The Ripple Effect of a Simple Bench and Peter Rygg's Mission

Speaker 2:
0:11

Connecting the dots, Connecting his guests to the world, Creating more connections. Welcome to the Connection. Meet your host. Author, coach, Air Force veteran Jay Morales.

Speaker 3:
0:30

I'm really excited for my guest today. I'm excited as everyone knows how near and dear veterans are to my heart. But what's even more moving is when this generation your age, peter, professors share stories, shows their adoration. You show your patriotism, but everyone expresses in a different way and people are going to learn. So today I have Peter Rigg. Peter, if you could, you're 17-year-old. When did you turn 17? February 2nd.

Speaker 3:
0:59

February 2nd. So you're a young 17-year-old, and the reason why I want to highlight your age is because when people think of 17-year-olds today, some of them think that they miss out on history or our past, or maybe they're just too much in the present. And I want to help debunk that. And I think today is such a great conversation to talk about history Veterans are military and being patriotic. So, peter, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Speaker 1:
1:25

So I'm 17. I go to Ackwam South High School. I play soccer pretty much year-round. I play for a club as well, and yeah, are you nervous?

Speaker 3:
1:37

Don't be nervous. It's okay, listen, it's okay to not, it's okay to be nervous. By the time we get into the meat and potatoes you just interview, you're going to feel better. So I just want you to relax. This is a conversation between me and you, but remember, it is pretty impactful. So take your time and let's just really really get into it. Okay, all right. So I know your mother, kathy, and I know that. I know she's a great mom, not because I like her as a person or she's really cool. I know that she raises her children right and I know that it reflects when you see kids mimic or imitate or act like their parents do. And what caught me about you, peter, is your level of, I should say, honor for our veterans. So let's describe this project we have coming up first, and then we'll go backwards into the history. So tell me about this amazing project that you're working on for veterans.

Speaker 1:
2:31

So the project is I'm going to be fundraising and placing two benches at the church that I go to in recognition of veterans. It's called Visit with a Veteran, so people can go and sit on the benches and then they can talk to each other and then, if there's one veteran and then one non veteran, or a veteran and a veteran, they can just share stories and communicate with each other, which I think is a great way of expressing yourself and connecting with others.

Speaker 3:
2:57

So visiting with a veteran? That's a simple title. It's very easy. Why is that so important to visit with a veteran?

Speaker 1:
3:06

I think it's important because veterans have gone through a lot, they've seen a lot, they know a lot, they can share a lot. And maybe younger generations they may not know as much, and I think it's a good way to connect with people and through conversation, it's a healthy way to express yourself and get to know someone, and I think that's a great part of just talking with each other.

Speaker 3:
3:28

So let's just play this out. I'm a veteran, right? I've served 10 years. If I was sitting on one bench and you're sitting on the other, what are some of the questions you would ask me, or what are some of the things you want to know?

Speaker 1:
3:42

I probably want to know favorite and least favorite, favorite part of being a veteran and serving for the country and least favorite? Oh no, and I'd probably also want to know what were the hardships and the highs of being a veteran, yeah, and why you became a veteran or in serve for the country.

Speaker 3:
4:03

Why is that important to you? Why is it important to Peter, who's 17 years old and Elkhorn Nebraska? Why is it important to you?

Speaker 1:
4:11

I think it's important because it's not just because you're a veteran, which is a great part of it, but I think getting to know someone and what they've been through and what the experience of the experiences they've had is just a great part of connecting with someone. And then, past that, they did serve for the country and it's very patriotic of someone and brave of someone to do and I think it's very honorable. So it's a great way to get to know someone and respect them. That's awesome.

Speaker 3:
4:38

So when you see veteran today right, sometimes they have a veteran hat that says veteran. They might have an old patch or they might have a shirt that says you know, I'm a veteran. You're in the airport. This happens a lot, right? Do you ever stop and say anything, or do you want to say something to those people? And if you don't, it's okay, but I'm just wondering what goes through your mind. You know what goes through your mind.

Speaker 1:
5:02

I think my see a veteran as recognizable. I more think of scenarios and questions that I would ask them, but I don't go up to them really, because it's kind of a public scene where there's a lot of people around there as approach of old Understood, and that's why I think just a bench in a nice park where you can sit down with someone is a great idea.

