Buddy Checks are critical for SAL members too

The camaraderie of the Sons of The American Legion is contagious and something that we should focus on, nurture, and never forget to reach out. Like many people, I’ve made a ton of friends in this organization.

In this time of COVID-19 and quarantines up and down this great country of ours, we need to remember that lives are still happening, people are having a hard time coping with the quarantine, illness is happening, jobs are being lost, normal is changing, and families are adjusting.

One of the people I’m very thankful for and would like to feature is Brandon Curry of Kentucky. Brandon is my bald brother from another mother, and he, like many across this great land, is a firefighter daily on the front lines of life. Brandon is calm, cool, and collected. He has been strong and diligent in checking in on me throughout this time and I have appreciated his friendship and stories he has shared with me and that I’ve shared with him. He has been a voice to listen when I’m feeling down and a person who has had my back.

Brandon was on the convention city commission for Kentucky and the convention that never happened in Louisville. Brandon and his wife, Auburn, were going to host me and my wife for some extended camaraderie that we now did not get to have, but we will when all of this pandemic subsides.

Never forget to check on those friendships you have made in our great organization, listen to your gut when it says you should reach out, and be that source of strength when your comrades are hurting. We are all in this together and brothers bonded by our service to our community, state, and nation.