m. is way too early to get up on a Saturday morning. Even I have been guilty of promising to get up early to help someone run and then turn off the alarm the next morning… sorry Jess! J That being said, when John and I passed the 5 mile marker… all we could hear was “GO BEARS!” Alex Visher, a friend from Berkeley, was out in force and was screaming her support. Alex rocked my world and made me feel like a rockstar with my new best friend. The best part was that we looped back past her and got even more support. John and I talked military shop for about 5 miles. He flew missions over Afghanistan and recounted his experiences being shot at by small arms and surface to air missiles (SAMs). He said the hardest missions were night landings using only NVGs (night vision goggles) and I recounted to him the story of my first time driving a Humvee with NVGs. He got a big kick out of me and I was thankful that he picked me to run with. Mile 8 marked the beginning of Southeastern part of the trail. For those of you non-DC residents, South East DC is not an area of town that most people who work in government or go to school here ever visit. DC is very segregated and for most this was there first time in that part of the city. Paul and Candice were supposed to meet me at Mile 8, but they were no where to be seen. I wanted to ditch my jacket, the sun had come out and I was running warm. I though to myself… they must have gone ahead to mile 13. My running partner John met his wife and stripped his pants off… It would be a couple miles before I would see him again. At mile 10, we crossed over the Anacostia river and into the heart of SE DC. All the full marathon runners knew that starting at mile 11 we would begin the 250 ft elevation increase (aka BIG HILLS). As we neared the first big hill, we saw volunteers with signs diverting all the half marathoners wearing yellow bibs (as opposed to our white bibs). The half marathoners had a flat two mile return to the armory and their finish line while we had nothing but hills staring in the face. It was sad and lonely to watch so many runners divert away from the trail ahead, I took a deep breath and remembered that this was a race against myself. Miles 11 – 13 were nearly straight uphill. At one point they had us run to the top of steep hill and then had us run down to the bottom and back up again. I was sure that who ever the racer planner was took great delight in designing that dastardly leg of the race. At mile 12, John caught up to me. He said, “Hi neighbor” and I don’t think we talked after that. We just ran in each other’s company. I crossed mile 13 and the half way point at 1:58. I was on pace to break 4 hours… I fully expected to see Paul and Candice. By this time my jacket was soaked in sweat and weighed almost 15 lbs. I had to tie it around my waist. I was also starving… I remember that not eating gets me in big trouble when I run and Paul had my Cliff Bars. Mile 13 came and went and they were no where to be seen. I also expected to see my good friend Sarah Anthony (not my old running partner) and her friend Erika. They had planned to run with me from mile 13 to mile 20. They were also no where to be seen. Miles 14-15 were just more hills… some downhill and some up. If you ask many marathon runners, hills up or down are hard on your body. At mile 15… I hit the wall. The wall is moment when your body realizes that you are tired and wants to stop. It is when the pain starts. Once you hit the wall… all you have left is your will to finish. During my last marathon, the flattest marathon in the US, I hit the wall at mile 20. I couldn’t believe I was hitting the wall with 11 miles left in the race. I slowed down and my running partner left with 9:09 pace group. I was so tired I couldn’t even say goodbye. I kept running… and running. More hills. I was starving. I drank Gatorade at every water station, though it never quite filled me up. I made two new friends, but I was too tired to talk to them. I wanted to quit… My friends were no where in sight… my pace slowed down from 8:45 min/miles to 11 min/miles. My jacket felt like a diving belt around my waist. At mile 18 I quickly downed a cup of lemon lime Gatorade and was marching up a hill when I saw a truly beautiful sight. It was Paul running the wrong way on the track. He was wearing the brown under armour shirt I gave him, for solidarity. I know this doesn’t make me sound very manly, but when I saw him I started to cry. Not just misty eyed… but full on sobbing. I was so relieved to see a friend, to have a running partner again, to have someone carry my 15 lbs. jacket and most importantly Paul had my food… my sustenance. I could only eat a bite… I needed water to wash the Cliff Bar down, but just having it close made me feel better. He told me that the marathon had cut off all arteries of traffic and that they had spent the past 3 hours trying to get to Mile 8, 13 & 20. He said they finally made it to mile 20 and that he took off running to come find me. He also said that my friends Sarah & Erika were about 20 minutes behind me trying to catch up with me on the trail. Paul might not have been wearing a Cal shirt, but he was definitely my guardian angel on this marathon. He coached me along… with positive words of encouragement. He told me stories, but realized that I needed my silence as well. Just before the 20 mile marker I started having flashbacks from my last marathon and I began to feel very dizzy. I tried to tell Paul, but just saying a few words was too much exertion, I was short of breath and got even more dizzy. We were at the base of a hill when we hit a water station. Two hundred feet beyond that water station was the twenty mile marker and big hill. I walked… I stopped running for 3 minutes. I told Paul that we had to talk the hill. I had given up. He told me that