1erhgnewsletterdec09.. - Red Horse Association

R E D H O R S E T i m e s N o v - D e c 0 9
P a g e 3
(Con’t from Page 1)
At times it was scary, but
things came out well for me. It
changed the way you look at things.
For 5 ½ months I slept inside the
tank; sometimes on the top, or on a
cot next to it. It was literally ‗my
house‘. It can make you a more
mature person going from an E-1 to
an officer in the USAF. I feel very
comfortable talking with enlisted
members because that‘s how I began
and spent so many of my
years.‖ ―Doc O‘Neill‖ as he is affectionately
called by enlisted as
well as, by his officer peers, had
much to say about what is the most
important part of being a medical
doctor. When asked the question,
his response was: ―Helping people
feel better; using my medical
knowledge to heal and treat illnesses;
working with people with
chronic illnesses, specially diabetes,
HTN, and cardiovascular and respiratory
illnesses in general. As a
family doctor, I have made a lot of
friends. Sometimes I see three to
four generations of patients including
great grandparents. It‘s not just
a professional relationship, I have
with many of my patients. It‘s also
a friendship,‖ he chuckled. ―Some
of my patients did not want to see
anyone else while I‘m deployed
until I get back, but I urged them to
be seen by another physician.‖ But
in case you‘re wondering how this
thirty–something family practice
physician and Major in the 111 th
MDG, PA Air National Guard,
USAF, got connected with the RED
HORSE, his answer is short and
sweet. ―There was an email sent
around to physicians in Pennsylvania
asking for a doctor to volunteer
for this deployment with the
RED HORSE team. First it was to
be for three months then, was
changed to six months. After discussing
it with my wife, I said ‗yes‘
and the rest is history.‖
Count Your Blessings
“The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.”
Eric Hoffer, Reflections On The Human Condition
By: Chaplain Mark D. Brumbach
(Southwest Asia)
How many of the things
that you do in your adult life did you
learn as a child? I am grateful for
the lessons that the adults in my life
taught me while I was a child. Do
you remember hearing this little
question after someone gave you
something or did something for you,
―What do you say?‖ The response
that my parents expected was,
―Thank You‖. Gratitude was one of
the earliest lessons that my parents
tried to teach me. They wanted me
to openly recognize when I had received
something of value from
someone else. When did you first
learn to be thankful?
There are times in my life
when all that I want to do is grumble
about how little I have or about how
bad my situation has become. If my
mom noticed that I was leaning toward
the negative side of life she
would say to me, ―Why don‘t you
go to your room and count your
blessings.‖ On more than one occasion
I found myself exiled to my
room in order to consider just how
much good there was in my life.
Gratitude and thanksgiving have a
way of transforming our attitudes.
They help us to recognize just how
many blessings we possess.
During this deployment I
sometimes find myself focused on
all that I am missing from my life at
home. I find myself wanting to
complain about how bad I have it,
but then I hear those words, ―Mark,
count your blessings.‖ Thank you
for a warm bed and a dry place to
sleep. Thank you for a new day
filled with possibilities. Thank you
for three meals a day. Thank you
for the friendships that are developing.
Thank you for the work that I
have to do. Thank you for family
and friends who truly miss me and
want me to come home. Thank you
for experiences that I would never
have had if I had stayed at home.
Thank you that today moves me one
day closer to home.
Count your blessings and be grateful!
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the
night,
For health and food,
for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Blessings,
Chap B
Chaplain B serves the Airmen at Wolverine
a delicious Thanksgiving Meal