Speaker 3:
5:23

Man, you know what? I never thought about it like that, right? Because everyone's into this whole. Hey, thanks for your service. And it's four seconds of interaction. You're looking for deeper interaction, getting to really know somebody and being brave enough to sit with them and say, hey, I'm here to listen to your story, right, I'm here to learn from you, you know? Let's go back. When did this idea first hit you? When, okay, you're 17 now. When did this hit you? When did this come into fruition?

Speaker 1:
5:56

I think it's been brewing for a very long time, because both of my grandfathers are veterans. One is 99 right now. He served in World War II in the Navy and then another one is 84. And he served in the Air Force as a dentist in Vietnam. Wow. So I've been around a lot of veterans and the stories that they've told, and just them, their influence on me, has really impacted me.

Speaker 3:
6:28

So either, or I don't care, who Does he do, either of them share stories with you.

Speaker 1:
6:36

My grandpa's Adam, who is in Vietnam, shares Air.

Speaker 3:
6:40

Force.

Speaker 1:
6:40

He's with me, yeah.

Speaker 3:
6:41

Yeah, when he tells you the stories. I'm not going to ask you what he shares, but I want to ask how it makes you feel and if you need color context to tell me, here's why it makes me feel that way. What does he tell you? What does he say?

Speaker 1:
6:55

He tells me about a lot of the kind of one-off, kind of more light-hearted, funny stories that he experienced, and I think it's a great way to share his experience through that and how he got through being in the armed forces yes, armed forces, yeah and just how he kind of like his day-to-day life and stuff like that. Yeah yeah, and how he got through it. So Cause I think it's great to have the funny comedic moments kinda throughout your life, cause it's gonna stick you going.

Speaker 3:
7:30

I if his ability to talk with you and be jovial about it and lighthearted is pretty incredible. Has he shared any like on the grim side, you know? Like what they went through and it's this is okay to share? I mean really this is. Have they said like, oh, you know, vietnam was Vietnam, or you know? Have you heard any stories, maybe that?

Speaker 1:
7:51

He's told a lot of stories about people he knew that experienced those really hard times. Yes, and my grandpa Reg tells more like serious stories or not as like gruesome or anything Understood.

Speaker 3:
8:03

Understood.

Speaker 1:
8:04

They're still like more into war and things like that.

Speaker 3:
8:07

So when, when either grandpa talks to let's talk about grandpa Reg when he, when he talks to you and he tells you some of the serious stories, deep conversations, these aren't like hey, by the way, how does that make you feel about? You know them. You know just how you look at them, as a grandpa or as a person.

Speaker 1:
8:26

I think it really builds their character in my eyes of being respectable and honorable and someone to look up to, because they went through those really hard times and they saw all these things and they're still here telling the stories, able to express themselves. Yeah.

Speaker 3:
8:42

Have you thought, has it ever translated into any of your every day? Like man?

Speaker 1:
8:47

if they did that, yeah, Sockers, not hard like right, like it's definitely made me think more and be more determined and tougher, because I realized that I don't have to go through all that and I'm just kind of living my day to day life.

Speaker 3:
9:01

Yeah it is. So it might take you a second to think, and I want you to take your time. How, how is any of their stories? Can you recall a time where you've had to pull from that strength? Or to say what would my grandpa do, or what would my grandpa's do, or, you know, have you ever had to live that in your own life through, at least you know, borrowing some of their strength?

Speaker 1:
9:26

I think most of the time when I recall these stories and think back to what they say is when, like exhausted especially during soccer, I get very exhausted and then I don't want to go anymore. I feel like I can't but I just need to keep going, because I remember that they kept going. Yeah it's.

Speaker 3:
9:45

It's easy to give up. You know, and you can probably see their parenting style and how they raised your mom right. Do you ever see, you know perhaps? Oh yeah, I can tell my mom came from a military family. Do you ever see any mannerisms, maybe from your mom, that Maddie carried over from their parenting style? Or?

Speaker 1:
10:03

what she experienced? Yeah, I definitely can. She's very, she's tough on me, but to a good degree. She keeps me in line. She makes me a respectable person yes, things like that. And she makes me, she shapes me to the person that I am right now.

Speaker 3:
10:19

That's pretty cool, that's. I mean, that's a lot to think about, even at 17 years old, right? Most 17 year olds right now are on Minecraft. Let's be honest, right, they're probably sucking down a bandwidth from our, from our, from our transmission right now. But, peter, how is this going to work? Like, tell me what is going to entail, tell me the timeline, tell me how it'll work. You're going to have to go through, like, let's break this out, tell me your plan, because most people are going to say 17 years old, what he's doing this, first of all, it's hard. It's hard enough to sell fundraising popcorn at school. Let's be honest, right, we're not fundraising for popcorn. What is the target money amount that you need to raise?

