Cole (7 page)

Chapter 11

The sound of the alarm clock hit me like an incoming mortar.  I jumped out of bed and assumed the ready position.  Flashbacks.  I was hoping improvement in this area might get the ball rolling in my overall improvement.  Not happening yet.  PTSD is just four letters until you meet someone else who’s fighting it.  Service member or not.  But when you get it yourself, it becomes all too real.  You’re body jumps to flight or flight.

I looked at the clock and went through the prior days events in my mind.  The delivery today.  Right.  In and out of the shower and down to see Jax and Jasmine finishing up breakfast.

“We thought you weren’t going to wake up.”

“Yeah, I was out cold.”

“Want a lift to the gym?”

“Sure.”

“Ok.  We’ll drop Jasmine off at school first then head over to wait on the mats.”

“Perfect.”

“Congratulations on the gym, Uncle Cole.”  Jasmine flashed me a big smile with a couple of key teeth missing.  She was at that age were soon cute would become adolescence.  It’s an exciting period of transition for a kid.  She was handling it well.

“Thanks, Jasmine.  How’s everything at school?”

“Oh, it’s good.  Jimmy Ratcliff brought a snake yesterday in his backpack and turned it lose in math.  A lot of people screamed, but I knew it wasn’t going to hurt anyone.  Plus it’s better to be calm around animals.  If you panic they might panic too.”

“Very true.  And you didn’t get bit?”

Jasmine laughed.  “Very funny.”

“Not even a little peck on the cheek with his long tongue?”

“Oh, gross.  That would feel weird.”

“Yes it would.”

“Have you ever been kissed by a snake before, Uncle Cole?”

Jax about spit out his cereal laughing.

“What’s so funny, dad?”

“Nothing, honey.  Let’s let Uncle Cole answer.”

“Well, Jasmine.  I can’t say I have, but I can say that I kissed a snake.”

“Really?  Why did you do that?”

“Team building.”

“A team of snakes?”

We all laughed.

“No.  We were training in Thailand with their special forces.  Your dad was there too.  The Thais demonstrated how to kiss a cobra.  They asked for one volunteer from our SEAL team.  For some reason I volunteered.”

“Wow.  Really?”

“Yeah.”

“And you kissed him.”

“Somehow, yes.  It took a long time and a lot of courage, but you are right.  Eventually I realized I had to keep calm.  The calmer I was the easier it was to get closer to the cobra.”

“And you weren’t scared?”

“I was terrified.  At least at first.”

“Wow.  I’m going to tell everyone at school that.”

“You might not have to, honey.”

“Why dad?”

“Cole.”

“Jasmine, I’m going to come to your school today and give a presentation.  About discipline, fitness, and making the right choices for you as an individual.”

“You’re coming to school!  Today?”

“Yep.”

“Cool!  I can’t wait.”

“Do you have Ms. Compton for math last period?”

“No.  I have math in the morning.  And Ms. Compton isn’t my teacher for any subjects.  I just met her for the first time in the parking lot during Parent’s Day.”

“Ok.  Well then, we won’t see each other.  At least in the classroom.  Maybe in the halls though or after school.”

Jasmine laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

“So today dad will come to school to pick us
both
up.”

I guess you’re right.

“You’re like Billy Madison.  Back to school.”

“Very funny.  Not like that, but yes, I’m going back to school today.”

“Cool.  I can’t wait.”

“OK, team.  Are we ready to head out?”  Jax asked.

“You bet.” I replied.

“OK, we’re off.”

We dropped Jasmine off at school and headed to the gym just in time to take the shipment.  We laid out the mats and then headed back out for light bulbs and some simple sparring gloves we could find at the sporting good store in case anyone signed up that was a little more advanced.

We stopped for a long lunch and caught up on old times from Thailand.  Cobras, jungle militants, and beautiful beaches.  All amazingly close to inebriated backpackers enjoying gap year travel and summer holidays.  Hard to believe how close chaos was to paradise.  After lunch we returned to the gym and put in all the lights.

“That does it.  We’re ready to go.”

“We are.  And now if you don’t mind can I get a ride to school?”

“A ride?  Brother, I’m going to sit in on this presentation.  If it’s OK with you at least.”

“That would be the best.”

“Then let’s do this.”

An urban handshake and a slaps on the shoulder and we were off.

We arrived at the reception and I immediately noticed a familiar face.  She stood and offered her hand.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Callahan.  Nice to see you again.”

“My pleasure.  Last time I didn’t get your––”

“Rebecca.  Rebecca Rader.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Miss Rader.”

“All mine, Mr. Callahan.  And sorry if I was a little rough around the edges last time.”

