I stopped by Rock and Brews in Oviedo today to thank them for having the POW-MIA Table with the Point Man Veterans Bible on it. You have no idea how touching it was to see it there after discovering my buddy Sgt. Dave added it to the table. Sure enough, there was another car show, so I figured I'd just do a bonus post today. Good food as always but what makes this place even better is how much they love those who put their lives on the line, as First Responders, current military and veterans. They are so patriotic that 15 minutes before they open, every day, the entire staff meets for the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem.
Sgt. Dave of Never Forgotten Memorials installed this at Rock and Brews a few years ago. He is also the one who supplied the POW-MIA Table.
PTSD Patrol: Owners Manual and Your Air Filter PTSD Patrol Kathie Costos October 14, 2018 The owner's manual frustrates me! I was looking up how to check the air filter. Sure enough, I found the page to tell me what to do with it, but it DID NOT TELL ME WHERE THE HECK TO FIND IT!
CARS.COM — The cabin air filter, a feature found on most late-model vehicles, cleans the air that comes into the interior through the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system. It catches dust, pollen and other airborne material that can make riding in a car unpleasant, particularly if you have allergies or other respiratory problems. Some signs that you need a new cabin air filter are reduced air flow through your climate control system, such as when you crank up the fan too high and get more noise than results. Another is persistent bad odors. Even if you don't have these warnings, however, you should have the air filter checked at least once a year, and you may be able to do that yourself.
How can you fix anything if you do not know where it is? You cannot do it until you find it. Then again, how can you know fixing something is even possible unless someone figured out how to do it? Have problems with your vehicle that you cannot fix yourself, you turn to a mechanic with more training and tools than you have. New cars go to owners with owners' manuals, so we can figure some things out on your own. People are not born with owners' manuals. Well, that does not mean we cannot get our hands on one.
BIBLE: Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth Some people survive something horrible and end up thinking God did it to them. Other people think that they survived for a reason and they make sure they use the rest of their lives to make a difference in the world. So, how do you change the rest of your life if you think that God is punishing you? How do you ask God for help to heal your soul, if you think He sent the misery to you? The answer is in the Bible itself. No, this is not to get you to go to church, or convert you into something you are not. The vast majority of veterans I talk with are Christians but left the church a long time ago. They believe in God and Jesus, but not in people who are supposed to be representing what Jesus was sent to teach. There are different air filters. Consider this one as the Heaven sent air filter! There is love, and there is power in the Bible. The knowledge that you are loved no matter what you did and can be forgiven and keys to use the power you have within you, to not just heal, but spread the healing out! While you may be thinking that all the negative thoughts getting into your brain belong there, they do not. They just snuck in because your filter was clogged. Time to clean it out and let the positive thoughts in. Yep, and then you can #TakeBackYourLife
Flash for a healing chance PTSD Patrol Kathie Costos October 7, 2018 When your vehicle is having trouble, there is a simple button you push to let others know you need help. It turns on your hazard lights.
Everyone behind you sees those lights. They will either pass you by with caution, or they may try to help you. This is from WheelZine When to Use Hazard Lights Though most people use hazard lights for mundane and unimportant things like speaking on the cell-phone while in traffic (which is illegal, mind you) or lighting a cigarette or adjusting the music system, the actual purpose behind the installation of these lights is to communicate a possible danger to the oncoming or passing traffic. Given below are some of the occasions when you can and should use hazard lights.
When you are experiencing a sudden car problem in the middle of traffic, switch on the lights and slowly pull over. Keep the lights flashing till the problem is solved.
In case of dense fog, you can switch on the hazard lights to warn traffic on both the sides of the road.
When traffic on a usually traffic-free road is slow or stalled for some reason, you can turn on the hazard lights to indicate to the traffic behind you that traffic ahead of you is stalled.
Another situation in which you can turn on hazard lights is when you are moving up a steep slope, which has caused your vehicle to slow down considerably. The blinkers will tell the vehicles behind you to proceed with caution.
In the 70's we had Mood Rings that were supposed to let other people know how we were feeling.
This chart shows the colors of the typical 1970s mood ring and the meanings associated with the mood ring colors:
Amber: Nervous, unhappy, cool Green: Average, calm Blue: Emotions are charged, active, relaxed Violet: Passionate, excited, very happy Black: Tense, nervous (or broken crystal) Gray: Strained, anxious The color of the warmest temperature is violet or purple. The color of the coolest temperature is black or gray.