Speaker 1:
11:04

So the target money amount we're going to be doing two benches and then at the dedication there's going to be food and drinking, things like that, and the money amount is $5,000 that we're looking to raise.

Speaker 3:
11:17

You're kind of doing this in conjunction with your church. Can you kind of describe? Let's describe that. And then let's go backwards so you're going to reveal, tell me how this works. Tell me how you're going to share the story in church. Tell me everything Like let's just walk through the plan right now.

Speaker 1:
11:32

Yeah, so I'm going to share the idea of visit with a veteran at both of the services on March 17th at the Sunday service.

Speaker 3:
11:41

Yes.

Speaker 1:
11:42

And then I'm going to have like a little table at coffee hour after that where people can come and ask me questions, and then the dedication will be November 10th 2024. After the, it's kind of in the middle, I think it's at 11 am. Some of them around then, sure, sure. And then there's going to be like the color guard there. Everyone's going to be there, there's going to be food and drinks and then we're going to have a bigger view of both the benches and yeah.

Speaker 3:
12:10

So let's fast forward to that date, right? Yep, how many people are there in your mind? Let's speak this into existence.

Speaker 1:
12:17

Probably thinking close to maybe a hundred.

Speaker 3:
12:20

Yeah, I like it. Right or more Right Is there? How do you picture things going? If it was up to you to wave the magic wand, here's how I would want it to go. What are some of the things? Okay, people arriving. You're in between services, right. One's leaving, one's coming on. People are anticipating this, right. Who's what's happening next? People arrive, here we go. It's 11 o'clock.

Speaker 1:
12:42

So it's 11 o'clock. I'd probably get up on some sort of podium or just in front of everybody, have a quick little short speech, kind of telling everyone the process that I went through. And then the idea is wide again, just to get everybody on the same page, and I think I'll probably reveal the benches and tell you a big moment. That's awesome.

Speaker 3:
13:02

I can see your energy change because you're visualizing it now. Right, this is almost real. You're almost like this is gonna happen, right? Did we mention how much was? How much do we need to fundraise? Do you have a number in mind? 5,000. So how did you even find these benches? Did somebody help you do this? Did you do this on your own? Did you what, what, where, how?

Speaker 1:
13:24

Yeah, so I researched online. I went through about 10 different bench options and narrowed it down to three.

Speaker 3:
13:31

Yeah.

Speaker 1:
13:32

I went through that, narrowed it down to two, and I'm kind of in between two right now, but leaning towards one other, and then also at the same time, I'm gonna get a marker.

Speaker 3:
13:42

So tell me about these benches. Where do these benches come from? Like, how do you even start? Who did all the work?

Speaker 1:
13:52

Yeah, so I researched about 10 bench options that I was looking at and narrowed it down to three, and then right now I'm in between two right now and then I should be able to get down to one pretty soon and at the same time with the two benches. On the pathway at St Augustine's I'll have a marker in the middle that says visit with a veteran and there's gonna be a QR code on it that will go to a Facebook page dedicated to the project visit with a veteran and it'll have a like, a description of what the project is and then a little video of me explaining it as well.

Speaker 3:
14:26

That's pretty awesome. My question is how did you even know to do this? How'd you even know? Did someone say, hey, you need to look here here? Or was it all pretty much done on your own?

Speaker 1:
14:36

Pretty much done on my own. I just kind of went on Google search benches, good options, outdoor versus indoor materials, things like that, and then, yeah, all on my own.

Speaker 3:
14:48

You know, what kills me is most teenagers today, and I don't want to just say they're all bad, I'm saying they're too caught up in other things to be worried about something like this. Right, like this is an extra curricular activity on top of your soccer, top of your school, top of everything else that you're involved in. Right? And let's be honest, the word fundraise scares people. Yeah, how do you feel about fundraising and what should? If you were to tell somebody I'm so scared to fundraise, I don't, I don't like to do that stuff, what would you say?

Speaker 1:
15:21

I'd probably say one. It's necessary for anything like this. You won't be able to just get the funds out of nowhere and I think I'd say it's a good way to talk to people and get more comfortable to talking to businesses or other people, because you're going to need to be able to do that later in life and it just makes it easier socially for yourself.

