I have been putting up stuff on this page for a couple of months now. From these entries one might get the impression that I spend my day at the Homes for Heroes office doing my best to annoy others. For those that think this you are pretty close to the truth. When the Homes for Heroes Foundation was conceptualized we agreed that this blog would be a look at the lighter side of life in uniform. I took this to heart and have been doing my utmost to be light hearted and happy all the time. This comes at a price though, my colleagues aren’t always happy, and my sense of humor is not always contagious. In fact, at times, it can be down right unbearable.
Think of what the staff has to go through. The staffs first job is matching our Heroes with our affiliated real estate agents and mortgage brokers. This national program provides the Hero with 25% of the agents commission and half off the origination fee on the mortgage. That is a substantial amount of money when buying or selling a home. Using the Homes for Heroes program will put thousands in your pocket at closing. I don’t think there is any other full service program that offers this kind of savings. Add to that we are a national program. That means the staff is quite busy. Now add the Homes for Heroes Foundation into the mix. The staff fields calls from Heroes that are looking for some help for situations that are out of their control. A Hero in Maine is in Iraq right now and needs some one to winterize his home. Another Hero has been stationed from New York to Colorado and the NY landlord will not let them out of their lease causing all sorts of financial issues. Another Hero is looking for some help in getting an attached garage built because he can’t get into his car from his wheel chair now.
From time to time I will see one of our staff hanging up the phone and wiping away a tear. I know some of these calls can be very emotional. These Heroes are not looking for handouts, they are just trying to deal with what life has dealt them. It can be hard to watch some one dealing with hardships like it was any other day. Listening to a Hero who is wheel chair bound and can’t finish a house hold project that will enable him to take care of his family nor will his pay and benefits cover the cost is frustrating and taxing. The Homes for Heroes Foundation does what it can to help, but our hearts go out to those who gave it all and now have to struggle just to get by.
Now add me. They take the calls while I guffaw at YouTube videos. Then I ask them to interrupt their work and come take a look at what was so funny. We don’t have a big staff and they have a lot of work to do. I put together the blog and update the web site. That is pretty much what I do.when I am not showing homes.I need to keep the blog light and do a lot of research coming up with strange and wonderful things to write about. Sometimes it easy and other times it is inspiring. Thus, the annoyance factor. I recently saw a couple of videos that turned soda and beer cans into a stove. Well I had to try it out to see if it worked. I ask a colleague to finish a soda so I can have the can, I grab the scissors from another to cut the can. While they are working I am cooking water at my desk with my new camping stove. I have mentioned before where I have taken a mouse pad from a colleague and turned it into a wrist pad. I suppose one might wonder just what the heck I do?
I do spread the word on what a great program Homes for Heroes is. To be sure, I attempt do it with a sense of humor. Check them out. They are a real program with a real concern for our Heroes. The Homes for Heroes will take your calls and answer your questions, while I will wait for them to turn there backs so I can turn their desk lamp into a drink warmer
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