Wouldn't it be great if all you had to do was push a button or show a ring to let people know you needed help? It would make life easier. The thing is, in reality, no one will come to help you if they do not know you need it!
You do have to do something to let them know you need help to get up that steep slope to #TakeBackYourLife. The first step is finally accepting the fact that you are not a victim. You are a survivor. You survived the event that set PTSD off in the first place. Second step is understanding that while about 7 million Americans have PTSD, and most of the time, from one event in their lives, you faced multiple times on your job, plus what could have happened just living as a simple citizen. Thirdly, possibly the most important thing to accept is, that while you would have sacrificed your life to save others, the others you were with decided to dedicate their lives to saving as well. How much you want to bet they would do the same for you? After all, you'd do it for them. Wouldn't you?
The only risk you are taking is trusting them enough to let them know you need help. If you trust them with your life, then trust them all the way!
And for Combat PTSD Wounded Times, it is number 10!!!!
Considering this has all been accomplished by hard work and LOYAL READERS LIKE YOU SHARING THAT WORK, THANK YOU IS JUST NOT ENOUGH TO EXPLAIN HOW MUCH PEOPLE LIKE YOU MEAN TO ME!!!!
A ride for life PTSD Patrol Kathie Costos September 30, 2018 Today my husband and I are celebrating our 34th anniversary. No matter how hard some years were, we had love and fed each other hope. He is the reason I have done this work for the last 36 years. I have seen the darkness but have also seen what brighter days bring. Yesterday I went out to East Orlando Harley Davidson for Ride to Fight Suicide
All of our lives have been changed in someway by the lose of hope, but none of us are ready to give up this fight for life. While our lives may be different, the purpose of our lives has become one of restoring hope.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Suicide is a painful thing for the families left behind. They never find the answers they are looking for. It is always with them, when the person they loved gave up on themselves. Beyond that, they gave up on the people who loved them as well. The never ending questions of "why didn't they come to me" or "talk to me" or "let me know how much they were hurting" or "why didn't they trust me to listen to them?" I know those feelings all too well, because it happened in my family. My husband's nephew was also a Vietnam veteran and he committed suicide 18 years ago. I have all those questions still in my head that will never be answered. What makes it a little worse for me, is that, I knew everything he needed to hear to take back his life from PTSD. What I didn't know was how to get him to listen. I am sure that his suicide is the biggest reason I have fought so hard all these years. I have seen what it is like when lives turn around and they live a better quality of life. I also know what it is like to want to die. I was in the hospital with a massive infection 30 years ago and my life was so hard, I was praying to have all the suffering ended. Yes, I was praying to die even though the nurse thought I was fighting to stay alive. My life was too hard but I had a reason to live and that reason was love. Everyone involved in this suicide prevention event has been touched in one way or another by the suffering of someone else, or what they had survived in their own battles to heal. When someone has lost everything, especially themselves, it is hard to find hope but within that dark place, who they are is still in there even though how they are is much different than hoped for. It can all change for the better and no one has to fight this alone. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is doing whatever they can to stand by the side of anyone fighting this battle to heal their lives. Grant is riding 100,000 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Ride Out of the Darkness
My name is Grant and I have committed to ride 100,000 miles on my Harley Davidson Road King in 2018 to spread the word how together we can lower the Suicide rate. I'm inspired to set out on this journey because I don't want anyone to ever have to wake up to news that another friend, family member, or coworker decided to end their life. Together with the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention we can take a stand and remind our loved ones that they indeed are truly loved. Now is the time!
And Dave Matthews of Never Forgotten Memorials was also out there to change the conversation. Our purpose is giving others back hope that their lives can be so much better. That their last worst day will end because the next day they are healing. To help them to see that #TakeBackYourLife is more than a slogan but empowering the strength that got them through all the other days of their lives. No matter what they survived, whatever caused the pain they carry, they defeated it and it is time to see what they have already overcome.
It is your life! You decide where you want to go and with help, you can get there. Just like someone had to go out and clear the way to make the roads you drive on, others have cleared the way for the roads you live on! It is your life. Time to get in and drive it!
