Wyakin Warriors with Lt. Gov. Little
The first five Wyakin Warriors have begun taking classes, and they have been at the center of quite a bit of publicity.
Front page of the Idaho Statesman
KIVI TV
KTVB TV
KBSX Public Radio
More KBSX Public Radio
These five men have experienced things that most of us never will, and have a deeper appreciation, I think, of life. So one comment jumped out at me. One of the Wyakin Warriors said that when something like a serious injury happens to you, you have two choices. You can focus on the negative or on the positive. He decided to be positive. What a great philosophy of life.
When I was in junior high school, I was told I was going to get interviewed by the school paper. Everyone else prior to me was asked what their philosphy of life was, and at the time I didn’t have one.
So I made one up.
“Know yourself, trust yourself, test yourself.” That was my new philosophy, ready made for a nice sound bite. I could almost imagine the headlines in the Blevins Jr. High School paper: “Bacon has it all figured out!” “Bacon sets the standard for all other interviewees!” I was going to be a rock star.
They never asked the question. They did, however, print a picture of me as a baby, sitting naked in a tub of water.
So for the last forty years I have kept that philosophy to myself, ready to be released in the event I ever got asked the question that never came.
And now, forty years later, I have come to realize that my philosophy is no good any more, made insignificant and self-serving by a young injured Soldier who now wears the mantle of Wyakin Warrior.
So Blevins Junior High School, if you’re listening, Jeff Bacon has a NEW philosophy of life. When life throws something tough my way, I choose to focus on the positive.
Except for the naked picture in the tub. That was just mean.