Character is what counts - General Leroy Sisco and Governor Rick Perry

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Character is what counts - General Leroy Sisco and Governor Rick Perry
I got a letter from a friend of mine Gen Leroy Sisco a few days ago and once again I was touched at how a man like the General can be so grounded as to remember me when it comes to things like this. I have known the General for almost four years we were introduced at a small group prayer meeting down in a office he was sharing in San Antonio. This was when Military Warriors Support Foundation was in it’s early days and I was delighted to meet a Retired General that not only cared about the soldiers but truly cared about the Lord. I was just getting my feet wet when it came to working with the troops and I was hoping he be able to show me how I could be usefully in being involved with programs that were really doing things and making things happen on a big scale.
Leroy knew little about me, really just what he saw and heard that day. And probable some references from the people with advocacy group that shared his office but he gave me opportunities that winter that were like manna from heaven. One of which was to use my dragster to promote a Clay Walker Concert to honor the wounded soldiers and meet Governor Rick Perry in the process. I was so excited to have my Interstate Batteries Dragster out at the AT&T center that evening and with so much excitement I almost missed meeting the Governor and I did miss most the concert but not the part where Gov Perry and Gen Sisco were able to honor each one of the wounded soldiers in front of a hugely enthusiastic crowd. I got to talk to a few of those soldiers but mainly I remember talking to their wives. The pride and the joy they expressed was not so much about the attention they received that day but more at the healing that was happening at the heart level for both the soldiers and their families. The great losses experienced by these young men were not insignificant to the System (military/gov) they were in fact important enough for everyone to stop and take notice and say thanks.
Leroy taught me that the real healing for these soldiers didn’t come with the VIP treatment , or gift that they received. It was because of the importance of everything stopping and someone taking time to say “ I know what you have sacrificed, it has been seen and noted, and for that I want to know that I and many others appreciate you”. The fact that it was Governor Rick Perry , Retired General Leroy Sisco and Clay Walker doing the honors was of course a magnifier in the whole event but out in the crowd were many other soldiers their as guests (900 or so) and the pride spread to them as well.
Ok with that all said, What’s my point. Well that is when I saw how this healing stuff works. That day those soldiers were healed or fixed, they had a long way to go. Not just the physical wounds but also the wounds in their marriages, their lives, their relations with God and many other areas but this was a day of hope. Because if men of this importance thought it important to stop everything and do this for them and quieting the voices that were saying “give it up, your broke and no longer whole” That gesture of thanks was enough to quieted things enough to let God’s healing love it and begin the process of rebuilding.
Now doing an event like this get lots of exposure, it’s easy it too look good because you support the troops etc. Any cynic can see that. But I saw Gov Rick Perry’s name show up time and time again on both events and fundraisers with Leroy. Many times these events barely made the local media if at all but if he knew his name would lend to an event he was there.
I truly believe it is not what a man does when the world is watching that matters, is what he does when he thinks no one is looking that tell you of his character,( Quote-Author unknown) and I can say that Gen Sisco and Gov. Rick Perry are both men of character. Technically I have met Gov Perryquick pic or quick hi. Most the time at the events I was usually busy doing things with my dragster, talking with soldiers and families and by the time I am done with those things the window has closed but I have seen the impact of his genuine actions and that is why I want to share a slice of this man’s character.

Subject: Hero

Tina,
I thought you would like to read this... This confirms what we know. I called Rick and told him about this guy and he called him immediately.

Leroy

Haskell…
It is an uncommon word and a more uncommon name. It‘s my dad’s first name. Why? I asked my grandmother that question. “I heard it one day, and I just liked it. So that’s what we named him.” Pops has been called Hershoel, Hashmill, and a thousand other twisted versions over the years. When Peter was born, he was named for this two grandfathers. Peter Haskell Burks. The day after Peter was killed, I was sitting at the dining room, just trying to make sense of all that was going on. My cell phone rang. “Unknown” said the caller ID. Thought about letting it pass, but I answered it. “Alan, this is Rick Perry.” Rick Perry was and is the Governor of Texas. I had never met him, never made contribution, never knew anything about him. Governor Perry, or Rick as he insisted, talked to me for 35 minutes that day. He is the Governor of a state of 25 million people. But he talked to me that as one father to another. He wanted to know about Pete, his family, his time at Texas A&M, his fiancée. There are over 400 Gold Star Families in Texas from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect Governor Perry has talked to them all.
I was invited to a fundraiser tonight for Governor Perry. He is in a competitive primary facing Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. I’m not real politically active, but I went because I wanted to meet Rick Perry and thank him for that phone call. The function was at a mansion in Highland Park. There were a least 400 people there. I got in the greeting line. When it was my turn, I put out my hand. “Governor we’ve not met personally, but we have talked before. You called me the day after my son was killed in Iraq.” “Alan it so good to meet you. Pete’s middle name is Haskell; named after his grandfather. Thank you for coming tonight.” With a greeting line of hundreds of young Republicans eager to shake his hand and have a photo taken, he took me by the arm and we walked to a far corner of the room. I could see the security guy and his aides eye open wide. We talked for about ten minutes. He expressed his appreciation for Peter’s sacrifice. He was aware of the Unsung Hero Fund and our shipments to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. He wanted to know how everyone was doing. As we ended the chat, I noticed a tear in his eye. “Alan, I want you to know you and your family have been and will be in my prayers.” He went back to the greeting line and gripping and grinning. He didn’t have to call me that day. He didn’t have to spend the time with me he did tonight. But he did. That says something to me about the character of the man.
I’m sure that Kay Bailey Hutchison is a fine person. But I do know that when I wet to Washington, D.C. last year, she was the only Texan in Congress that didn ‘t meet with me personally. And for whatever reason, her letter of condolence about Peter arrived almost a year after his death. I don’t know Rick Perry from sic em. But I do know he took time out of his life to console me and to express his interest and concern for my family. Interestingly, Rick Perry was born and raised in Haskell, Texas.

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Submitted by tina on Tue, 02/09/2010 - 16:40.