Gives voice to soldiers living with PTSD to help erase the stigma, examines…
Music Vets
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
Music Vets tells the story of three proud U.S. military veterans in different stages of recovery from PTSD and/or Traumatic Brain Injuries. Set in the coastal military communities of Southern California, and the hustle and bustle of New York City; Lito, Ben, and Deborah offer us a glimpse of humanity’s resiliency in the face of adversity. Though they each have very different backgrounds and military experience, all three use the therapeutic power of music to cope and recover – unlocking emotions and finding new ways forward.
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Distributor subjects
PTSD,Psychology and Mental Health,American Studies,MusicKeywords
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(no audio)
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(no audio)
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- My name is Deborah Simon
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and I am a combat vet from Iraq.
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Music means so much
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and it's done so much for me,
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for my soul, for my
spirituality, for my being.
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And the therapy that I got here
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was so, oh my God, so lifting.
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There was times that I didn't sleep.
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I couldn't sleep.
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Me struggling with life,
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trying to reintegrate myself into society.
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I didn't know where to go, what to do.
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And when I'm feeling zoned out,
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I come here and play the
xylophone and the wing
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and the melody just takes you off
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into another whole new world.
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(pensive music)
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(pensive music)
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(pensive music continues)
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(pensive music continues)
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(pensive music continues)
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(pensive music continues)
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(pensive music continues)
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(pensive music continues)
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(pensive music)
(text whooshing)
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- My name is Samuel Wansley.
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Well, I hate to say the word combat,
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but combat veteran, Korean War.
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But I've always been around
music since I was a little boy,
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a little child.
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First I used to sing overseas a lot.
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We used to sing a lot of jazz pieces.
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We had a group overseas
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who sang for the soldiers
when they felt bad.
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When I used to feel sad and whatnot.
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I used to play music
or listen to some music
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that'd make me calm down.
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So actually I was really doing therapeutic
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with music myself without
even knowing about it.
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- I was in the army,
three tours of Vietnam.
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And when I came back, basically,
I was pretty well muddled
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and confused because there was
a lot going on in our country
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that was contrary to what
we felt that we experienced,
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and it was pretty
disorienting to find a place
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or a niche where you
really belonged in society.
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I found a way to bury it.
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But I thought I was bury
it and I really wasn't.
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- When you go in the military,
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you're trained a certain way.
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But when you come back home,
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they don't train you to come back home.
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Coming up here is retraining
me with the music,
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and that's what I have to use,
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because if I do something physical,
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I get into that mode.
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When I do music, it keeps
me away from that mode.
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- The hardest thing was being
a female coming back home,
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all the women were in the shadows,
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and they never talk
about their experience.
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(pensive music)
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(pensive music continues)
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I try to walk a lot simply
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because a lot of the injuries
that I sustained in Iraq
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would cause me, if I
don't, I'd be in a walker.
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I would be walking with a walker.
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And sometimes it gets me that I need it
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and sometimes, you know, I
just have to deal with it.
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I went away in 2004
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and didn't come back until 2008.
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And so much has changed in that time
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and for a while I felt a
stranger in my own town.
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But then, you know, my
parents are not here anymore.
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They died say a year
after, or a little, yeah,
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about a year after I came back from Iraq.
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So everything was slowly dwindling away.
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And I wanted to hang on to
whatever I could hang on to.
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(pensive music)
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Hi, Shirley. Yeah, how you doing?
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I was asking Peachy you the other day.
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- And don't tell her you seen me smokin'.
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(Deborah laughing)
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- Did you put in for the 9/11 stuff?
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- No, not yet.
- You should.
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- 'Cause I think I'm too far from it.
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They said south. I'm-
- No, no.
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It encompassed all of this.
- What's that street-
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- They've moved it all
the way up to 23rd Street.
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Now you gotta remember,
we smelled all of that-
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- And all of this happened to me after it.
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- Yeah.
- '05 and '09.
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- Yeah, and all of us affected, yeah, so-
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- You affected by it too?
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- Well, I got asthma
because I worked down there.
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(pensive music)
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Oh, wow, that was one of the most
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painfulest, powerless...
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I remember going, taking my
son, my grandson to school,
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and I heard this loud crash.
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The ground shook the building shook.
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So we ran downstairs
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and when we ran downstairs,
the second plane hit
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and the building collapsed
in front of our eyes.
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It was, oh my God, it was...
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(pensive music)
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We had to live through it, you know,
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and a lot of us who were
affected by it didn't go
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for any counseling or anything.
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And then I worked down
there being in the military
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for about six months or so,
which was very devastating.
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You don't realize how much it affects you
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until you go to Iraq, when I went to war.
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I joined the military
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because I wanted my sons
to get in the military.
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So (chuckles) I joined the
military at a late age.
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Who would ever think that
I would be doing 9/11
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and even going to war?
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I never thought about going to no war.
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I'm in the reserve.
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(pensive music)
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My son, he was hurt,
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because I came back as a different person,
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and I'm still trying to
reorganize myself, you know,
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the stuff that we seen, that I seen,
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the stuff that I went through.
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I just didn't wanna go there.
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(pensive music)
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(birds chirping)
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- Sunday, 08:00 PM, 72
hours after surgery,
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not breathing well,
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giving you 100% oxygen.
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You're fighting the respirator
and getting too much CO2,
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so they paralyzed you,
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so you'd stop arguing with the machine.
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Carissa got checked out by the doctors
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to make sure everything was okay.
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Little Ellery Kai was kicking
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and moving her hands and head all around.
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What a cutie patootie.
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As for me,
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my heart is heavy.
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My heart is heavy, Ben.
