Recent Incredible Moment I've Personally Witnessed

MONTGOMERY, TX -- In my life I’ve witnessed some incredible scenes that bewilder the mind. Some include imminent threats of death that missed by that much, to weird extrasensory perception incidents where I felt something in my mind only to find later that it was true. When I was a kid in Europe, there were times I felt I was floating, or when I self-hypnotized I would feel instant relief from sore muscles. I used those same techniques in pain avoidance, and to reduce sensory receptors to prolong gratification episodes. I’ve witnessed multiple peoples’ being freed from oppression by aggressive governments. I’ve felt the warmth of the Presence of Angels in a cold desert following the end of my war, as I begged God’s forgiveness for my transgressions. I’ve had seizures, and at least one zombie incident, when the nurses explained to me things that I didn’t remember doing. There have been weird incidences of some family members in their final hours where people were sent to me (by God) or a higher power one, who knew my friends and acquaintances, and with their arrival; people who I have never met, seemed to sooth me with the just the right words to accept the earthly changes of my relatives ready to cross over to the next phase of their existence.

Just recently I looked at the tire pressure monitor on my car, and I noticed the passenger side rear tire was a pound or two lower than the other tires, so I decided to stop at the Montgomery Discount Tire store to have them investigate if it was a slow leak. I’ve known store manager Ed Guerra since the place opened, and he runs a clean shop with a bunch of great guys working for him. After explaining the situation of my tire, and getting checked in, I looked about the room, and noticed a number of Veterans so I began to chat them up. One was a Korean War Veteran, another Vietnam, and another was younger, and after the conversation died down, I settled with my reMarkable tablet at the counter overlooking the service bay, putting the finishing touches on my ‘importance’ OP-ED.

It was then I heard something odd from Discount Tire counter guy, Preston Rainer, who had assisted the 91 year old Korean War Veteran, Mr. George H., in kitting out his car with four new roadworthy rounded driving implements.

“Don’t worry about paying Mr. George,” said Rainer. “A customer has already taken care of that for you.”

My brow furrowed. ‘What the heck?,’ I thought to myself, as I turned around.

I mean, I write about giving gifts to homeless Veterans, parents of newborns and toddlers, down and out non-druggie or boozy people, and others as my mood dictates. Since I started doing the practice about three years ago, the count is over 3,000, perhaps 4,000 dollars. That thousand I won in the lottery last year was gone in a few weeks, so I’m probably up to 5 plus.

Mr. George’s reaction to being gifted a new set of tires was priceless. The Korean War Veteran was awed and floored at the same time, as he returned to his seat to reflect on what had just happened. He called his wife trying to explain the incident to her, but she didn’t believe him. The total for the tires was north of $700 dollars, closer to 8, when it was all said and done; it’s a significant sum to many in Montgomery County. And just the day before, I wrote in my March 18th OP-ED column, where I expressed my wish for ‘People of Means in Montgomery County,’ to take on the task of giving to others without expecting anything in return.

It’s the complete opposite of politicians bringing home the bacon, and expecting to be lauded to the rafters by a gushing public during their legislative updates. lol. Like heck if they are going to be giving tires to anyone via their own personal inflated wallet.

I had dinner with cousins at North Italia that evening on The Woodlands Waterway, telling them of the story, and they accused moi of being the mysterious tire gifter!

“Come on,” I said. “It’s not my game!,” turning the heads of customers at a few nearby tables, one of which contained a nice looking mother and her two children 7-8, with the mom, paying a few more seconds attention to me, that should have been appropriate; but with my frame having shed 20 lbs weeks ago, revealing more instances of my dangerous face that got me in so much trouble in Europe before my war, I could understand her motivations. While all that was happening, a server approached my cousins boasting of being a new father of an 8 day old daughter, and being frequent diners at NI, they know many of the staff by name.

I don’t know if the mysterious Scarlet Pimpernel tire gifter was my reader or not, and I’m certainly not taking any credit for his generous gift to the Veteran. In fact, my cousins were amazed when I instinctively pulled out my wallet and dropped a Grant to the new dad server as a gift to his kid.