Candice was waiting at the top of that hill. I took a breath and remembered why I was running a second marathon. I was so disappointed in myself last time for walking the last 6 miles that I knew I would have to do it again. Here I was at mile 20 at the bottom of a big hill with a friend waiting at the top. I just started running again… Paul felt the change in me and egged me on… I made the decision then to keep running and I never stopped till we crossed the finish line. I saw Candice and her new race friends for maybe 30 seconds. They say a marathon doesn’t really start till mile 20. They are right. After mile 20… the hills and mile markers became a blur. It was all pain. My thighs began to ache, then they began to cramp and then they locked up. This happened to me last marathon… I remember having to yell at myself to get my legs to move. The hills were compounding the problem. The pain was increasing steadily, it was almost unbearable. I knew if I stopped running they would lock up and if I kept running they would stretch out. I stopped for step (one step and one step only), just long enough to feel the flash pain and I kept running. The dizziness and the cramping were things I expected, but what happened next I was not prepared for. At about mile 22 or 23, I began to loose feeling in my arms. It was a pulsating, pins and needles pain, that same feeling you get when your foot falls asleep, except it was my entire arm, both arms. I began to shiver… I was freezing cold, though the temperature had not dropped all that much. It felt like my entire body was falling apart. I was having trouble breathing and couldn’t talk at all… I took to hand signals, but they were not all that effective. The hills seemed endless. We finally crested mile 25 and you could see the Stadium in the distance. I had been running for over 4 hours and all I wanted to do was stop. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. Paul was there… thank god Paul was there. About one mile from the finish line I saw two friends from Catholic University Law, Jess Purcell and Kate Murray, were waiting on the side of the road. Tears swelled… because I was feeling like I betrayed them. I wanted to quit so bad that I was angry that they were there (I am crying right now thinking about it). They were both marathon runners and I knew with Paul, that they wouldn’t let me quit… and I hated them for it. Jess started chanting “Campbell, Campb…,” I told her to be quiet. My legs were burning; my arms felt like I was suffering from hypothermia, my lips were quivering from the cold and inside my mind raged an epic battle… to quit or to keep going. As my three running partners chatted with each other, I sank deeper in myself. When I passed the mile 26 marker something inside me broke… I would like to think that it was my training, but I know that it was God carrying me. I broke out in a full sprint… probably not a real sprint, but something that felt like a full sprint to me. Since I started running I always ended in a sprint… and that day I crossed the finish line in a full sprint. As soon as I stopped running, the world started spinning. I grabbed Paul around the shoulder and held onto him for dear life. I eeked out, “we need to keep walking.” The organizers of the race tried to take the computer chip off my shoe but we just walked past them. The medics at the finish line saw me immediately beseeched me to go the medical tent. I told them that I needed to keep walking. I walked for about 3 minutes… drank some Gatorade and tried to eat a banana. When Paul let me go for a second, I realized how bad my vertigo really was and then I swallowed my pride and we went into the medical tent. My whole body was shivering… I still couldn’t feel my arms and I was incredibly short of breath. They wrapped me in blankets and raised my feet. My blood pressure was low and oddly enough so was my heart rate (low 50’s). Since medics make the worst patients I would not let them stick me with an IV… though I finally let them administer some Oxygen. I have no adult memories of ever having oxygen before and since it was free I thought what the hell. So there I laid, bundled up in blankets… in the medical tent. Paul turned in my chip and got my medal for me. Sarah & Candice were unable to make it from mile 20 to finish line before I crossed so they missed my most embarrassing moments. After about 15 minutes I finally felt well enough to get up and walk around. They gave me 600mg of Ibuprofen and let me go on my way. When all the times were tallied… I had beaten my previous time by 15 seconds (4:24:39 v. 4:24:54). It is almost inconceivable to me that I could run 26.2 miles twice and have almost the exact same time. I take solace in the fact that my first marathon is one of flattest marathons in existence and this one was 15 miles of hills. I am proud that I finished, but I most proud of the fact that I didn’t stop running. I didn’t give up… even when my body was literally shutting down. I realize that although a marathon is an individual sport… I am forever indebted to everyone who should up to cheer me on. I could not have done without you. Alex your cheers carried me for many miles. Sarah & Erika… knowing that despite the traffic you still found your way to Mile 13 and that you chased me for 7 miles, means a great deal to me. Candice, for someone who is as directionally impaired as you claim to be… you are absolute rock star for driving all over DC in the most difficult traffic conditions. And your sign rocked! Paul… well… I have told you over and over again. You saved me. You caught me twice once at mile 18 and the other time at the finish line. I know this is another marathon “marathon” email… for those of you who read this far… thank you for sharing in the journey with me. I am doing well now… just sore, with a big bruise on my