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I'm on a rollercoaster ride.
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I've been so hopeful and yet so scared.
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The panic feeling just sits on my chest.
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There's nothing to be done.
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Just waiting and hoping
and praying, right there.
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He looked like he had a,
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it was a very round soccer
ball head with purple eyes
00:09:06.090 --> 00:09:10.903
and he was hooked up
to so many machines and
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the doctor told us it
was 100% mortality, 100%,
00:09:17.940 --> 00:09:21.243
but they were wrong. (chuckles)
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(pensive music)
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- Knowing God is real.
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I was about 20.
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I decided to join the Marine Corps
00:09:34.470 --> 00:09:35.763
because, you know,
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life wasn't going exactly
how it was planned.
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I did three deployments
overseas, one combat,
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two UDPs, Unit Deployment Period.
00:09:44.760 --> 00:09:45.930
So I started teaching,
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just helicopter rope
suspension techniques, HRST.
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That's actually the course
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that got me to where I am today.
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(helicopter fluttering)
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In 2006, I was 110 feet
in the air hovering
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over a tarmac
00:10:01.260 --> 00:10:04.230
and I jumped outta the helicopter
00:10:04.230 --> 00:10:07.680
and there was a malfunction of some sort,
00:10:07.680 --> 00:10:09.993
and I just head first into the tarmac.
00:10:11.532 --> 00:10:14.199
(pensive music)
00:10:16.251 --> 00:10:17.880
(machine beeping)
00:10:17.880 --> 00:10:19.650
See, this was my break hand right here.
00:10:19.650 --> 00:10:22.740
See how the scar's right there?
It goes across your chest.
00:10:22.740 --> 00:10:24.240
And I think I had so much momentum
00:10:24.240 --> 00:10:26.010
that when it went taut,
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it just shut, just broke my wrist.
00:10:28.140 --> 00:10:29.370
And I had just enough time
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before I hit the ground
to put this arm up,
00:10:31.530 --> 00:10:34.140
which protected the left
side of my face, my left eye,
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left side, all that.
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I shattered the left forearm
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and I shattered the right
side of my face and lost my...
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I shattered my right orbit and my forehead
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and I lost two parts of my brain:
00:10:44.850 --> 00:10:46.320
a quarter inch of my right frontal lobe
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and all of my pituitary gland
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and I severed the optical nerve and...
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- Yeah.
- That's about it, yeah.
00:10:55.080 --> 00:10:57.240
- You know that phrase, you
know, you live from day to day?
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We were literally living
from minute to minute.
00:11:00.420 --> 00:11:02.700
We didn't know what was gonna happen.
00:11:02.700 --> 00:11:05.823
We believed, we hoped, we
prayed, but we didn't know.
00:11:08.190 --> 00:11:11.160
They came in and checked
on him like every hour.
00:11:11.160 --> 00:11:13.470
And they'd be like, "Ben, squeeze
my hand, squeeze my hand,"
00:11:13.470 --> 00:11:15.240
and, you know, nothing.
00:11:15.240 --> 00:11:18.510
And this was the middle of
the night, like, I dunno,
00:11:18.510 --> 00:11:19.710
four o'clock in the morning maybe,
00:11:19.710 --> 00:11:21.180
or three o'clock in the morning.
00:11:21.180 --> 00:11:22.410
Anyway, the doctor comes in
00:11:22.410 --> 00:11:25.050
and I hear her say, "Ben, squeeze my hand.
00:11:25.050 --> 00:11:27.120
If you can hear me, squeeze my hand."
00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:29.820
And she goes, "Good
job." And I was like...
00:11:29.820 --> 00:11:31.500
- What?
- Oh my God.
00:11:31.500 --> 00:11:33.210
I like jumped out of the chair
00:11:33.210 --> 00:11:35.940
and I ran around to the
corner to where he was
00:11:35.940 --> 00:11:38.670
and she goes, "Ben, your your mom's here.
00:11:38.670 --> 00:11:40.350
If you can hear her,
00:11:40.350 --> 00:11:42.930
if you can hear me,
squeeze your mom's hand."
00:11:42.930 --> 00:11:45.420
Well, both of his arms were broken,
00:11:45.420 --> 00:11:47.280
but I put my hand inside of his hand.
00:11:47.280 --> 00:11:52.280
You can't even begin to
imagine the magical feeling
00:11:52.680 --> 00:11:57.270
of just the slightest little pressure
00:11:57.270 --> 00:11:58.653
when he squeezed my hand.
00:12:00.986 --> 00:12:03.653
(pensive music)
00:12:10.727 --> 00:12:13.477
(pensive music)
00:12:25.080 --> 00:12:27.180
- My job title in the military is known
00:12:27.180 --> 00:12:29.190
as a hospital corpsman.
00:12:29.190 --> 00:12:31.353
So that's the medic for the army.
00:12:32.640 --> 00:12:35.400
And I just recently retired in 2015,
00:12:35.400 --> 00:12:37.233
so that's not too long ago.
00:12:38.610 --> 00:12:40.710
In the 26 years I've been in the service,
00:12:40.710 --> 00:12:43.920
I believe I've been involved
in all the major conflicts
00:12:43.920 --> 00:12:45.873
that we've been engaged with.
00:12:46.895 --> 00:12:49.645
(pensive music)
00:12:52.980 --> 00:12:56.730
In our facility, the
possibility of a service member
00:12:56.730 --> 00:13:01.413
being exposed to a combat
environment is very high.
00:13:02.280 --> 00:13:05.430
My job at the center
is a health technician,
00:13:05.430 --> 00:13:07.950
so I'm the first person
that they're gonna meet.
