Final Word on Board Get-together and the Involvement of War Veterans

[Sam]

Yesterday, a few people (both on and off the board) volunteered that, in lieu of buying tickets for themselves, they would like o make donations so that Wounded Warriors can go to the game.  I spoke with Mollie, our Celtics contact.  Their veterans program involves all veterans of war rather than just wounded veterans.  They designate one game a year to invite hundreds of war veterans, and many of us have probably heard Mike Gorman interviewing selected veterans at that game.

However, Mollie said that, if anyone wants to donate the price of a ticket for OUR game, she'll make sure a war veteran (possibly, but not necessarily wounded) receives the ticket and sits in our section.  If our block of tickets becomes exhausted, she'll seat recipients as close as possible to our section which, by the way, is Section 313 and is just one section removed from a center section in the balcony.

I do want to stress that this is not an appeal from me or anyone else for a charitable donation.  It's just a way of facilitating some very nice voluntary gestures.

The donation process will be the same as for reserving tickets.  Anyone who wishes to fund the price of a war veteran to go to our game, either in our section or as close as possible, should just call Mollie MacDonnell of the Celtics at 617-399-8410, and tell her the amount you'd like to donate for toward war veterans' attending our game  I already went through the donation process; and it sure felt good.  Some people have voiced their wishes that their donations be anonymous; and going through Mollie rather than sending funds through this board will ensure that that will be the case.

Thanks to all.

Sam

[swish]

Sam

Great follow-up work on Outside's suggestion. Molly made the procedure really simple.

swish

[Sam]

That's great, Swish.  She's very pleasant to deal with.  I was concerned that, once people found out about the fact that any war veteran qualifies for including in the Celtic' program—not just Wounded Warriors—it might not have the same appeal.

But we've gotten to know an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran and his wife quite well.  He's doing odd jobs during the daytime while she provides most of the family support and he attends night school in an effort to obtain an engineering degree.  He possesses an extremely quick mind.  Extremely!

But Robert, although not having been physically wounded, is obviously a victim of rather sever Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  He has a low threshold of anger (not focused on certain people or things—just general) that makes him very unpredictable.    He can suddenly "go off" on someone he barely knows just because he (Robert) disagrees with the other person's viewpoint.  Consequently, despite his very high IQ and the fact that he regularly gets honors-level grades in his college course, he's not a good prospect for any job that involves interaction with people.  He meets regularly with a psychologist,who has helped some, but it's very tricky going.

And he's just one of tens of (probably hundreds) of thousands of war veterans who are going through their unique manifestations of PTSD despite not technically having been physically wounded in battle.  I deeply thank you and anyone else who supports these heroes in any manner.

Sam

[swish]

Sam                                                                                                                                                             From 1941 to 1945 my world revolved around the military. Scenes that I'll never forget will remain with me forever. To this day I'm deeply touched by the devotion to country by our servicemen.

swish

[Outside]

I was concerned that, once people found out about the fact that any war veteran qualifies for including in the Celtic' program—not just Wounded Warriors—it might not have the same appeal.

I can't speak for others, but that's not a concern for me in the least. Wounded Warriors was just a suggestion. It didn't even have to be veterans. There are a lot of worthy charities and groups out there.

I'll call Molly later today.

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