"The Hustler" Chapter 2

Did you l know I was a hustler? It started as young as I could remember. When I was 7 or 8 my older brother would tie me up to a chair and go to the store. He would bet me if I could get out he would buy me a coke, I always remember getting out. Whether he tied it loose or tight I don’t know, what I do know is I got a coke. I remember I would follow a kid to school and everyday he would throw his lunch away in a bush and I would pick it up so I could have something to eat. When I got to my foster home I would take food from the kitchen and hide it in my room. Remembering prior I didn’t know where my next meal would come from. One day when Muti (mother in German) found the food I hid and she told me I did not have to do that because I would always have food in her house. When I was 9 living at my foster home I remember going to a candy store after accordion practice and I would steal candy just to sell it at school later.

When I was 11 after moving back home to live with my mom I started delivering newspapers. By the time I was a teenager it was nothing for me to steal what I could and sell it for money. At 19 I was making $2,000 a month working two jobs carpenter by day and cabbie by night while living on my own. You would think I would not have to worry about money or food, but I did. I was SELFISH always spending my money on things I wanted, going to clubs with my fake ID or spending it on my girlfriends. Until the day came when I realized rent was due in two weeks and I didn’t have it. I went to an Army recruiter and told him I wanted to be an MP and ship out in two weeks. On 1 April 1987 I hustled my way into the Army and out of paying my rent. Later, as I reflected back on my life I realized someone always paid for my bad actions. The candy store owner lost profits, the cab company lost revenue I skimmed off the top, the owners I stole from lost something of value and my stepdad Roy paid my rent after I was gone. Selfishly, I was only looking out for number one, me. Although serving my country is an act of selfless service I didn’t join for that, to me it was just another hustle.

A few years after I joined the Army something started to click, Selfishness was not working any more. We are meant for something greater and just serving my country was not filling my bucket. Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV) “Do nothing from selfish ambition or vein conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves”.

Fast forward to 1997 Ft Hood, TX, I was just inducted into the prestigious Sergeant Audie Murphy Club (SAMC). We would organize food drives and other community projects and that’s all it took, I caught the Selfless Service bug and wanted more. I led a building project that provided 100,000 square foot building for a food pantry. I collected two 5 Ton Army trucks full of school supplies and was able to coordinate with the Army to ship it to Bosnia. I was involved in many other community projects as well, always trying to find a way to make a difference. Later in 2002 I became the President of the Ft Leonard Wood SAMC chapter. Over the years I worked with many other non-profits and was even blessed to lead a chapter of over 100 volunteers in DC for The Mission Continues. Serving others in my community has become a part of my soul and a large part of who I am now. I am no longer SELFISHLY looking out for me but, SELFLESSLY making sure others have food and finding ways to meet their needs.

Since developing ALS, I have had many people ask me what I miss. Do I miss eating, speaking, my strength, “my Good Looks”? As I sit down and reflect why my life was so full and think about what I miss the most, it’s waking up early in the morning and preparing for a hard day’s work of volunteering in a community somewhere hoping to make just one person’s day a little better. Living with ALS I no longer have the strength to build gardens, paint schools, or collect food. However, that Selfless Service bug is boiling in my blood trying to get out and it is focused on ALS. This is my new mission, to bring awareness to ALS. To teach others about what it is and how it affects the individual. Although I cannot physically do as much as before, I will use the power of my pen to help me shout out to the world, “I AM ALS, HEAR ME ROAR!” My hope is you will understand it better and hopefully catch your selfless-service bug and pour into your communities while filling your bucket of life. Use your strength, hearts and minds to do selfless acts in your communities. I am no longer the kid I used to be and because of that the selfish kid who hustled for himself is now hustling for everyone else. #iamals #ALSMissionDuBois