00:13:07.950 --> 00:13:09.510
I introduce myself
00:13:09.510 --> 00:13:12.600
and I let them know we're
gonna take vital signs.
00:13:12.600 --> 00:13:15.150
And what I offer them is to remind them,
00:13:15.150 --> 00:13:16.683
you are here as a patient.
00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:21.180
On my ID is my rank.
00:13:21.180 --> 00:13:23.910
When the Marines or the sailors see that,
00:13:23.910 --> 00:13:26.850
that's when I tell them, "I
know it's difficult to open up.
00:13:26.850 --> 00:13:30.120
I've been where you've
been. This is our mission.
00:13:30.120 --> 00:13:32.367
Let's talk about your experiences."
00:13:33.823 --> 00:13:36.759
(pensive music)
00:13:36.759 --> 00:13:39.290
♪ Let it be ♪
00:13:39.290 --> 00:13:41.258
♪ Let it be ♪
00:13:41.258 --> 00:13:45.619
♪ Let it be, let it be, let it be ♪
00:13:45.619 --> 00:13:48.750
- You know, the words to the
song actually kinda gives you
00:13:48.750 --> 00:13:52.080
a picture of how life has been for me.
00:13:52.080 --> 00:13:54.930
You know, you go through struggles in life
00:13:54.930 --> 00:13:55.890
and it's hard.
00:13:55.890 --> 00:13:58.260
It just was something about that song
00:13:58.260 --> 00:14:00.150
that really touched me.
00:14:00.150 --> 00:14:02.580
Sometimes you get beat down
00:14:02.580 --> 00:14:05.340
and what you need to do
is just pick up the pieces
00:14:05.340 --> 00:14:06.453
and then move on.
00:14:07.380 --> 00:14:09.750
- [Crew Member] How long you been playing?
00:14:09.750 --> 00:14:13.350
- I stopped 26 years ago
when I joined the service.
00:14:13.350 --> 00:14:15.150
- You self taught-
- I self-taught.
00:14:15.150 --> 00:14:16.830
I was recruited from the Philippines,
00:14:16.830 --> 00:14:19.200
a different route coming into the service.
00:14:19.200 --> 00:14:21.390
So as soon as I joined the service,
00:14:21.390 --> 00:14:23.370
everything shut down, new life.
00:14:23.370 --> 00:14:26.644
And then with Rebecca's help, you know,
00:14:26.644 --> 00:14:28.344
you rediscover tools that existed.
00:14:30.181 --> 00:14:32.931
(pensive music)
00:14:35.310 --> 00:14:38.880
- When I first met him,
he was working with one
00:14:38.880 --> 00:14:41.400
of the patients that I
was actually treating
00:14:41.400 --> 00:14:44.520
and encouraging him to play music.
00:14:44.520 --> 00:14:46.650
He had told me that he in fact did play,
00:14:46.650 --> 00:14:48.573
but he hadn't played in many years.
00:14:49.470 --> 00:14:52.380
Seeing the patients
embrace that creativity
00:14:52.380 --> 00:14:53.790
and that creative expression,
00:14:53.790 --> 00:14:56.160
he was motivated by that
00:14:56.160 --> 00:14:57.217
He said, you know,
00:14:57.217 --> 00:15:01.678
"It's my time to have
my reentry with music.
00:15:01.678 --> 00:15:05.130
(pensive music)
00:15:05.130 --> 00:15:06.330
Music can be used
00:15:06.330 --> 00:15:10.440
to help patients reach goals
in speech language pathology,
00:15:10.440 --> 00:15:14.040
music playing to help activate
bilateral coordination,
00:15:14.040 --> 00:15:15.723
increase a range of motion.
00:15:16.680 --> 00:15:18.780
We assess what their needs are
00:15:18.780 --> 00:15:21.360
and then we use the music to
meet them at that ground level
00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:24.150
and create a treatment path
that makes most sense for them.
00:15:24.150 --> 00:15:26.741
Go higher.
♪ Ah ♪
00:15:26.741 --> 00:15:31.741
- Yes, it has that unique
ability to tap into spirituality,
00:15:32.310 --> 00:15:33.903
to tap into emotion.
00:15:34.789 --> 00:15:39.789
(lively music)
(pensive music)
00:15:40.590 --> 00:15:43.380
The combat veterans of
this era, post-9/11,
00:15:43.380 --> 00:15:45.180
they've been deployed multiple times,
00:15:45.180 --> 00:15:47.043
sometimes for an extended length.
00:15:47.910 --> 00:15:51.180
So we are seeing higher levels
of traumatic brain injury
00:15:51.180 --> 00:15:54.033
and then accompanied with
that, post-traumatic stress.
00:15:55.377 --> 00:15:58.127
(pensive music)
00:16:00.330 --> 00:16:03.300
- [Lito] Service members
wear their uniforms proudly.
00:16:03.300 --> 00:16:05.220
Behind that uniform are things
00:16:05.220 --> 00:16:07.593
that are not really seen by the naked eye.
00:16:09.075 --> 00:16:10.680
(pensive music)
00:16:10.680 --> 00:16:12.180
- I didn't ask initially
00:16:12.180 --> 00:16:13.890
'cause I was like, "We're
just here to play music.
00:16:13.890 --> 00:16:16.110
You know, Lito's a colleague.
00:16:16.110 --> 00:16:18.390
But after a few times
of playing, you know,
00:16:18.390 --> 00:16:21.367
Lito and I just started having
some conversations about
00:16:21.367 --> 00:16:22.833
his history, his service.