“That’s my game,” I said to my family, again garnering another look from the mother with the kids, but I wasn’t biting with returning a gander, and when she ordered a pizza to go, that was my indicator that to think of returning any glances was not in my future. My cousins are a bit quirky like me, and we are closer than our actual blood families who live in Montgomery County. While I pay for valet parking in front of the restaurant with a large tip, my cousins happily park in the handicap section 700 feet away from the restaurant, which for me defeats the purpose entirely. And compared to my piddly few, they are considerably more well off than I, and I still live like a King nonetheless.

Mr. George was still stunned with tears wanting to break through when I approached him at his seat. I reassured him, to believe the gift was a natural choice by a giving MC individual who appreciated his sacrifice to the nation in a troubled time.
I told Mr. George, “You are not a burden my Good Sir. You’re a hero.”

And as George left the store Ed came up to me and reported that his techs couldn’t find any leak in the tire, which I thought impossible. I smiled thinking God works in mysterious ways. Now when I check the tire pressures on my dash, the passenger side rear’s pressure is equal to the others or a pound above. And it made me think, that with my life, and with all the associated hell, pain, and suffering I’ve had to go through; that perhaps God saved me for this moment, to be able to write for you. To express my thoughts to make people's lives better. And it’s truly an honor to be able to do it, and be recognized state wide for the purpose. I prostrate myself before you. I admit my faults. My non-perfection. And I pray you smile when reading my ‘be nice’ pieces, as compared to my work when I’m ‘not so nice,’ which I write in all sincerity for righteousness to be upheld.

Another short episode I wanted to relay, concerns a gentleman whom I consider a True American Hero. Retired Army Lt. Col. David Harrigan. A humble man, with a large and beautiful heart and mind, maintaining a daredevil spirit that made him a legend in the Long-Range Reconnaissance Patrol, or ‘Ghost’ world, during the Vietnam conflict. The LRRPs or ‘Lurps,’ were the U.S. Army’s elite, with small specialized teams that went behind enemy lines to collect downed pilots using stealth tactics, but also performed intel gathering, reconnaissance, coordinating ambushes on the enemy, and tons of other stuff. The amazing thing about David was he was adopted by an American Army Signal Corps officer serving in occupied Japan, out of a French-Canadian Nun orphanage as a five year old in 1950. He came back to the states, started living and learning, and followed his adoptive father and mother (from Corpus Christi) on their military assignments including The Pentagon. David went to Texas A&M, serving in the Corps of Cadets, and took to heart the experiences of the Vietnam Vets coming into the Corps; former enlisted guys who gave lectures on what to expect in the combat zone. Harrigan found himself in Vietnam in 1968, and never looked back, retiring in 1993. He eventually found his real parents, a Japanese man with mild western features and a family; and his servant woman mother. He did meet his father and paternal siblings, who had blond hair, leaving him with the most traditional Japanese features, but looking at him today, he is totally American, with any Asianess about him a secondary thought.

I was driving back home on the 16th from Oklahoma after visiting my nephew and his family that weekend at their homestead near Stroud, Oklahoma. I was approaching Moore, south of OKC on I-35, when I got a call from a Louisville, Kentucky number. It wasn’t a spam call, and I was a little hesitant to pick it up, but I did. It turned out to be a Mr. Denny Harrigan, whose daughter Courtney had seen David’s ‘Veteran of the Week’ column that I wrote and Montgomery County News posted in July of last year. Denny called the newspaper offices asking for more information, so I was naturally the next point of contact. Denny told me that he hadn’t seen his cousin since the family visited Louisville some 60 years ago, but in actuality, the last time they two met was 71 years ago, back in 1955, when David was just 9 years old.

It’s truly an incredible story, and when I got home that night I was able to text David to be expecting a call from his cousin Denny from Louisville. The next day, the two were able to speak to one another, and catch up on each other's lives since they were in elementary school. Denny, his daughter Courtney, and their families are planning a trip to visit in the summer.

These experiences in people around Montgomery County range from nil, to a few, to above average. I can go about trying to investigate what made me stop at Discount Tire, or why my tire was a point or two low as shown on my dash. And after the incident everything is suddenly working perfectly, while Mr. George feels like he was on an episode of ‘This is Your Life.’ All I can advise is to live your life to the fullest everyday. Be as kind as you possibly can to others, and never let anyone steal your joy.