heel… but us Clydesdale are rather resilient! Shalom my friend, Patrick Wf Happy Fat Tuesday & Vet of the Week (28Feb06) Dear Friends, I just arrived in Myrtle Beach, SC with a couple of my law school buddies to begin celebrating Spring Break 2006. Yes, I know that it is way too early and that is not even spring yet... but what can you do? I just wanted to wish everyone a wonderful Fat Tuesday. I hope every one of you is partying it up tonight. For those of you who are of the Catholic persuasion don't forget that lent starts tomorrow. I have no idea what I am giving up. I also wanted to announce that I was selected as the Iraq & Afghanistan's Veteran's Association (IAVA) "Vet of the Week" this week. The organization lobbies on behalf of veterans for issues such as having enough body armor, increasing the number of armored Humvees, and veterans benefits to involving veterans in the national discussion about what we should be doing in Iraq. I am really impressed with their organization and I will be doing a lot of work for them over the next couple of years. Even if you aren't interested so much, just click on the site so that they get more visitors Here is the link to me as "Vet of the Week"... http://www.iava.org/index2.html Also for your viewing pleasure I have included a couple of new photo galleries on my website. The first one is me at the law school prom (aka Barristers Ball)... I am in my Class A uniform, with all the new medals/ribbons. Definitely a site to see. http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/barristers This one is just a random smattering of happy hour pictures. I think it is Carmen's welcome back to DC party. http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/HappyHour This one is Cathy Lander's birthday party weekend. http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/Landers Well I am off to enjoy Myrtle Beach, where the weather is supposed to get up to the 70s... Shalom my friends, Patrick Wf Happy Valentine's (14Feb06) Dear Friends, Happy Valentine's Day! Today is a celebration of love in our lives. And I want to take this opportunity to thank you for being apart of my life. Your love has carried me through so much… and I feel cloaked in its warmth. I know that some of you despise this day… I concede that this day is over commercialized and seems a little bit contrived (why this day as opposed to every other day?). But I would like to say that the same can be said for most holidays (especially Christmas). Some also say Valentine's day is a Hallmark created holiday, but for me this day is about celebrating love. As you might remember, last year at this time was an extremely tough time for me… but never did I give up on the idea of love, even when it hurt the most. I ask all of you to think about today as the day to celebrate all types of love (relationships, friendships, familial…). Tell the person who you love that you love them. Enough soap boxing on the merits of a holiday… I have a couple of announcements and of course a story: 1) Law Clerk Position I was offered and accepted a Law Clerk position with Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) on the Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee. I have been working on the NSA warrantless wiretaps and had an opportunity to research and write questions for the Attorney General's testimony before our committee on Monday. I have also been working on immigration law, asbestos litigation and judicial nominations (no I did not work on Alito ;). More to come on my experience with DiFi… but I am enjoying my time there. 2) March 25th – National Marathon I have been training for the past the two months to run my second marathon next month. The National Marathon is being held in DC and it the first time they are putting it on. (http://www.nationalmarathon.com/) . If anyone is around on Sat. the 25th please come out and cheer/run. I am not training with anyone this year and I could use all the support I can get. 3) October 28th – ACHS 10yr. Reunion After a lot of haggling… we were finally able to secure the Embassy Suites Hotel in Oxnard for the Reunion. I hope everyone from the Rillo Class of 1996 will be able to attend. Space is limited so please email me about reserving tickets. It should be great food, good music and lots of drinks! Also if have other people's contact information please email me their information. Story Time "Pop Quiz": A group of law school buddies left Stetsons (a Democratic hang out in DC) and headed for the infamous Ben's Chili Bowl (the DC equivalent of Top Dog). As we were walking, one of the party members was teasing me about how I had ditched her the night before to help out a friend who called last minute and sounded really distraught on the phone. I told her that I have a bad habit of trying to help people I don't know very well and that friends of mine constantly wonder why I help people I don't know at the expense of my good friends. She then gave me a pop quiz: "So what if when we passed the next alley you saw a body laying there would you: A) Run and help, leaving me (her) out in the cold? or B) Keeping walking with us to Ben's Chili Bowl" I responded both in jest and seriously, "Is there an answer C? C) Run to the person and ask for your help" The question really grated on me... it is not the first time I have been accused of forgoing my friendships for other people, especially people I don't know. I guess it is a sensitive subject. I had to be at ARMY drill the next morning at 0630 and it was quickly nearing 0300. So I did not stay for the Chili Bowl extravaganza... As I walked out the door, I saw a crowd of people gathering on the corner. I ran across the street and heard voices talk about two people getting jumped. The first man was in his late 20s and appeared to be middle eastern. He was completely unresponsive