Speaker 3:
15:43

What are you learning most about at least the fundraising process? Like you're getting ready to do it. Maybe you've have you asked anybody yet kind of or do you have an idea where you're going to start fundraising? I talked to 45 year olds and they're like I can't ask for money. No, no, I don't like to ask people for money. Where are you going to start?

Speaker 1:
16:05

So I'll probably start with friends and family, just start off small, and then I'll put a description of the project in the church's newspaper that gets sent out weekly, and then I'll have the Facebook page, and then I'll probably also do some other social media marketing something like that, of course, like Facebook or Instagram or something like that and then I'll go to the page a gift butter page for visit with a veteran, absolutely One center of spot. So, and then maybe little flyers I could put around town.

Speaker 3:
16:36

I think that's a good idea. So, outside of you fundraising, who else are you going to recruit to fundraise? I know I'm going to help. You can count on that right. So besides Jay right Cause, what if I fall short? Who else? I have you approached? People say, hey, I need your help, or are you kind of waiting, or what are you doing with that?

Speaker 1:
16:56

I think right now I'm kind of waiting and pulling off until I have everything kind of ready to go like go out. But I think in the future, in the next couple of weeks or months, I'll probably get trying to get more people on board.

Speaker 3:
17:11

Yeah, I think you should have an initial kickoff meeting. I know you're going to have one at church. Okay, I get that, but do you ever picture getting your friends and family in a room, maybe like this, 10, 15 of them saying I need your help?

Speaker 1:
17:25

Yeah, I completely envision myself doing that.

Speaker 3:
17:27

Completely Not. Everyone's going to do everything that you're going to do. You're taking ownership of this. This fails or succeeds with you, right? And to put yourself out there, do you think there's a possibility that you're like, oh my gosh, this is a big task. What if I don't make it? Do you think that at all? Or have you thought that?

Speaker 1:
17:49

Not really. I'm 100% confident myself that I can do it.

Speaker 3:
17:52

That's awesome. Tell me why A lot of people can't even sell $50 worth of fundraising tickets for kids baseball. That's to be honest, right. Why are you so sure?

Speaker 1:
18:03

I think it's because I know myself and I'm a pretty personable person and I can talk to people, so I think that helps with networking and then getting more people on board and I just believe in the project and that because it's for a good cause and that people understand that and don't what are some of the skills that somebody like yourself needs, you think, if they're going to be heading on a project like this?

Speaker 3:
18:24

what are some of the skills that have made you sharper, or that you said, oh, maybe I need to tune this up?

Speaker 1:
18:31

I think, definitely, leadership is one big skill that you need. You need to get things going. You can't just say you're going to do it and then not do it. You need to act on it. Responsibility you need to be responsible and stay on top of things and can't let things fly by you and be late. Right, I think you need to be personable, because I think I am to approach people, get people on board and so they can see that you're a good character to work with.

Speaker 3:
19:00

Yeah, most people are going to believe in you before they see this two benches. Some people aren't even going to care about the two benches, they're just going to care about your character, and I think that's important. You said something that most people, even my age, don't talk about, which is leadership. Leadership encompasses so much. Leadership encompasses acting on your words, responsibility, ownership. Say what you're going to do. That's a lot of pressure. You're going to be very visible here. Somebody says to you hey, I'm sorry, but I don't want to donate, I don't want to. What's your reaction? Like, true, like I mean sure we have to be cordial about it, but is it wrong? Or how would you handle? Somebody said no.

Speaker 1:
19:45

If someone doesn't want to donate yeah, I don't want to donate.

Speaker 3:
19:48

No, I don't think it's a good idea, right, how we deal with that.

Speaker 1:
19:51

I just say that's fine, that's your opinion, and I move on. I wouldn't let it affect me, because then you just go spiraling down and then you get negative and don't think you can do it. So I just need to stay positive and stay up.

Speaker 3:
20:03

Yeah, absolutely. Have you run this idea past anyone besides your family? Like out any of your friends?

Speaker 1:
20:10

I've talked to a few of my friends about it. I talked to the father of the church and the groundskeeper of the church and they're on board with it. So, and then I think in the next few months I'll be telling more people spring a word and then have a launch day.

Speaker 3:
20:24

Right, let's go public and then the name of your church is Saint Augustine's. Saint Augustine's, okay, and I know that you have a awesome relationship with the groundskeeper. What's his name? Jim Keepers. Let's what His last name is keepers. That's the best. Okay, I can't even make that up. Talk to me about Mr Keepers.