00:16:24.360 --> 00:16:27.930
- I think PTSD is not discussed, for one,
00:16:27.930 --> 00:16:31.635
because of the stigma that
if you do talk about PTSD,
00:16:31.635 --> 00:16:34.383
you're looked at as somebody who is weak.
00:16:35.550 --> 00:16:37.320
I am one of those individuals
00:16:37.320 --> 00:16:39.423
who have been diagnosed with PTSD.
00:16:41.370 --> 00:16:44.430
We do provide training to
our younger service members
00:16:44.430 --> 00:16:45.810
on how to deal with PTSD.
00:16:45.810 --> 00:16:50.280
So as a provider, you're teaching
people how to manage this,
00:16:50.280 --> 00:16:51.330
but then you ask the question,
00:16:51.330 --> 00:16:53.193
who's taking care of the provider?
00:16:54.577 --> 00:16:57.327
(pensive music)
00:16:58.530 --> 00:17:01.740
- [Crew Member] How does it
feel when you play? Just asking.
00:17:01.740 --> 00:17:04.380
- Still torn, confused.
00:17:04.380 --> 00:17:06.900
She asked me what was the
inspiration of the song.
00:17:06.900 --> 00:17:09.003
Still couldn't answer her today.
00:17:10.530 --> 00:17:13.390
And I've not set this
side to anybody since...
00:17:15.150 --> 00:17:18.392
(pensive music)
00:17:18.392 --> 00:17:19.225
Sorry.
00:17:22.326 --> 00:17:24.472
(pensive music)
00:17:24.472 --> 00:17:25.374
Excuse me.
- Thank you.
00:17:25.374 --> 00:17:27.054
- You're welcome.
- Sorry.
00:17:27.054 --> 00:17:31.153
- That's okay. (chuckles)
00:17:31.153 --> 00:17:33.286
(pensive music)
00:17:33.286 --> 00:17:36.012
- See you manana.
- Yes.
00:17:36.012 --> 00:17:41.012
(pensive music)
(guitar strums)
00:17:43.380 --> 00:17:46.020
PTSD could be a sight,
00:17:46.020 --> 00:17:48.720
a sound, a smell.
00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:49.590
It could be anything
00:17:49.590 --> 00:17:51.963
that brings back something
very significant.
00:17:53.340 --> 00:17:58.080
I live behind the base here in Oceanside.
00:17:58.080 --> 00:18:02.010
So when they do their artillery
training during the year,
00:18:02.010 --> 00:18:06.420
people hear the explosion,
people hear training.
00:18:06.420 --> 00:18:08.220
What I hear, feel,
00:18:08.220 --> 00:18:12.150
and see that evening
is the desert operation
00:18:12.150 --> 00:18:13.300
that I've been through.
00:18:14.310 --> 00:18:17.397
And I hear air brakes, just
that (mimics air whirring).
00:18:19.590 --> 00:18:24.270
Everybody hears air brakes,
but my brain and my mind hears
00:18:24.270 --> 00:18:28.140
and sees a missile being fired towards
00:18:28.140 --> 00:18:29.733
an enemy combatant.
00:18:30.780 --> 00:18:34.563
So that is PTSD to me.
00:18:37.068 --> 00:18:42.068
(pensive music)
(helicopter fluttering)
00:18:48.360 --> 00:18:52.227
- When you go through those
flashbacks and the PTSD
00:18:52.227 --> 00:18:56.700
and stuff like that, when
you share with people,
00:18:56.700 --> 00:19:01.170
they think you're just so
farfetched and it's painful,
00:19:01.170 --> 00:19:03.300
so I isolate myself
00:19:03.300 --> 00:19:05.970
because I can't share with
you what I'm going through
00:19:05.970 --> 00:19:08.670
because you may not understand
what I'm going through.
00:19:10.852 --> 00:19:13.519
(pensive music)
00:19:16.950 --> 00:19:20.430
The terrain, when you read
about it in the Bible is so,
00:19:20.430 --> 00:19:25.430
it came so real and so to
life, it was, oh my goodness.
00:19:27.720 --> 00:19:31.500
But the devastation of the country was,
00:19:31.500 --> 00:19:34.980
that was a lot to see,
to witness, you know,
00:19:34.980 --> 00:19:36.720
the bombing and the blowing up
00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:39.120
and some of the catastrophic stuff he did
00:19:39.120 --> 00:19:42.333
to the people over there was unreal.
00:19:43.860 --> 00:19:45.453
It was so unreal.
00:19:46.320 --> 00:19:50.370
Oh my god, I remember
them pulling up this tank
00:19:50.370 --> 00:19:54.527
and the smell of it reminded me of 9/11.
00:19:56.393 --> 00:19:57.390
It reminded me of 9/11,
00:19:57.390 --> 00:20:00.930
so you knew it was incinerated bodies.
00:20:00.930 --> 00:20:03.690
- When we talk about triggers in PTSD,
00:20:03.690 --> 00:20:06.030
what happens with the
trigger is that some piece
00:20:06.030 --> 00:20:08.640
of sensory information that is associated
00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:11.160
with that traumatic event,
is something we encounter.
00:20:11.160 --> 00:20:13.860
Like maybe there was a
smell present at a time
00:20:13.860 --> 00:20:15.480
that someone went through a trauma,
00:20:15.480 --> 00:20:18.960
so they could walk into a
building and smell that smell
00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:21.737
and their body will just say, oh,
00:20:21.737 --> 00:20:23.550
this smell is associated with trauma,
00:20:23.550 --> 00:20:25.230
and it will immediately kick in that fight
00:20:25.230 --> 00:20:26.700
or flight response
00:20:26.700 --> 00:20:27.900
and completely make them feel
00:20:27.900 --> 00:20:30.030
like they're reliving the trauma.