and had multiple bruises forming on his head. At least he was breathing and had a strong pulse. I yelled at the crowd gathering around him, "I need someone to hold his head." After quickly instructing someone to stabilize his head in case he had suffered some sort of neck injury, I sprinted to the other body. This man was also in his late 20's and middle eastern in descent. By the time I arrived he had woken up and was a little disoriented... and a little combative. He did not let me look at him closely, but it was obvious that the first man needed my help more (triage). I ran back to the first man and began doing a rapid trauma assessment, which is where you look for life threatening injuries and other possible signs of trauma. Someone thankfully flagged down an ambulance within about a minute of me arriving. One of the medics took over stabilizing the head, while the other went evaluate the second man. The medic let me continue the rapid trauma assessment, which I consider to be an honor. I was a little nervous and felt rushed... it is hard to remember in those situations that I don't have the same dangers to myself and my buddies that I did in Iraq. We loaded him on a long spine board and he was shipped to Howard Medical Center. After they got everything squared away I ran back to Ben's Chili Bowl and joking accused my friend of jinxing me. Aside from the ironic/random nature of the event, it did put something in perspective to me. If my choices are the choice between A and B... I already know which one I will choose, it just saddened me when I realized that so many people I have been with over the years have never really understood that about me. I realized that I need someone in my life who loves me for that fact... I have always wanted to be a hero and I realize that I have a serious Clark Kent complex... that will never go away no matter how hard I try. I am always trying to improve myself and I definitely need to work on being more loyal to my friends... I have a lot to learn and grow in that respect. In contrast to this story I have lied to and offended some of my best friends over the past couple of months. I don't understand why I can run toward some I barely know, while at the same time take for granted the people who have been the most loyal to me. Judging by my behavior since I got back, it almost seems pathological. I am feeling a lot more grounded now that I am back in law school with a routine, my free time is negligible and therefore I am not left up to my own devices. I only hope pray that I am growing from all these experiences. All that being said… today is about celebrating love. As I stated before… I feel loved beyond my worth and for that I am grateful. I love you all… and consider this one big hug from me to you. Patrick Wf School, Cops & Craigslist (16Jan06) Dear Friends, It didn’t take me more then 48 hours being back at school to have the cops called on me… I guess I am off to an auspicious start! Eighteen months after I left for my deployment I find myself sitting in class; lugging around over $350 worth of books (which is only half the required reading list); being called on by every one of my professors (for those non-law students, being called on is usually a monthly phenomenon); talking about hot button topics like physician assisted suicide, unlawful search and seizure, gay marriage and environmental regulations; and secretly worrying about how I am going to pay my January rent. Two factors might have contributed to me being called on in every one of my classes. First, I might be the only one excited to be back in school. Believe me when I tell you, how wonderful it is to be back in class, aside from not having any classes before 2 pm and no classes on Friday, it is just wonderful to be challenged mentally again. Second, since I grew a full beard over winter break I tend to stick out in class more then ever before. ( http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/bday/BD_Pat ) Pictures: New Year’s Eve: http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/NewYearsEve2006 Birthday: http://patrickmcampbell.com/v-web/gallery/bday (Thank you to those who came to Irish times… lets just say I barely made it home that night! The next day was the worst!) As a personal rule I try to refrain from talking about relationships and money issues on Campbell Watch, but alas I cannot tell this story without a little bit of financial background. I saved a considerable amount of money from my little trip overseas and I decided when I got back that I would spend Oct-Dec traveling around the country living off my savings. The ARMY promised one last pay check in December, that I now realize I was a fool for expecting on time. Most of the people in my brigade had hoped to buy x-mas presents with that money (me included) so when December came and went we all had to rebudget. So when the first day of school came around I could not wait to cash my financial aide check for the semester. I had a reading list of over $500, rent/utilities due and I needed to eat. I could only afford to pay for two… The first day of school the financial aide office said that the system that cuts the financial aide checks was down and we should come back Tues/Wed. So of course I came back on Tuesday, only to be told that the financial aide checks would not be ready for an entire week and a day later (this upcoming Wednesday). I was pissed, but also scared. I was not about to tell my new roommates (who both rock) that I couldn’t pay the first month’s rent. I talked with the law school director of financial aide for about a half hour. He explained to me what had happened and I reminded him that before I left for Iraq I had been trying to get the university to devise backup plans for financial aide checks for this precise scenario. It was obvious there was nothing