Speaker 1:
20:46

He's a great guy. I think I met him about maybe a year, year and a half ago when I volunteered to mulch for the gardens yes, he's in charge of all the mountains and things like that and he just started talking to me and he was asking me questions about where I go to school, what do I do. I was talking about soccer and I just connected with him really well and we shared like stuff about each other and, yeah, we just connected really well Out of curiosity, and does he have a connection to veterans or military?

Speaker 1:
21:16

Yeah, he was a veteran. I'm not sure what service, okay, anything like that, but he was a veteran, so he is.

Speaker 3:
21:22

There's a connection. So no one, mr Keepers, is a veteran. If you were sitting here at this table, what would you tell him right now About a service?

Speaker 1:
21:31

About a service. Yeah, I'd thank him, obviously, and then ask him the questions that I told you before and maybe why he got into groundskeeping, if that his service affected him at all or if he was always passionate about that.

Speaker 3:
21:44

Yeah, yeah, because it's what makes people tick right. Yeah, I mean, everyone's different. What are some of the challenges that you've heard veterans face today?

Speaker 1:
21:55

I've heard that they face a lot of PTSD and their mental health is a big one and that it can really affect them, and I think talking to people and communicating with people is a great way to combat that.

Speaker 3:
22:10

It's the number one way. It's better than prescription drugs, it's better than alcohol, it's better than narcotics. When people start talking, people start opening up, people's lives are saved. Do you realize that? Let me teach you this for a second World wars are started over silence. Cold wars are started over silence. Terroristic activities started over silences and we just? Marriages are broken up over silence. Right Brothers and sisters. Animosity over silence. Hatred begins because of silence.

Speaker 3:
22:45

These two benches solve something, even sitting across from a stranger, knowing and understanding that these are what do you call them? Again, they are visiting. Visit with the vet? Yeah, okay. Visit with the veteran? I want to try to get there. Visit with the veteran? We already know it's implied that there's going to be some communication, even if it's nonverbal. How powerful do you think it's going to be for some guy who's 77 years old to sit across from somebody at 17 years old and say, hey, you might be the highlight of their day, you might be the conversation they needed, they might confide in you say, hey, I just never wanted to share this with anybody, but you realize it's gonna be a safe place for them, right?

Speaker 3:
23:33

And they're gonna share as much as they wanna share and share as much as they don't wanna share. But do you realize the impact of what you're doing? That has to do with mental health. And I'm gonna say it, the decay of mental health or the pressure and stresses of life lead to suicide. You know that. Okay, we can talk about depression all day, we can talk about how sad people are, and those are real things, but ultimately someone's going to die and take their life.

Speaker 3:
24:03

If the world had benches at every church, at every corner, at every ballpark, could you imagine the conversations had? Do you know, peter, that I don't like to talk about certain things? Or well, I don't wanna call my friend and I'm making up these names. I don't wanna call my friend Mitch, because he might get mad. I don't wanna call him and check. People don't ask for help. That's the problem. Okay, this solves that problem. Somebody sits down. They're not gonna say hello, I need help, they're just gonna want a conversation, and that conversation might be what you and Mr Keeper said.

Speaker 3:
24:43

Mr Keeper is probably happy with your generation. You know, when people say thank you for your service Not that it doesn't mean anything to me Like I appreciate that right, I'm like awesome. You know what I appreciate more Someone like you making the fullest out of your life. So the things that I did overseas are not in vain. Do you get what I'm saying? You don't ever have to say thank you for your service to me. You're doing it.

Speaker 3:
25:07

By doing this, the ghosts behind the grave don't wanna say, they don't wanna hear, thank you for your service. They wanna see you live your fullest life. So that's just something I maybe I get too deep on, but I think, peter, that you need to hear this. You need to hear it often, right, and I think you need to talk to veterans. In this journey. I'm going to recommend that you reach out to people who are veterans. Maybe ask Mr Keeper, or ask me, or ask people have great conversations with them, hey, and all you gotta do is say, hey, I'm building this bench. You know, bob, what do you think? I need some of your ideas, I need some of your stories and oh, hey, I'd love to get involved. But do you know that that might be a conversation enough to get their head out of a bad place and make them look forward to November?

Speaker 2:
25:58

And maybe they might join you too.

