Roy Exum
Sometimes I don’t tend to myself quite like I should. Think of it as a bad habit. So last week I took some time away from the computer, away from my morning readings and newspapers and TV, so I could tap my reset button. Things happen when you get old and some of them aren’t good. Thank goodness there is hardly anything today that has no solution if you keep trying and stay in the game.
So yesterday, when I sat in front of my computer and resumed my daily tour of life, it was a lot like Christmas morning. I am interested in so much and so many things and, surprisingly, the biggest gift I received was from a television show I usually avoid, “Saturday Night Live.” In the first place, there is usually any game I’d rather watch and, secondly, those ‘satire’ guys play a little rough for my personal tastes.
Eight days ago, one of the extreme left liberals took a cruel jab at Dan Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL from Houston before Tuesday's election. Dan was running quite successfully for a seat in Congress and, because of an IED explosion in Afghanistan in 2012, he lost his sight. Today he wears an eyepatch after regaining enough sight in his other eye to actually deploy in several more missions before retiring as a Lt. Commander. There is nothing to dislike or not admire about the Texas Congressman elect.
But eight days ago a distasteful SNL funnyman, Pete Davidson, openly mocked Crenshaw just three days before the election. Davidson said Crenshaw appeared to him to look like "a hitman in a porno movie. I’m sorry, I know he lost his eye in war, or whatever."
The outcry was immediate. Rightfully, Davidson was mauled by the Left and battered by the Right. To my surprise, two nights ago Davidson decided to “man up” and offer a sincere apology for his lack of taste. "I mean this from the bottom of my heart: I made a poor choice of words," Davidson said in his return to the "Weekend Update" desk.
"He is a war hero and deserves all the respect in the world. And if any good came of it, it's that for one day, the left and right finally came together to agree on something: that I'm a (expletive)."
At that precise second, “good” turned to “great” as Crenshaw – on live TV -- barreled into the chair next to the shocked Davidson to chortle, “Ya’ think!” quickly adding, “Thanks for making a Republican look good."
The audience, as well as the world’s compassionate, loved it. Crenshaw then told the agitator, Davidson, "we're good" and "apology accepted," but, whoa, the SEAL suddenly kicked it to a loftier plane when Dan’s cell phone went off. The ringtone just happened to be a song by Ariana Grande's "Breathin" (Davidson and the pop star broke off their engagement last month) and Crenshaw wasn’t about to answer, letting the song continue to play as the audience went wild.
“You gonna’ answer that!” Davdson asked and the warrior replied, “That’d be rude … I’ll just let it play and go to voice mail.” Pete bantered back, “alright, that’s cool … Ariana … “ yeah, that is funny.”
Davidson even invited the frogman to comment on the comedian’s appearance. "Pete looks like if the meth from 'Breaking Bad' was a person," Crenshaw said. "Pete looks like a troll doll with a tapeworm. ... Pete looks like Martin Short in 'The Santa Clause 3.' By the way, one of these three is actually good on 'SNL.'”
Davidson was a marvelous sport during the diatribe but when the Lt. Commander begged a serious moment at the end, the best was yet to come. I hope no one missed it because, as the Bible instructs us, “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." (Romans 12:19-20.)
And then Crenshaw delivered his coals as only the most brilliant SEAL could do.
“There are a lot of lessons to learn here, not just that the left and right can still agree on some things, but also this: Americans can forgive one another,” Crenshaw said. “We can remember what brings us together as a country and still see the good in each other.”
“This is Veterans Day weekend, which means that it’s a good time for every American to connect with a veteran. Maybe say ‘Thanks for your service,’ but I would actually encourage you to say something else: Tell a veteran ‘never forget,'” the former Navy SEAL said.
“When you say ‘never forget’ to a veteran, you are implying that as an American, you are in it with them, not separated by some imaginary barrier between civilians and veterans, but connected together as grateful fellow Americans. We’ll never forget the sacrifices made by veterans past and present.”
On the very last sentence did Crenshaw deliver ‘burning coals.’ He said simply, “We'll never forget the sacrifices made by veterans past and present, and never forget those we lost on 9/11 — heroes like Pete's father."
Did you get that … Crenshaw had no reason whatsoever to include Pete’s father, a NYC firefighter who gave his life in the 9/11 attacks. No reason at all … but he did. That’s mansmanship at its all-pure finest.
"So, I'll just say, Pete, never forget," Crenshaw concluded, as the two shook hands.
“Never forget … “ Davidson replied, quickly adding, “and that’s from both of us.”
See what I’ve been missing? Just like a Christmas morning.
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“In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.”
royexum@aol.com