more he could do, so I asked him who I needed to talk to. He pointed me down to an office called Student Accounts and told me to ask for their director… Ms. Leah Wolf. Now before I marched down to the Student Accounts Office… I checked myself. Was I going down there to just yell and complain or did I have something constructive to add? And was I doing this for myself or was I doing it for the other 400 law students on financial aide who I knew were also in a bad way? The Student Accounts front office was cramped with about 5 women. I asked “Cathy” (the only woman whose desk faced the front door) if I could meet with Ms. Wolf (the director). She looked at me like I was speaking Arabic and I asked again to speak to with Ms. Wolf. Cathy asked me what it was concerning and I said, “Financial aide checks, the law school director of financial aide sent me.” At this point begun the secretary dance… Where Cathy pretended to call Ms. Wolf and then told me she couldn’t find her, though someone whispered under their breath that she was right on the other side of the door. She then said I could wait and to her surprise I said that would be lovely. So I sat down, cracked a law book (yes, I do my reading). I have done this dance so many times with people at Senator Boxer’s office. I played Cathy’s role… I was trying to get people to leave, when the person they wanted to meet with them didn’t want to meet with them but didn’t want to say no directly. I sat in the hallway for about an hour. At that point Cathy called me in and asked me to re-explain why I was there. I told her about my experience working with their software system while I was at Berkeley, how I had worked issues like this before and that I was here to help get done whatever needed to get done. Then the dance went to the next step… She tried to get me to meet with a low level staffer who would take my concerns and later file them in the trash can. When I said I came to meet with Ms. Wolf, the director… Cathy made a call and said that Ms. Wolf would not meet with me. I said disappointed but thanked Cathy for her time. I knew my chances of meeting with Ms. Wolf was less then 50%, but I had tried. Cathy felt bad and quietly gave me Ms. Wolf’s email address. As I turned the corner to leave I saw 5 law students who were coming to pick up their checks. When I told them they would not be ready for more then a week they were pissed. I explained that the system was down and that I had just tried to meet with the director. As I discussing the issue with them another one of the Student Accounts women rounded the corner and engaged us in discussion. She said, “I don’t know why any of you are down here, the checks weren’t supposed to be available till next week.” She pulled a random yellow piece of paper off the wall with lots of writing on it and said “It clearly says right here!” Not backing down, I explained to her that I had come to meet with the director and that barring the system being down we would have been picking up our checks that day. She walked away and I started taking everyone’s information… I needed a coalition to fight this issue. A minute later, the Student Accounts Supervisor (not the director) Mr. Jasper, came out and looked very angry. He then proceeded to say that I was harassing his staff and that it was ridiculous for us to assume that our checks would be available any earlier then next week. I asked him what I had said wrong and he (almost crying he was so angry) said that “I shouldn’t speak anymore… that had I done enough talking.” I was so surprised that he was so mad, but as he spoke 4 campus police officers and two private security surrounded us. In a matter of 10 minutes the situation had escalated from me sitting calmly in the hallway for a unscheduled meeting with the Student Accounts director to 6 law students arguing with two Student Accounts personnel, surrounded by the police and security. It was mind boggling… I felt like I was back in Berkeley, except this time I was the rebel rouser. Mr. Jasper then began the final dance step… bald face lying (or AKA making shit up). He stated that the reason why the checks were not available was because Federal Regulations required them to keep them till the add/drop deadline. At that point all 6 of us tried to think of anyway to get around that regulation (like all good law students might). He convinced all but two of us of this story and the four others realized they needed to study. After exhausting himself trying to get us to leave, he made a critical error. He exclaimed, “Listen if you want to meet with our director, then so be it!” I thought to myself… funny… that is why I came in the first place. So I met with the director for a ½ hour… I got a lot of good information and realized that the checks would be available as soon as the system let up. I offered to bring all the people involved in this whole process together in about a month to avoid this situation in the future. It was a great meeting. The next two days all the checks were available. So for those of you who need the abridged version of the “Secretary Dance:” Step 1: Stalling Step 2: Side Stepping Step 3: Hiding Behind Internal Rules Step 4: Physical Intimation Step 5: Bald Face Lying (aka making shit up) So aside from school… life has been quite wonderful. I have spending a lot of time with good friends. I have been to three dinner parties this week alone (Thank you Sarah, Gail & Andrea). Life is falling into place… The thing I am most excited about is that my apartment is almost all put together. I have become an addicted “craigslist”er. Craigslist.org is website where people can post free advertisements for just about anything and there is a whole community surrounding it. It was started in San Francisco and has spread around the world. I check the furniture page everyday, scowering it