A scene played itself out in my garage on Sunday that allowed me to watch how my kids react under fire. It also reminded me of a similar scene in the epic World War II mini series Band of Brothers.
If you have seen it, you will surely remember the frigid episodes about Bastogne where Easy Company spends a brutal winter underequipped, under-fed, and under the command of a new, absent-T lieutenant named Dyke.
Before the men had even thawed out from the terrible winter weather, Lieutenant Dyke is ordered to lead the heroes of Easy Company to attack the fiercely defended town of Foy.
Reaching the outskirts of town under fire, the Lt. orders his men to stop while he takes cover behind a haystack. With lead and bombs wreaking havoc, he cracks under the pressure and completely shuts down, unable to advance towards protective cover.
The company commander, watching the horrific scene from the hillside, screams at Dyke over the radio to move, but to no avail. He then orders one of his most experienced combat veterans, Lt. Spears, to charge down the hill and relieve the paralyzed Dyke.
After taking over and leading his men through more intense gunfire to the safety of the buildings at the edge of town, Lt. Spears realizes that another company, advancing from the other end of town, is out of radio contact, leaving the mission's success in jeopardy.
This is where one of the most memorable scenes from the 11 hour series unfolds...
Lieutenant Spears hops a rock wall and heroically runs through the middle of the town to delivers the message to the cut-off company. His men watch him in awed disbelief and the enemy is so stunned by his audacity, they don't even fire at him.
Thus the scene in my garage on Sunday.
When my garage began to sound like a recycling center run by Red Bull addicts, I decided to investigate (of course, my wife was gone for the day). What I found was a raging pop can war being waged by my 7-year-old son Alex and his two cul-de-sac comrades.
Empty aluminum cans seemed harmless enough, and if it weren't for the fact that I was holding my 19-month-old son Jacob, I would have grabbed some cans and joined them! Leaving them to their fun, I went back inside seeking relief from the racket of crashing aluminum.
The relief was short lived, cut short by a blood-curdling scream.
Jacob and I went back into the garage to find my son Alex with blood streaming down his face, screaming at the sight of blood, lots of blood, covering his hands.
The fact that we've taken him to the ER twice since last summer for self-induced head wounds due to his daredevil antics (a bike jump concussion and another collision requiring staples), I was aware that even small head wounds bleed... a lot.
As such, I decided not to panic until after I had assessed the actual wound. My little Jacob on the other hand, completely went pieces as the sight and sounds overwhelmed him. Simultaneously, my two daughters appeared at the door to the garage, just in time for me to calmly yet urgently tell them to get me some paper towels.
Emma, my oldest at 10, was paralyzed by the sight and shrieked in horror, "What happened?" Gretchen, my 5-year-old sprang into action without hesitation and moments later came running through the doorway and into the midst of the carnage to heroically deliver a wad of paper towels.
Just like Lt. Spears, she not only maintained her composure when everyone else was faltering, she fearlessly waded into the fray to help the cause.
And in proudly recounting her heroic performance, I've realized there are other heroes who deserve recognition and praise...
They are the soldiers on my crew who have weathered three and a half years in this Great Recession while suffering the consequences of my many mistakes in responding to it.
Many couldn't take the stress, and cracked under the pressure of pay cuts, short days, and long weeks. Some found relief in the public sector, far from the front lines of our free market battles.
But the rest... those who carried us through this most miserable of winters, those still standing... Nate, Angie, Andy, Enrique, Leta, Brian, Sam, Mike, John and Elmer.
They are all heroes in my book.
And while they're due more than our company can provide them, today I publicly give them the honor they deserve and the respect they have earned.
Aaron J. Crowley is the founder and president of FabricatorsFriend.com, the exclusive promoter of Stone Sleeve fabricator sleeves and Bullet Proof aprons. He is also the author of Less Chaos More Cash. You can reach him by email at Aaron@CrowleysGranite.com
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