00:20:30.030 --> 00:20:32.070
So one of the things that
makes it very hard for a person
00:20:32.070 --> 00:20:33.780
to start talking about a trauma
00:20:33.780 --> 00:20:35.400
is that the body will just throw up
00:20:35.400 --> 00:20:39.270
that same physiological
response, the same memories,
00:20:39.270 --> 00:20:42.390
and it's just, it's
such an intense chemical
00:20:42.390 --> 00:20:44.010
and physiological experience
00:20:44.010 --> 00:20:46.530
that one feels like they
are immediately back
00:20:46.530 --> 00:20:48.090
in that experience.
00:20:48.090 --> 00:20:50.010
So asking them to reconnect with it,
00:20:50.010 --> 00:20:52.590
either through sensory
things that remind them
00:20:52.590 --> 00:20:54.600
or through just going
through and talking about it
00:20:54.600 --> 00:20:56.673
can really re-traumatize a person.
00:20:57.804 --> 00:21:00.554
(pensive music)
00:21:03.870 --> 00:21:05.730
Vocal toning stimulates the vagus nerve,
00:21:05.730 --> 00:21:07.290
which is in the side of the neck,
00:21:07.290 --> 00:21:10.320
which is responsible for how active
00:21:10.320 --> 00:21:12.930
or how relaxed our nervous system is.
00:21:12.930 --> 00:21:16.050
So it gives us a direct
pathway to relaxing.
00:21:16.050 --> 00:21:18.360
it's like giving it a
gentle vibrational massage,
00:21:18.360 --> 00:21:20.850
kind of telling the
nervous system to calm.
00:21:20.850 --> 00:21:24.420
Think of this more for the sensation
00:21:24.420 --> 00:21:25.380
that the sound gives you.
00:21:25.380 --> 00:21:27.390
Like you're giving yourself
a little internal massage
00:21:27.390 --> 00:21:30.390
with your voice rather than
producing a particular sound.
00:21:30.390 --> 00:21:34.535
It does not need to be
loud, it's really for you.
00:21:34.535 --> 00:21:35.430
And to get us started,
00:21:35.430 --> 00:21:36.930
see if you can bring your awareness right
00:21:36.930 --> 00:21:39.060
into the center of your chest.
00:21:39.060 --> 00:21:41.190
You should be able to
actually feel vibration
00:21:41.190 --> 00:21:42.023
from your voice there,
00:21:42.023 --> 00:21:44.720
so it's a nice place to start
connecting with the tone.
00:21:46.922 --> 00:21:51.922
(Julie humming)
(pensive music)
00:21:56.610 --> 00:22:00.060
So just bring your awareness
up to the top of your head
00:22:00.060 --> 00:22:01.830
and we're just gonna gently tone in there
00:22:01.830 --> 00:22:05.040
and just kind of invite
that area to relax,
00:22:05.040 --> 00:22:07.080
feel a sense of it sort of opening up
00:22:07.080 --> 00:22:08.913
and releasing and expanding.
00:22:12.092 --> 00:22:17.092
(Julie humming)
(pensive music)
00:22:24.360 --> 00:22:28.680
Just feel that gentle sense
of expansion in your throat,
00:22:28.680 --> 00:22:31.263
your neck muscles relaxing.
00:22:33.750 --> 00:22:36.693
Your head feels lighter on your neck now.
00:22:38.532 --> 00:22:43.532
(Deborah humming)
(Julie humming)
00:22:43.710 --> 00:22:45.640
- My husband was a Vietnam vet
00:22:46.860 --> 00:22:50.760
and never got the support that he needed.
00:22:50.760 --> 00:22:54.390
So a lot of the vet grieve in silence
00:22:54.390 --> 00:22:58.920
and never talked about it or
they act out and their wives
00:22:58.920 --> 00:23:02.610
or spouses didn't understand
what was going on.
00:23:02.610 --> 00:23:05.190
He died of Agent Orange
00:23:05.190 --> 00:23:08.820
and it took me 40 years to understand
00:23:08.820 --> 00:23:11.458
what he was going through.
00:23:11.458 --> 00:23:14.208
(pensive music)
00:23:15.950 --> 00:23:18.240
- My first memory after
I got outta the hospital
00:23:18.240 --> 00:23:20.370
was my daughter's birth,
which was like a couple months
00:23:20.370 --> 00:23:22.470
after I got out, I had to go back.
00:23:22.470 --> 00:23:24.000
And I remember walking down the hallway
00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:26.010
and these two doctors
were like, "Oh my God,
00:23:26.010 --> 00:23:27.960
you're alive," blah, blah, blah.
00:23:27.960 --> 00:23:30.570
And I was like, "Yeah." (chuckles)
00:23:30.570 --> 00:23:32.643
It's amazing. I didn't know.
00:23:34.080 --> 00:23:36.810
- [Lisa] He was in ICU
for a really long time
00:23:36.810 --> 00:23:39.660
and then they moved him out to rehab
00:23:39.660 --> 00:23:41.400
and then he went into
some brain injury places,
00:23:41.400 --> 00:23:43.030
so it was years of this
00:23:44.910 --> 00:23:47.010
- And I remember them teaching people how
00:23:47.010 --> 00:23:49.020
to do the most simplest
00:23:49.020 --> 00:23:51.900
of tasks, from brushing your teeth
00:23:51.900 --> 00:23:53.760
to using the toilet, all that stuff.
00:23:53.760 --> 00:23:57.942
And I remember being like,
"I really am that messed up
00:23:57.942 --> 00:23:59.992
that I have to be with all these people."