for just the right piece of furniture for the right price. Most people are moving and need to get rid of their stuff ASAP. Sometimes you can find ridiculous pieces for cheap or even free. If you are shopping for furniture… I encourage you just to look. I have a queen sized bed w/head board, beautiful chest of drawers with hutch, a roll top desk, two bookshelves and a 27” TV for less then $600. So I have learned a couple things that I would like to share those of you who might be new craigslisters: 1) Be polite (call if you are not coming). Twice I have arrived at a place to pick up a piece (desk and chest of drawers) and the owner would drop the price just because I was nice. 2) Be ready to bargain (almost always knock off about 25%) A lot of people will call about a posting on Craigslist, but VERY few people actually show up. So be nice (rule #1), show up… but also don’t be afraid to haggle. Once you are there, just getting rid of the piece is usually almost worth $50 to the owners. 3) Always pay in cash! 4) If you are posting something to sell… always post a picture. I will not drive anywhere when I can’t see what it looks like. 5) Get the measurements. I had some trouble when I bought my bed, realizing that the queen did not fit in my ford explorer. I didn’t have any rope and I was completely embarrassed when I needed to have the person selling me the bed drive me to Walgreens to buy rope. Ok I have rambled on and on about not very much. I am sorry the stories are not as interesting as the ones in Iraq, but I can’t say I am not that sad about that. ;) I hope all of you are keeping warm this winter. I hope to see you sometime in DC… Shalom my friends, Patrick Wf p.s. I would love to hear any funny craiglist stories you might have! Merry X-mas, Happy Holidays & Save Jan 7th (25Dec05) Dear Friends, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I am down here in South Carolina visiting my two Dads and my two brothers. One set is living in Myrtle Beach, while the other is visiting Charleston, SC. I wanted to take this chance to wish everyone of you a peaceful, relaxing and rejuvenating holiday season. I know that 2005 has been a tough year for some... All I can say is that I too am ready for a new year, a new beginning, a new chance at making things right. I have faith that 2006 is going to be an amazing year! I believe! (for those Cal people) For that reason, those of you living in DC should join me in the first big party of the new year (did I mention that it is also my birthday): Saturday, Jan. 7th @ 8 p.m. Irish Times (right near Union Station). Although my birthday is actually on the 9th, I don't really think i should get completely bombed on my first day back to law school in over 1 1/2 years. But who knows... it might still happen. But this email is about you... not me. Merry Christmas... Happy Holidays... And a wonderful New Year. Shalom my friend, Patrick Wf P.S. On the road I got to listen to the "Southern Avenger" (a Southern radio personality/blogger) discuss the "War on Christmas" and how America has declared was on X-mas as much as they have declared war on terror/drugs. Hence the Merry Christmas subject heading. P.P.S. For those of you who want to hear some more good Patrick Campbell Stories... I just got back from NYC last week and below is a recounting on my first night there: First a little background... the China Town Bus broke down before it even made it past the DC Convention Ctr (3 blocks from the starting point). Did I mention that it smelled like the bathroom had exploded? I had the whole back half of the bus to myself before we switched buses. Then My friend Ryan took me around... we saw some touristy stuff like the big x-mas tree. On the way to one of his favorite bars we encountered a young man (about 21) throwing bags of trash around. His girlfriend (masha) pleaded with us to help him. He was falling down every couple of steps and she was crying. So I helped him up and tried to hail them a cab. Ryan ran down the street and got one. Come to find out from Masha that this guy had jumped on the hood of the last cab and broke a window (which explained the blood on his hand). We waved the cab on. We were half a block from a police station... so I first sent masha and then ryan to go get them. When they left, the drunk guy took off running down the street toward traffic. I was able to grab him and redirect him onto the sidewalk a few feet before he stepped into on coming traffic. He kept running and I laughed... saying "you are not going to out run me." Finally he stopped. And of course collapsed. I picked him. He started to run again... this I had a hold of him. Then he started to struggle and fight. His girlfriend was no where to be seen... I was on a busy road... and some how i had adopted this drunk guy. So he takes a swing at me. He falls down and I pin him to the ground. I kneel on his chest and pin his arms behind his head. Thank god for my ground fighting training... He then tried to wrap his leg around me... I just gave him a sternum rub and sat on top of him. He tried to bite, kick, hit... everything to get up. I looked down at him and sort of laughed... because here I was for the second time in less then a month in physical altercation (AKA fight) since I got back. The only other one I had been in was in 3rd grade and I got my butt kicked. Some random pedestrian with good intentions asked what i was doing and I tried to explain. It didn't help that the guy was screaming. After sensing that I was not there to hurt him, he said, "Just pin him for 10 minutes and he will tire out." I almost forgot to say... it is almost 10 degrees out and the wind is whipping down the street. This guy keeps yanking off my gloves. I told the pedestrian thank you for the advice and that I was waiting for the cops to arrive. Finally a taxi drives up and