Speaker 3:
26:00

You know what I mean. You never know when someone is one day away. So what does that make you feel like when I tell you all that stuff?

Speaker 1:
26:08

I think it gives me more determination and hope for my projects, because I think it's amazing that it can do that and that affects and be had on people, that you get a 77 year old veteran and a 70 year old kid and they can just connect with each other and it can change both their lives, both lives, and then you can that's the ripple effect.

Speaker 3:
26:35

If both of you connect, guess what happens. You just put one ripple in the water and you've been around the lake before a pool, you see the ripple and it goes all the way across the pool. And then someone else does a ripple. And guess what happens to ripples? They intersect and when they intersect, great things happen. I'll tell you that this is pretty moving for me too, and I don't know if I shared everything with you, but I myself went through a bad divorce right when I got out of the military. I didn't have an address for a long time. I had no one to talk to People. Hey, are you okay, jay? I'm like yeah, what's wrong with you? I'm okay, are you okay? I was too proud, peter, is what I'm telling you? I'm teaching you this right now that when was the last time you really asked for help?

Speaker 3:
27:21

No, I'm gonna tell you, your mom says, hey, do you need help? No, I'm good, because in your worst moments you shut away from the world. You know, when you're upset people are like, hey, peter, I don't wanna, not right now. Right, that's real life. Imagine being upset every day. Imagine not only being upset but having nothing to look forward to. And then you compound that on looking for your next meal. And then you compound that looking for your next a place to lay your head.

Speaker 3:
27:49

But if I had somebody to talk to and just connect with, those are the times that I felt worth something. See, veterans don't feel seen sometimes. You know they're. Oh, they look at them, but they're not seen. They're heard, but they're not listened to. Do you know what I mean? Again, this is pretty amazing. I have not heard anything like that and I'm pretty aware. Right, and if there is, great, there is. But I think it sounds like an original idea. You know, originally it was supposed to be one bench. Is that right? Yeah, yeah. And then probably thinking like, okay, if I turn my neck, that probably won't work. But I think it's genius that you thought too the behind the name. You kind of told me that. You know the why. You told me that. But how many other names did you come up with? Or how did you even come up with the name? Were you helped? Did you research it Like?

Speaker 1:
28:47

I was so at first I had like I had no ideas for the name. I was like bench, veteran, veterans bench, yes, but then that didn't really. You gave a or a convey that meaning behind it and like what the purpose of it is. I was thinking something with communication and then veterans and they could like throw a bench in there. But then I had eventually left that out because it's not that important and I was thinking what is kind of like similar, like phonetically, to veteran visit, veteran. And then I just thought visit with the veteran, it's perfect because you sit on the benches and you talk to primarily veterans about their stories and stuff.

Speaker 3:
29:28

Yeah, it's gonna encourage the world to talk to you, peter. I mean, it would be cool. And how will you make sure that people continue to use that? Let listen, your church will know about it. Mm-hmm, but that's it. Maybe people from this podcast, but how will you keep promoting it?

Speaker 1:
29:45

I think probably after this I could expand and put more benches in areas throughout the city and things like that, and then I'll probably also for advertising get trying to get something in the Omaha World Herald so it gets a wider range of people.

Speaker 3:
30:01

Yeah.

Speaker 1:
30:02

But yeah, I think expanding after November 10th and then putting them in other places would be a great.

Speaker 3:
30:08

It's pretty cool. I mean I think it's got its own place. Either during Memorial Day or Veterans Day or Armed Forces Day, there's Gold Star Families Day. Do you know what a Gold Star Family is? I know Gold Star Family someone who lost someone killed in action. So that's another attribute. But the families deserve to be on that bench just as much as a veteran does. You know what I mean. So just ideas, right, I'm always full of ideas. So you're going to raise $5,000. What do you think? Fundraising is going to start again.

Speaker 1:
30:43

Probably April 1st.

Speaker 3:
30:44

April 1st OK, april 1st. You're talking to a 17 year old now sitting across from you and they're like, hey, man, that's pretty cool. What do you say to somebody? Because you get their attention? Now, right, this is your moment. What are you gonna do to this? What will you continue to do for your generation now to make sure that they keep looking forward at this visit with a vet? Our veterans are. What will you do? How will you keep this message going?

Speaker 1:
31:20

I think it's important to also let people know like we still have people in the armed forces, in the Navy, air Force, military Marines and everything like that.

Speaker 3:
31:33

Forget space force. I don't know why I should not say and space force? That's a real thing, go ahead.