00:24:01.890 --> 00:24:05.100
- He was so depressed and-
- Irritated.
00:24:05.100 --> 00:24:09.690
- Yeah, he just was kinda
getting through a day, you know.
00:24:09.690 --> 00:24:12.243
But then we met Rebecca,
00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:17.160
I remember going to learning services
00:24:17.160 --> 00:24:21.390
and there's Rebecca on
the floor with her guitar.
00:24:21.390 --> 00:24:24.180
And he's sitting in a chair
and she's playing music
00:24:24.180 --> 00:24:26.520
and then they'd stop and
then play and then stop.
00:24:26.520 --> 00:24:28.173
They were writing a song.
00:24:29.970 --> 00:24:33.960
- I met Ben about two and
a half years post-injury.
00:24:33.960 --> 00:24:35.970
So we might think like that's, you know,
00:24:35.970 --> 00:24:37.230
a later part of recovery,
00:24:37.230 --> 00:24:39.210
but for such a catastrophic injury,
00:24:39.210 --> 00:24:43.113
that was actually considered
an early part of his recovery.
00:24:44.430 --> 00:24:47.190
He was actually the first service
member I ever worked with.
00:24:47.190 --> 00:24:49.680
So he was my entry into what it was like
00:24:49.680 --> 00:24:50.820
to work with service members
00:24:50.820 --> 00:24:53.160
and he was my inspiration
to why I actually made
00:24:53.160 --> 00:24:54.363
that full-time.
00:24:56.430 --> 00:24:58.110
Ben and I struggled a
little bit at the beginning
00:24:58.110 --> 00:24:59.400
of his music therapy treatment
00:24:59.400 --> 00:25:02.550
because the things he wanted
to do weren't working for him.
00:25:02.550 --> 00:25:04.410
So for example, his
first thing is he wanted
00:25:04.410 --> 00:25:05.490
to play the piano.
00:25:05.490 --> 00:25:07.110
So using adapted methods,
00:25:07.110 --> 00:25:09.540
putting different textures on
the keys so he could feel it
00:25:09.540 --> 00:25:11.880
because he didn't have
the visual capacity.
00:25:11.880 --> 00:25:13.380
He's legally blind.
00:25:13.380 --> 00:25:15.840
And so it was very
frustrating for him to have
00:25:15.840 --> 00:25:16.980
to make those adaptations,
00:25:16.980 --> 00:25:18.990
and then when those
adaptations didn't work,
00:25:18.990 --> 00:25:21.810
that was like another
level of frustration.
00:25:21.810 --> 00:25:24.150
- I said, "I don't wanna stop this.
00:25:24.150 --> 00:25:26.190
I wanna learn about music.
00:25:26.190 --> 00:25:27.850
Because she played a
song that she had wrote
00:25:27.850 --> 00:25:29.581
and I was like, "You wrote that song?"
00:25:29.581 --> 00:25:30.414
She was like, "Yeah," I was like,
00:25:30.414 --> 00:25:32.042
"Can you teach me how to write?
00:25:32.042 --> 00:25:36.042
'Cause I can sing. Teach me how to write.
00:25:36.042 --> 00:25:37.830
(pensive music)
00:25:37.830 --> 00:25:40.590
- He really embraced songwriting a lot
00:25:40.590 --> 00:25:42.630
because it put your mind in action,
00:25:42.630 --> 00:25:44.220
so you had to sequence thoughts.
00:25:44.220 --> 00:25:45.990
You had to make associations
00:25:45.990 --> 00:25:48.210
or remember certain
things in certain times,
00:25:48.210 --> 00:25:51.420
but also you were able to express those.
00:25:51.420 --> 00:25:52.800
So it gave you a mental
00:25:52.800 --> 00:25:57.033
and neurological plus that
very emotional component to it.
00:25:58.070 --> 00:26:00.720
And this is how music
is impacting the brain
00:26:00.720 --> 00:26:04.020
and changing it at a structural,
also neurochemical level.
00:26:04.020 --> 00:26:07.080
And these are actually the new
pathways that have been made.
00:26:07.080 --> 00:26:10.590
- And it was so transformational
for him to be able
00:26:10.590 --> 00:26:14.400
to finally express the grief that he felt
00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:17.313
for losing the life that he no longer has.
00:26:18.435 --> 00:26:21.102
(pensive music)
00:26:26.473 --> 00:26:29.056
(gentle music)
00:26:30.043 --> 00:26:35.043
♪ When you try your best
but you don't succeed ♪
00:26:37.766 --> 00:26:39.790
♪ When you get what you want ♪
00:26:39.790 --> 00:26:44.790
♪ But not what you need ♪
00:26:45.329 --> 00:26:50.329
♪ When you feel so tired,
but you can't sleep ♪
00:26:52.356 --> 00:26:55.273
♪ Stuck in reverse ♪
00:26:58.020 --> 00:27:02.850
- So imagine you flying
from a foreign country
00:27:02.850 --> 00:27:04.410
joining the service.
00:27:04.410 --> 00:27:06.120
You land in San Diego.
00:27:06.120 --> 00:27:10.350
You get introduced to
bootcamp, Navy bootcamp,
00:27:10.350 --> 00:27:14.220
and you're, from the very
beginning, exposed to stressors.
00:27:14.220 --> 00:27:17.010
Whether it's getting woken
up early in the morning,
00:27:17.010 --> 00:27:18.870
constantly getting yelled at.
00:27:18.870 --> 00:27:22.530
Every mistake is awarded with some type
00:27:22.530 --> 00:27:26.130
of physical training, right?