two plain clothes police officers jump out... and not 5 seconds later... two more patrol cars arrive and 5 seconds after that the cops from the police station arrive. I have the guy in a full nelson at this point. Thankfully the cops did not suspect me of anything and let me restrain him. Finally I let him go. He was quiet for 5 minutes, sort of making me look like a big asshole. But the cops were even bigger assholes (in only a way fitting of the NYPD). Masha went to grab her boyfriend a coat. As soon as she left, the boyfriend took a run for it. He had really long shaggy hair and the cop barely caught him by that hair before he ran into the middle of traffic. Then the screaming, fighting, and biting began again. At some level I felt relieved, though the cops were a lot rougher on him then me. Even after they handcuffed he still struggled. He demanded to see his lawyer and kept screaming that the cops were killing him. Ryan and I stayed just to make sure it never turned into a beat down. The cops did not like being in the cold and were obliviously angry about it, but never did anything that the drunk guy didn't deserve. Masha started having panic attacks and the police officers were getting really mad at her, because every time she came around the drunk would explode. Ryan and I comforted her, bought her a pack of cigarettes, found out which hospital the ambulance was taking her boyfriend and even wiped her boyfriends blood off her hands. All of this 10 feet from the bar we were heading to... crazy. So just to add to the story... Masha wrote me this a week later (you have to imagine it being said in a thick Russian accent for the full affect: "Hey guys! I could never thank you enough for what you've done! For your help! I could not have stopped him if it wasn't for you guys! So to make the long story short, Stan (that's his name) went into ER Psychiatric department, and they kept him there for about 2 days, to let him sober up; also they gave him some detoxicants (did i say that correctly) to help him recover. I stayed with him all that time, of course he doesn't remember anything (lucky bastard! :), but he felt bad enough and his hand was slightly injured from that night. And while he had his fun drinking, someone stole his wallet, and went on a shopping spree for a couple of thousand dollars, so right now we're trying to dispute the purchases. By the way, his mother thinks that I've done that, and I literally have no words! Well, at least he promised not to drink anymore and behave himself like a nice boy, I want to see how that's going to work out. As for myself, I feel as if I've gotten stronger, and i've got through that situation without being hysterical ( well, not much anyways!), but without your help I can't imagine where both of us would be today. Thank you!!!" All in a days work in NYC! :) Merry X-mas, Happy Holidays & Save Jan 7th (25Dec05) Dear Friends, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! I am down here in South Carolina visiting my two Dads and my two brothers. One set is living in Myrtle Beach, while the other is visiting Charleston, SC. I wanted to take this chance to wish everyone of you a peaceful, relaxing and rejuvenating holiday season. I know that 2005 has been a tough year for some... All I can say is that I too am ready for a new year, a new beginning, a new chance at making things right. I have faith that 2006 is going to be an amazing year! I believe! (for those Cal people) For that reason, those of you living in DC should join me in the first big party of the new year (did I mention that it is also my birthday): Saturday, Jan. 7th @ 8 p.m. Irish Times (right near Union Station). Although my birthday is actually on the 9th, I don't really think i should get completely bombed on my first day back to law school in over 1 1/2 years. But who knows... it might still happen. But this email is about you... not me. Merry Christmas... Happy Holidays... And a wonderful New Year. Shalom my friend, Patrick Wf P.S. On the road I got to listen to the "Southern Avenger" (a Southern radio personality/blogger) discuss the "War on Christmas" and how America has declared was on X-mas as much as they have declared war on terror/drugs. Hence the Merry Christmas subject heading. P.P.S. For those of you who want to hear some more good Patrick Campbell Stories... I just got back from NYC last week and below is a recounting on my first night there: First a little background... the China Town Bus broke down before it even made it past the DC Convention Ctr (3 blocks from the starting point). Did I mention that it smelled like the bathroom had exploded? I had the whole back half of the bus to myself before we switched buses. Then My friend Ryan took me around... we saw some touristy stuff like the big x-mas tree. On the way to one of his favorite bars we encountered a young man (about 21) throwing bags of trash around. His girlfriend (masha) pleaded with us to help him. He was falling down every couple of steps and she was crying. So I helped him up and tried to hail them a cab. Ryan ran down the street and got one. Come to find out from Masha that this guy had jumped on the hood of the last cab and broke a window (which explained the blood on his hand). We waved the cab on. We were half a block from a police station... so I first sent masha and then ryan to go get them. When they left, the drunk guy took off running down the street toward traffic. I was able to grab him and redirect him onto the sidewalk a few feet before he stepped into on coming traffic. He kept running and I laughed... saying "you are not going to out run me." Finally he stopped. And of course collapsed. I picked him. He started to run again... this I had a hold of him. Then he started to struggle and fight. His girlfriend was no where to be seen... I was on a busy road... and