“I didn’t even notice.  Believe me, where I come from that qualifies as a warm welcome.”

Rebecca laughed.  “Miss Compton told me about your background.  Very impressive.”

“Thanks.  Definitely some interesting times.  Any time I didn’t have to kick down a door I felt like I was a VIP visitor.”

Rebecca laughed again.  “Well you’re definitely our VIP here at the school today.  Everyone has been talking about your visit.”

“Great.  I’m looking forward to meeting everyone.  Especially the students.  It’s been awhile since I was their age and I want to see where they’re at.  Emotionally, mentally, and of course physically.”

“We have a lot of great kids.  That’s for sure.  But I think once they hear your story they’ll want to become even greater.”

“I hope so and yes, I’m excited about the possibilities for the youth of our town.”

Jax raised an eyebrow and gave me a curious look.  Mouthing our town as a question.

He was right.  What was I doing?  I was already claiming myself as a part of the community.  Part of me said to slow down and earn that respect, but I’m not a patient person.  If I can do something positive I want to do it immediately.  That was definitely the case here.

“As are we.  So without further ado please allow me to show you to Miss Compton’s classroom.  Right this way.”

As we walked down the hallways each class seamed to suddenly come to a standstill.  Two 6’5” men who had obviously spent too much time in the sun and a lot of time training their bodies are a start contrast to young kids no older than 12.  We even caught the teachers staring.  I had forgot what that feeling was like.  When our SEAL teams entered a village the whole community stopped.  Warriors in the ultimate sense.  A team of warriors.  An impressive sight to behold.

As we arrived at Carissa’s classroom I saw her eyes move from the children to the doorway.  The entire class turned in one uniform movement.  Most had mouths open and looks of amazement in their eyes.  I never needed any sort of attention in my life, but I had to admit the kids were really pumping me up.  I was beyond excited to begin my presentation.

Carissa nearly skipped to the door to great us.

“Miss Compton.  Your guests,” Rebecca announced.

“Thank you, Miss Rader.”

I turned just in time to see Rebecca give Carissa a wink and a grin.  Good.  Maybe the girls were already talking about us.  If they’re excited about our visit it’s more likely the kids will be too.

“Hello Gentlemen.”

“Hello, Miss Compton.”  I offered my hand and we shook.  “This is Mr. Jax Justice.  I hope you don’t mind, but I brought him along today.  His background is similar to mine and he wants to help.”

I could see Carissa doing the mental gymnastics.  Justice.  This must be Jasmine’s father.  The man she mistook me for.  I hadn’t thought of the weirdness this might bring, but maybe I should have.  Of course I didn’t mean anything by it.  She didn’t seem to mind at all.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Justice.”

“Please to meet you, Miss Compton.”

“Ok.  Shall we begin?”

“Definitely.  We’re itching to get started.”

Carissa motioned for us to go to the front of the room.

“Will Jax be speaking as well?”  She asked quietly.

“Just observing.  But I’m sure he might want to offer some help at some point.”

“OK.”  She pulled out a chair for Jax.  He sat and I stood by his side.  We were in the front of the classroom towards the corner.

“OK, everyone.  Our very special guest has arrived and he has brought another very special guest.  Please join me in welcoming Mr. Callahan and Mr. Justice.”

The kids began clapping excitedly while staring at both of us.  Jax stood up.  Side by side we were quite the spectacle.  I looked at the blackboard and noticed the words Welcome Mr. Callahan in big chalk.  Carissa caught me looking and quickly made her way to the blackboard and added the words and Mr. Justice.”  I looked at Jax and he smirked.

As the children’s claps died down Carissa moved to the podium.

“Mr. Callahan is a Navy SEAL.  He is here today to talk about discipline, fitness, and becoming the best you that
you
want to be.  Achieving the things that you want to achieve.  We may have different goals, but there are some common factors that can help just about all of us achieve those goals.  No matter how different they might be.  Please give your attention to Mr. Callahan.  U.S. Navy SEAL.”

Carissa backed away from the podium and extended her arms toward it motioning the floor was all mine.  Jax took a seat and I took two steps to my left.  Close to the podium, but in an open area.  I knew I was going to be excited and would need to move around.  Also, it’s an old presentation trick to keep the audience’s attention.  I had their attention now, but I didn’t have much experience with kids of this age and had no idea how long I’d be able to keep it.

“Thank you for having me today.  This afternoon there are more than 30 students in this classroom.  On average, each of you will meet over 10,000 people in your lifetime.  10,000 people.  That’s a lot of people.  That’s the entire fan section of the basketball gym here on our campus.  Three times.  Imagine that.  Every seat in our basketball gym filled.  Three times.  A lot of people.