GROUND ZER0, New York, N.Y.--July 15, 2003-- Today is a very special day.  It is Grandfathers of Vigilance Day.   At least, it is for me.
    It's my grandson's seventh birthday today.
    In two more weeks, it will be my granddaughter's fifth birthday.
    And just last month, it was my other grandson's first birthday.
    Seven, five and one years old.  Three beautiful parts of the gene pool floating along the stream of humanity, evolving from children into men and women who, one day, will face the choice of becoming Sentinels of Vigilance or Servants of Terrorism.

     Unfortunately, there will not be a choice for my grandchildren, as there was no choice for all the grandchildren who came before them over the millennia of human development.
      Each of us as human beings faces the choice in life to either stand up and be counted or to slip into life's mainstream, hiding in the middle of the herd and hoping that someone else will take on the duty and responsibility to keep us safe from the threats of the Beast of Terror.
      Vigilance, the effort of having at least one percent more Courage than Fear, of mustering at least one percent more Conviction than Intimidation, and, most importantly, to take Right Actions in behalf of the Children's Children's Children rather than fall victim to the seduction of Complacency--no action--is the gift I hope to pass on to my grandchildren.

       Grandparents are, supposedly, the Wells of Wisdom for children.
       They have, if they have lived life well, battered their heads against many brick walls and learned by the brutal impact of life's battering ram realities the expense of mistakes.    The great teachers in life are those who have many battle scars and have survived and prospered as a result at all levels--emotionally, spiritually, physically, mentally.
        They have developed calluses, hard-earned tough-skin about issues in their life that loom like great Beasts of Terror trying to turn the magic and beauty of life into a grim nightmare of failure, despair and futility.
         I can't say it is easy to be Grandparent of Vigilance, but it is rewarding and coruscating to the soul.   It makes all the errors and mistakes one makes traveling life's vermiculating paths worthy of the journey.   It all comes to light when your grandchildren ask you questions about life, expecting you to answer them as though you were their guide, their Sentinel of Vigilance shining light through the darkness they trudge.
         Yesterday, on the eve of our grandson's birthday, I had the honor of helping my wife baby sit the kids at one of the local parks in the East Village.    My grandson is a Rescue Hero aficionado.   For a number of years he has played endlessly with them--Billy Blazes, Jake Justice, Wendy Waters, Roger Houston, Bill Barker, Gil Gripper, Rocky Canyon, Hal E. Copter and one of my favorite's, Aiden Assist.
          The Fischer Price toys designed to spark the imagination of a child to help rather than destroy, compete with GI Joe toys, and other action toys that involve violence.
          As a former Marine and combat veteran, I'm elated my grandkids play with and enjoy toys that involve the reconstruction of human life rather than its deconstruction.

         Yesterday, Matt, the soon-to-be birthday boy, was swinging on the monkey bars as I held taut a piece of thin rope, representing a lifeline attached from the monkey bars to part of the jungle gym structure.    As Matt swung overhand, he reached out with one hand to take my house keys that were precariously poised on the rope, representing a group of people trapped in our imaginary volcano eruption.    Matt was pretending to be Bill Barker, there to save the people.  I was Hal E. Copter, backing him up.
          Then Matt switched over to Aiden Assist.   He pretended to be the Rescue Hero who is confined to a wheelchair.  The motorized chair is equipped with all sorts of life-saving tools that Aiden can deploy even if he suffers from a handicap--unable to walk.   He is just as big a hero on the Rescue Hero team as any of his team mates.
           Our granddaughter, Sarah, was in the thick of things.  She was Wendy Waters, using the monkey bars to swing over and catch the rope with her legs to save the people.   "We leave no one behind," they chimed, echoing the slogan of the Rescue Heroes.
            Being a Grandfather of Vigilance has its sparkling moments.   Yesterday was one of them.   There were the two oldest grandkids, filling their minds not with how to blow up things, but how to save people, work as a team, and "leave no one behind."  
          In a world of Terrorism, with constant threats to both the physical and emotional security of a child, the idea that children were as attracted to the principle of helping others as some are to learning how to shoot toy guns and blow up the "enemy" with toy tanks, was inspirational at the least.
          But, as a Grandfather of Vigilance, I raise the toys and their purpose to the highest possible level of human evolution.

          I'm convinced that the world of the future will depend on a diverse team of average people who do uncommon things in behalf of the Children's Children's Children.
         These are the Children of Vigilance, and their greatest teachers will be the Grandfathers and Grandmothers of Vigilance, who use their battle scars in life to pave the path of life for their offspring's offspring.
         This does not exclude those Loved One's of Vigilance, aunts, uncles and friends who realize that  children can grow up in the shadow of Fear, Intimidation and wallow in the quagmire of Complacency where they feel unable, unworthy, unprepared to fight for what is right for themselves and others.
         All humans have defects.
         We all face life's sometimes odious forces--especially those from within where the Beast of Terror tries to tell us we're not as smart, as good looking, as rich, as lucky, as gifted as we could be.   We rush out into the world only to be slammed down by our emotions, those demons of Fear, Intimidation and Complacency that try to stifle and muffle our will, that chew holes in our Courage, our Conviction and the idea we are capable of being a Rescue Hero, impacting the future of the world in a positive manner.
          Grandparents know that isn't true.|
          They see in the children the hope of the future, and can provide to a child a shoulder to lean on, knowledge, experience and motivation to reach beyond the gravity of what appears to be reality and not give up when it seems the world is crushing around them.
          Grandparents of Vigilance are Rescue Heroes when they take their roles in perspective.  What greater message can a grandparent deliver to a child than the duty and responsibility to be of service to others, even at the expense of one's own selfishness.

           The Rescue Heroes work on the principle of teamwork, one hand helping the other.
           Grandparents can deliver that message best by sharing with children the idea that we are not alone in this world.   We can face the Beast of Terror's efforts to make us fearful, or to intimidate us, or force us to become the wallpaper of life, believing we are victims, losers, failures.
           Two suggestions I offer all Grandparents of Vigilance.
           One, buy your grandchildren some Rescue Hero toys.  Two, play with them yourself first.  Imagine yourself a child again, and see how they save people.  Watch the Rescue Hero videos that come with the toys, or buy them separately.   Learn the lingo.  Lock onto the principles that are taught.
         Then play Rescue Heroes with your grandkids.
          Secondly, take the Pledge of Vigilance.
         Live by the Principles of Vigilance for your grandchildren, even if you are having trouble believing in them yourself.    The gift of knowledge is that while we might have abused it, or ignored it, we don't want others who could benefit from it to be denied its magic.

         When I play with my grandkids, I am constantly wishing I had a grandparent who had played with me, and taught me the things I had to learn the hard way.
         And, at the end of the day, when you're tired and exhausted, your soul will be light.  You'll know you served the day as a Sentinel of Vigilance.
         You'll know you didn't "leave your grandchildren behind." 

July 14--The Terror Of Southern Comfort

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