For me, military support is easy. Being abused violently by a drug addicted father (who ironically came from a good family w/good role models around him), I only had one parent who was hardly around because she worked so much, sometimes 3 jobs @ a time to keep us in a safe, middle-to-upper class neighborhood. Almost all the extended folks around me were military folks, which even included Lt. Gen. Honore’s daughters that I attended and traveled to and from junior & high school with.

Seeing Lt. Gen. Honore in action during aftermath of Katrina immediately made me sit up (literally) because he reminded me of all the parents I was around constantly everyday – no nonsense, get it done & don’t judge others in the process.

In the past few years, I’ve lost two incredibly great uncles. One was my father’s second youngest brother, Richard Burgess, a Peace Corps member, US Marine and New Orleans Police Officer (Narcotics). He couldn’t help my father as he was only a kid when my father was at his worst.

Richard was like an older brother and voice of wisdom, AND OMG HILARIOUS! I really miss our talks and the times we hung out at so many New Orleans events, but will never forget them.

Richard was always surrounded by beautiful women, including his ex-wife who is strikingly beautiful.

Richard died way too young at age 49. The irony is his identical-looking son was killed a few days after his funeral. It is believed someone he arrested thought his son was my uncle. (This should explain my zero tolerance for organized criminals and folks who bad mouth cops given how they are targeted including for death.)

The other uncle, Reubin Perry, served in both WWII and Korean in both Army and Navy. I always admired him only to later learn about his early family and military life which left me in awe. He was great before the military, but I think the military made his greatness shine more.

I would grow up surrounded by military folks who all had a different story and background, yet all had the same determination, integrity, and dignity in spite of limitations.

I am now regretting backing out of joining military before college. But then after college, I may not have worked with multiple Vietnam USMC and Navy vets at Palm Computing when Palm was just starting out. These folks brought integrity home. Their lives were amazing, their wives were incredible and their kids were awesome. Just lunching with them all was amazing, and always a blast. And it’s always good to see them now.

Truly blessed to be surrounded by so many great folks who continually give me the reminder of life when I really needed it! They have taught me tolerance, unconditional love, faith, and how to laugh esp. at myself. They also remind me of what I’m capable of so that I’m not focusing only on what bad folks have done.

Biggest regret: chosing to go it alone without them for years. I worked nonstop and even vacationed alone overseas on holidays, thinking I didn’t need them or anyone, only to meet one horrible person after another, and then take it out on good people who cared because you don’t know who to trust or care about. But sometimes it takes jackasses to make you appreciate the beauty and power of horses!