some how i had adopted this drunk guy. So he takes a swing at me. He falls down and I pin him to the ground. I kneel on his chest and pin his arms behind his head. Thank god for my ground fighting training... He then tried to wrap his leg around me... I just gave him a sternum rub and sat on top of him. He tried to bite, kick, hit... everything to get up. I looked down at him and sort of laughed... because here I was for the second time in less then a month in physical altercation (AKA fight) since I got back. The only other one I had been in was in 3rd grade and I got my butt kicked. Some random pedestrian with good intentions asked what i was doing and I tried to explain. It didn't help that the guy was screaming. After sensing that I was not there to hurt him, he said, "Just pin him for 10 minutes and he will tire out." I almost forgot to say... it is almost 10 degrees out and the wind is whipping down the street. This guy keeps yanking off my gloves. I told the pedestrian thank you for the advice and that I was waiting for the cops to arrive. Finally a taxi drives up and two plain clothes police officers jump out... and not 5 seconds later... two more patrol cars arrive and 5 seconds after that the cops from the police station arrive. I have the guy in a full nelson at this point. Thankfully the cops did not suspect me of anything and let me restrain him. Finally I let him go. He was quiet for 5 minutes, sort of making me look like a big asshole. But the cops were even bigger assholes (in only a way fitting of the NYPD). Masha went to grab her boyfriend a coat. As soon as she left, the boyfriend took a run for it. He had really long shaggy hair and the cop barely caught him by that hair before he ran into the middle of traffic. Then the screaming, fighting, and biting began again. At some level I felt relieved, though the cops were a lot rougher on him then me. Even after they handcuffed he still struggled. He demanded to see his lawyer and kept screaming that the cops were killing him. Ryan and I stayed just to make sure it never turned into a beat down. The cops did not like being in the cold and were obliviously angry about it, but never did anything that the drunk guy didn't deserve. Masha started having panic attacks and the police officers were getting really mad at her, because every time she came around the drunk would explode. Ryan and I comforted her, bought her a pack of cigarettes, found out which hospital the ambulance was taking her boyfriend and even wiped her boyfriends blood off her hands. All of this 10 feet from the bar we were heading to... crazy. So just to add to the story... Masha wrote me this a week later (you have to imagine it being said in a thick Russian accent for the full affect: "Hey guys! I could never thank you enough for what you've done! For your help! I could not have stopped him if it wasn't for you guys! So to make the long story short, Stan (that's his name) went into ER Psychiatric department, and they kept him there for about 2 days, to let him sober up; also they gave him some detoxicants (did i say that correctly) to help him recover. I stayed with him all that time, of course he doesn't remember anything (lucky bastard! :), but he felt bad enough and his hand was slightly injured from that night. And while he had his fun drinking, someone stole his wallet, and went on a shopping spree for a couple of thousand dollars, so right now we're trying to dispute the purchases. By the way, his mother thinks that I've done that, and I literally have no words! Well, at least he promised not to drink anymore and behave himself like a nice boy, I want to see how that's going to work out. As for myself, I feel as if I've gotten stronger, and i've got through that situation without being hysterical ( well, not much anyways!), but without your help I can't imagine where both of us would be today. Thank you!!!" All in a days work in NYC! :) Great American Roadtrip (08Dec05) Dear Friends, 3059.8 miles later… Chad and I have completed arguably the longest drive to the airport, ever. Starting the Saturday immediately after Thanksgiving, Chad and I put down our leftovers and embarked on the great American cross country road trip. Normally I would give you the play by play of the trip, but a journey on this scale needs to almost be explained solely in numbers. So during the trip we came up with the vital stats: > # of Total Miles: 3059.8 > Total time: 5 days, 10 hours > # of States: 11 (California, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia) > # of Regions with a Miss America Contestants: 12 (all the regions mentioned above + DC) > Fuel Stats: # of Times we Stopped for Fuel: 10 # of Gallons of Gas Consumed: 166 $ Total Cost of Gas: $362.75 $ Most Expensive Gallon: $2.69/g (O’Cottillo, CA) $ Cheapest Gallon: $1.88/g (Conyers, GA) $ Average Cost Per Gallon: $2.18 # Average Miles Per Gallon (MPG): 17.4 $ Average Cost Per Mile: $0.12/mile (I told you it was a long trip) > # of Beds/Couches/Floors Slept on combined: 6 Beds 3 Couches 3 Floors > # of Speeding Tickets: 1 (87 MPH in a 75 zone… in Texas… Don’t Mess with TX) Chad’s note: I took the hit on this one. This was during Patrick’s shift and I was not going 87. In fact, Patrick drives faster than I do and would have deserved a ticket more than me. But it was my idea to mess with texas and I paid the price. # of broken Ipod / tape deck converters that severely limit the musical options when driving through nowhere and you put the radio on scan and it just rolls right through the entire spectrum and doesn’t find a single station and your only option is the terrible techno frog cd that Patrick bought at target from the bargain bin: 1 is all you need. # of ATM cards eaten by the machine: 1 (Chad’s, but I could have just as easily been mine, this was the second time he saved me.)