00:27:26.130 --> 00:27:28.020
And you cannot tell me that
00:27:28.020 --> 00:27:30.303
that does not expose you to trauma.
00:27:32.904 --> 00:27:36.654
♪ Lights will guide you home ♪
00:27:39.780 --> 00:27:44.100
One year later, I am
deployed to Desert Storm,
00:27:44.100 --> 00:27:46.350
Frontline Combat Zone.
00:27:46.350 --> 00:27:47.340
We've lost Marines
00:27:47.340 --> 00:27:49.623
and really didn't think anything about it.
00:27:50.940 --> 00:27:53.070
So when I came back to the States,
00:27:53.070 --> 00:27:57.393
there was no time for the
mourning, the processing.
00:27:58.500 --> 00:28:01.380
The same week I arrive in the States,
00:28:01.380 --> 00:28:04.080
my wife flies from the
Philippines to join me
00:28:04.080 --> 00:28:07.623
and we start our family, our
life as a married couple.
00:28:08.589 --> 00:28:13.387
♪ To let it go. ♪
00:28:13.387 --> 00:28:16.650
♪ But if you never try, you never know ♪
00:28:16.650 --> 00:28:21.650
Then of course our children
are brought into this world
00:28:21.810 --> 00:28:23.640
and now I'm thinking, you know,
00:28:23.640 --> 00:28:26.160
their upbringing was based on, you know,
00:28:26.160 --> 00:28:28.890
a strict background from my culture.
00:28:28.890 --> 00:28:30.993
That's how we discipline our children.
00:28:32.130 --> 00:28:34.390
And again, just very recently realized
00:28:35.610 --> 00:28:39.672
it's mostly influenced by PTSD.
00:28:39.672 --> 00:28:43.590
♪ Ignite your bones ♪
- How we survived
00:28:43.590 --> 00:28:48.590
a healthy marriage and a healthy family,
00:28:48.840 --> 00:28:50.520
I really owe it to my wife
00:28:50.520 --> 00:28:54.090
and my children for them understanding
00:28:54.090 --> 00:28:56.133
what I had to go through.
00:28:58.140 --> 00:28:59.280
Throughout my career,
00:28:59.280 --> 00:29:02.970
I think my children have seen me only
00:29:02.970 --> 00:29:04.833
maybe four times in uniform.
00:29:05.850 --> 00:29:09.693
Now I'm actually thinking back going,
00:29:10.710 --> 00:29:13.563
it must have been a
difficult childhood for them.
00:29:14.973 --> 00:29:17.760
♪ Replace ♪
00:29:17.760 --> 00:29:21.720
I'm now being reintroduced
to the person I was
00:29:21.720 --> 00:29:23.313
before the military.
00:29:24.690 --> 00:29:27.630
And, you know, of course
in order to play music,
00:29:27.630 --> 00:29:31.293
you have to evoke emotion, right?
00:29:32.670 --> 00:29:34.980
Now I'm realizing I cannot cope
00:29:34.980 --> 00:29:39.153
with the emotions that
comes with that person.
00:29:42.180 --> 00:29:46.620
So Saturday, I performed
for this organization
00:29:46.620 --> 00:29:51.363
and the performance went as bad
as you can imagine it to be.
00:29:55.290 --> 00:29:58.140
I came home thinking that I would give up
00:29:58.140 --> 00:29:59.613
playing the guitar.
00:30:03.403 --> 00:30:06.653
(gentle guitar music)
00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:18.510
My notes were wrong, my
guitar was out of tune
00:30:18.510 --> 00:30:22.083
and my hands were just frozen.
00:30:23.490 --> 00:30:25.140
And when I stop playing,
00:30:25.140 --> 00:30:28.800
it's not because I'm
stopping so I can reset.
00:30:28.800 --> 00:30:32.370
I'm stopping because I
literally cannot continue
00:30:32.370 --> 00:30:33.873
with playing the instrument.
00:30:36.780 --> 00:30:38.880
When you're fearing something,
00:30:38.880 --> 00:30:41.193
you start to question your abilities.
00:30:43.590 --> 00:30:46.080
I think that's what pushes people
00:30:46.080 --> 00:30:49.620
to the edge and say why continue to exist
00:30:49.620 --> 00:30:52.533
when there's no reason for me to exist?
00:30:55.146 --> 00:30:57.813
(pensive music)
00:31:02.770 --> 00:31:05.353
(lively music)
00:31:13.449 --> 00:31:16.866
(lively music continues)
00:31:24.783 --> 00:31:28.200
(lively music continues)
00:31:33.411 --> 00:31:36.828
(lively music continues)
00:31:39.420 --> 00:31:41.043
- Usually groups like these,
00:31:42.420 --> 00:31:46.380
I monitor them,
00:31:46.380 --> 00:31:51.380
but I don't like being in
them for a lot of reasons.
00:31:51.600 --> 00:31:54.930
I had a doctor at the VA
00:31:54.930 --> 00:31:57.240
that was very concerned about me.
00:31:57.240 --> 00:32:00.810
He noticed that socially I was isolated.
00:32:00.810 --> 00:32:05.460
And even though I had joined
the veterans group hoping
00:32:05.460 --> 00:32:10.170
that I would find comradery,
I still don't feel that.
00:32:10.170 --> 00:32:12.300
And I don't blame the guys that I'm with.
00:32:12.300 --> 00:32:15.480
It may be a self-protective thing for me,
00:32:15.480 --> 00:32:19.830
because I seen too many of my friends,
00:32:19.830 --> 00:32:21.243
you know, get zapped.
00:32:22.320 --> 00:32:24.510
And I was always fascinated
00:32:24.510 --> 00:32:29.510
by the sax and I started
playing it, I liked it.
