I’ve had the oppertunity to work on some awesome stuff lately for the T.P. Outdoors Adventures TV Show. I’ve been filming some hunts with those guys for Wounded Warriors. Helping people has always been one of my main focuses in life, but these wounded warriors are some special people who really deserve it.
Just being a part of this, I’ve kinda been on a high now for the last few weeks since we first started filming. It’s just really incredible. Not what I’ve done. It’s not about me, but about being with these guys. Hearing their stories while sitting around the camp fire or in the blind.
One of the first things you notice is the camaraderie between these guys. They are truly like close brothers. (I guess you bond pretty quick when the enemy starts shooting at you.) Then you notice how…”beat down” doesn’t quite seem like the right phrase, but how even though they have scars, both emotional and physical, they are eager to get back to normal. Yet there is no normal anymore. You can’t take away the pain that they have, the things they have seen, the things they’ve endured. You can only share your normal and the things you love with them. For me, that’s the outdoors and Christ’s love for us.
Over the course of these events, There seems to be a legitimate healing that takes place. One guy stated that he didn’t really get very excited about anything anymore since coming home, but he sure got excited when there was an 11 point buck standing in front of him. I heard one person mention “this is what we were fighting for. There are good americans here at home. We’re protecting them and this way of life.”
It’s a little hard to think about someone protecting our hunting rights and our second amendment rights while fighting in another country. But the reality is the enemy hates our way of life.
To some degree, I’ve taken hunting for granted. I’ve hunted since I was about 5 years old. It’s hard to imagine that these guys have been fighting for us to have the opportunity to hunt. To watch the sun rise in a free country.
The outdoors is a connection that we share with these guys. It’s something that we both love. Being able to capture that, Bottle it up, and put it in a video to share with others is an amazing experience. I’m privileged to be a part of it.
The first episode aired on KNOE and KAQY last weekend. If you missed it, you won’t want to miss it again this weekend or for the next few weekends. You’ll see some of these patriots hunting and having a good time with their closest buddies.