Speaker 1:
31:40

And it's important because things could happen again. Yes, working on that thing again, yes, and it'll be real for them. So I think it's important for them to realize that it was real for other people as well. Yeah.

Speaker 3:
31:52

It's a big deal and I'll kind of go over some statistics because I wanna make this real for our people. So it's about 195 homeless right now that are documented in Douglas County, just in Douglas County, in the surrounding area, in 2000. And I'm paraphrasing and I'll update the statistic, but let's just say in 2021, there were 50 veterans that took their lives here in Douglas County and that or Nebraska, I should say, let's say Nebraska documented. What documented means is they're either working with a case worker or they were a known veteran and that was reported that way. Think of how many people slip onto the radar and never get counted right. When I was homeless or had no address, I didn't tell anybody. I didn't go to the VA and say, hey, I need help, right, I was just couch surfing, sleeping where I could. What you're doing, peter, right now is, I think, raising an awareness, not just for the benches but for mental health. And when people talk about mental health, how big a deal do you think that is today?

Speaker 1:
33:03

That was huge with social media, with everything going on in the world and everything that, I think, is very big.

Speaker 3:
33:12

What do you hear? What are some of the things you hear about mental health at 17 years old?

Speaker 1:
33:16

Lots of like self-image sort of things self-deprecation because of other people online, poor outlook on the world because of what's going on in the world and there's just not much hope.

Speaker 3:
33:27

I think yeah yeah, but you're on the flip side of that coin, right? You're so busy, you're so focused, you're involved, right? Do you have self-care for you? How do you take care of your mental health? That's, if you know, how do you deal with that?

Speaker 1:
33:46

I think a great way is I talk to a lot of people at school, I express myself with my friends, things like that, and I'd stay busy, so I don't have time to dwell on things if something happens. I think I stay busy with soccer school and I think, wow, I'm just positive in general too.

Speaker 3:
34:04

So yeah, no, that helps, right. Yeah, I would say you are a leader amongst your peers. I would say that this is pretty incredible, because I just know a lot of people who don't have a lot of time and the people who do have time that don't. I don't chastise them for that, but the fact that you're making time going to school. Do you work anywhere too?

Speaker 3:
34:26

Not right now, not right now, good, okay, probably gonna be a bit of a time endeavor within itself, but you know, I'm just telling you that I'm very impressed by your project, thank you. But I don't want it just to be an empty like oh, this is so good. Peter, what you're doing is relevant to the time that we live in, it is timely, it's symbolic, it's so powerful in its message. Some things I will promise you that I will share your story, and I have a pretty big mouth. If you can't tell that, just ask the people that you asked your mom, right. But I wanna make sure that I don't contort your message. I wanna make sure that I don't use in my own words. So, in conclusion, if you can tell somebody, this is worth it, because we kept that for me and we'll leave with your final thoughts why is it so worth it to you?

Speaker 1:
35:26

I think it's worth it because it really helps you understand other people, which in a world like today, I think it's extremely important to understand people and connect with them, because you can build relationships with them and you can move forward with them, and it helps both of you. So I think it's very, it's just a positive thing in general to communicate with people and understand each other.

Speaker 3:
35:54

You see enough stuff online where people love to change my mind, or, hey, I'm gonna debate you. Right, this is not debate, this is connection. This is the opposite of everything online. Hey, let's talk about this, let's talk about this. How about? Let's just have two people connect? That's pretty profound, right? And I'm just gonna tell you it's not clickbait, it's not gonna get you a lot of attention, right, and it's not like you're not doing it for views, though. No, if you can affect one life, that's pretty incredible. Anything you wanna say to your grandfathers now, or any message that, if they were around here, what would you say?

Speaker 1:
36:41

I'd probably just thank them for helping me understand what they've been through veteran the military side and non-military side, just growing up and what they've experienced, and them expressing their wisdom and knowledge onto me Well.

Speaker 3:
36:58

I wanna thank you, Peter, for your time today. I wanna thank you for your dedication and your hard work that you're about to. You know the hard work that you've done already, but the effort that you're going to start and you're I'm gonna watch this all the way through and I'm pretty excited for you, you know, and I think this is gonna be more monumental than you even think it's gonna be. You're in it right now. There's a whole bunch of people watching you. Yeah, so good for you, I'm so happy and I'm happy for you and I'm proud of you. Thank you, Thank you.

Speaker 2:
37:34

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