Of Geckos and Men

SGT M_ has an easy way about him and has been easy to befriend, as well. His voice and manner is one of a person who grew up in a family with either Italian or Slavic roots. I think home for him is in Perkasie, Wilkes-Barre or someplace like that. He is in his mid to late twenties, I would say. I first met him back at the National Training Center (NTC) around the time when he met his father for the first time. I remember talking to him about the experience and being grateful that it went well for him. Sometimes encounters like the one SGT M sought out can be less than happy events. But for him it seemed to complete a picture. I think he went into it with some realism and didn’t have high expectations for this man who struggled with an alcohol addiction.

As I have gotten to know him better, I have learned that SGT M_ is a self-starter in so many areas of his life. One of his passions is air brushing. Apparently between that and being an accomplished drummer in a band back home his able to have a comfortable life. He has a fiancé, who he affectionately calls “my girl” (I don’t think I know her name yet). He has used his carpentry skills to improve a cabin by the lake back home. M_ has also added a screened in porch on his one room connex housing.

His natural curiosity led him out hunting one evening to catch small geckos. He proudly showed me the terrarium that he had built for the five or six reptiles which he had fashioned out of some scrap wood, Lucite, and netting, and a light bulb. I was impressed by the workmanship. SGT M_ noticed that every time he caught one of these geckos nearby there were usually native black beetles that traveled in pairs. He deduced that this must be the gecko’s food source. M_ wanted to know what the reptiles were, so we did some on line research. After visiting a handful of sites we were confident that what he had caught were Hook-toed geckos (that was the most common name for this species). We didn’t find too much on their dietary habits, so I told M_ to just watch them for a few days and see if they were getting lethargic or seemed hungry. SGT M_ went on to catch more beetles and moths by the lights of the DFAC (dining facility). The Hooked-toed geckos went on to flourish. M_ even put a tiny piece of cold cut on string and had them jumping all around inside their new home.

SGT M_ assembled a band here which won the talent show that I promoted. He wired the DFAC so we could have as close to a professional sound system as we could. One evening when he was visiting with me, our conversation went to musical instruments that we would like to learn. We both concluded that piano is on the top of the list. He confided in me that he would like to learn how to read music and that he “never was one much for book learning.” He also told me how his mother championed him when teachers had pretty much written him off because of attention deficit and other learning difficulties. I told him what I’ve witnessed in his natural curiosity and various gifts and that I believed he could learn most anything he wanted (including Aramaic, just because he thinks “it’s cool”). A few days later I ran into another young man in the chapel who was playing with the instruments. Somewhere in our chit-chatting, he tells me how much he loves music and that he’s pretty good with music theory and teaching. I tell him that I know someone who would like to learn from him.

To be human is to struggle with self doubt, but it takes a community of others to remind one of the strengths they possess. I hear echos of myself in many of those who come into my office. I try to recall the teachers (ministers and others) who have been “there” for me. The quality that remains most with me is all of them listened and many of them refused to buy into some lesser person than they knew I could be. I ordered a trumpet through the Army system. SGT M_ says that he’s “pretty sure” he could play Taps on it if needed again. I tell him that I hope that it will be here before Easter so he can play some flourishes during the Easter worship service.