Hug Someone

One day I was at work. Just a normal day, but this one was just slightly more abrasive than usual. Who wants to work on a Sunday? One of my co-workers noticed I was a little more irritable than usual and asked simply, "Do you need a hug?"

Quickly I replied, "I don't do hugs." A large well built man, about the same height as me, but more muscular than I could be in a hundred life times, wearing an olive drab US Army shirt then called me over and filled me in on a little story.

"I was deployed to Iraq. Every time my men leave base for ANY reason, I lined them up, giving each of them a hug more loving than one of their own grandmother, as well as when they come back, thanking them for going out. Just like you just did, most of my guys shook it off, turned down the offer, and some even hated the idea to the point that they teased me and would even tell me to 'stop being gay' or a 'faggot.' Every single time they went out, I did it. No matter the harsh names they called me. One time though, was most memorable. The men lined up, and I went through them, offering hugs, getting turned down and walking out the gate with my men. Minutes later, we were caught up in a firefight that I only thought happened in the movies. I had never been more scared for my men or my life. Shots were fired so ferociously into my group of men, dropping more blood than I'd ever seen. Each time a man went down, another was right behind him to grab him and drag him to safety. After my men and I managed to outrun the grim reaper, we retreated back to base as quickly as our battered bodies would let us. Our commander immediately pulled me into his office for a briefing on what had happened. Where were we? How do we make it right? What happened? The brief went on for what seemed like forever. Giving my input to my commander, and worrying what injuries my men had sustained. The commander finishes up, I salute and leave his office. I limped down the hallway through a set of double doors and toward the exit. I sling the door open and see my men, waiting in a perfect line just outside the door...... Waiting for that hug that I had offered so many times before. Wounded and shot, my men decided that our hug was more important than having the hot shrapnel and bullets removed from their bodies. As did I. Each of us shared that moment, that hug, and thanked one another for being there with us. For if it wasn't for each and every one of them, some of us may not have made it back. After our meeting, my men and I walked blissfully to be treated for our injuries, where I found a young and very attractive nurse, who had made it clear that she had never seen anything close to this magnitude. I hugged the nurse and laid on the table where the nurse removed the bullets from my body." The man glances over to his wife and they share the most loving smiles two people could share. The man added one last comment.

"Hug someone. It might just mean more than you ever thought it could."