00:32:29.550 --> 00:32:32.850
I had to make a change
because I'm right-handed
00:32:32.850 --> 00:32:35.040
and you know, as a saxophonist,
00:32:35.040 --> 00:32:38.970
you gotta get some connections
going in your right brain
00:32:38.970 --> 00:32:41.220
to get the coordination for your left hand
00:32:41.220 --> 00:32:43.803
to play it properly, which is a challenge
00:32:43.803 --> 00:32:45.810
that I'm still dealing with.
00:32:45.810 --> 00:32:48.873
But it's a positive, healthy thing.
00:32:50.910 --> 00:32:54.450
- Having a traumatic brain
injury makes it difficult for me
00:32:54.450 --> 00:32:56.640
to get some words,
00:32:56.640 --> 00:32:58.890
to try to find the right
words half the time.
00:32:58.890 --> 00:33:03.450
And the music has helped me
drastically in finding words.
00:33:03.450 --> 00:33:05.272
Sometimes they come out
00:33:05.272 --> 00:33:06.690
and I don't even know if
I'm saying it correctly
00:33:06.690 --> 00:33:10.230
because I don't know where
that information came from,
00:33:10.230 --> 00:33:13.440
but since I started taking music
00:33:13.440 --> 00:33:17.463
and made it a, you know,
steady part of my life,
00:33:20.550 --> 00:33:21.620
I just can't...
00:33:22.974 --> 00:33:24.074
It just keeps me going
00:33:25.716 --> 00:33:28.713
and it's my medicine basically.
00:33:30.090 --> 00:33:31.950
- Music is the best teacher.
00:33:31.950 --> 00:33:35.230
It actually slows you down
00:33:36.240 --> 00:33:40.853
and has you flowing through life.
00:33:40.853 --> 00:33:41.700
And that's the best thing
00:33:41.700 --> 00:33:44.550
because that's what my doctor did with me.
00:33:44.550 --> 00:33:46.140
She brought me here. I have TBIs.
00:33:46.140 --> 00:33:47.940
I have a traumatic brain injury.
00:33:47.940 --> 00:33:49.590
She sent me up here
00:33:49.590 --> 00:33:53.370
because she tried everything,
volunteered this, do that.
00:33:53.370 --> 00:33:54.840
Everything motivated me.
00:33:54.840 --> 00:33:56.910
And if you don't train me to come back
00:33:56.910 --> 00:33:58.443
and get that outta my system,
00:33:59.280 --> 00:34:01.160
it's always gonna be in there.
00:34:01.160 --> 00:34:03.661
- Guys, you wanna do it.
Let's start with an intro.
00:34:03.661 --> 00:34:05.658
One, two, three, four.
00:34:05.658 --> 00:34:09.309
♪ Jammin' on the corner in
the middle of the night ♪
00:34:09.309 --> 00:34:13.219
♪ Jammin' on the corner in
the middle of the night ♪
00:34:13.219 --> 00:34:16.776
♪ Jammin on the corner in
the middle of the night ♪
00:34:16.776 --> 00:34:19.849
♪ Jammin on the corner in
the middle of the night ♪
00:34:19.849 --> 00:34:21.948
♪ Middle of the ♪
♪ Just playing music ♪
00:34:21.948 --> 00:34:24.284
♪ With my friends by my side ♪
00:34:24.284 --> 00:34:27.540
♪ The corner's our stage
and it don't cost a dime ♪
00:34:27.540 --> 00:34:29.370
- So that's what makes me feel good
00:34:29.370 --> 00:34:31.320
when I'm around these guys
00:34:31.320 --> 00:34:32.853
because we all military.
00:34:34.380 --> 00:34:37.563
None of 'em sits up here and talk war.
00:34:38.790 --> 00:34:40.290
And that's what keeps us away
00:34:40.290 --> 00:34:42.543
from talking about the darkness.
00:34:43.530 --> 00:34:44.880
All this is music.
- Nice.
00:34:46.756 --> 00:34:47.719
Huh.
00:34:47.719 --> 00:34:50.302
(lively music)
00:34:51.146 --> 00:34:55.186
♪ Jammin' on the corner in
the middle of the night ♪
00:34:55.186 --> 00:34:58.937
♪ Jammin on the corner in
the middle of the night ♪
00:34:58.937 --> 00:35:02.760
♪ Jammin' on the corner in
the middle of the night ♪
00:35:02.760 --> 00:35:06.060
♪ Jammin' on the corner in
the middle of the night ♪
00:35:06.060 --> 00:35:10.100
♪ With nowhere to go and nowhere to dine ♪
00:35:10.100 --> 00:35:14.797
♪ Me and my friends are
just havin' a good time ♪
00:35:14.797 --> 00:35:17.323
(lively music)
00:35:17.323 --> 00:35:21.840
- I think music therapy is
like the modality for trauma.
00:35:21.840 --> 00:35:23.820
You can be expressing yourself
00:35:23.820 --> 00:35:25.140
through music at the same time
00:35:25.140 --> 00:35:27.360
that you're feeling the
impact it's having on the body
00:35:27.360 --> 00:35:29.820
and, you know, we can go
right into the nervous system
00:35:29.820 --> 00:35:32.880
and kinda get at that
nervous system hyper-arousal
00:35:32.880 --> 00:35:35.340
that's really the hallmark of PTSD.
00:35:35.340 --> 00:35:37.170
But it's approachable and it's relaxing
00:35:37.170 --> 00:35:38.910
and it doesn't involve taking someone back
00:35:38.910 --> 00:35:42.033
into their trauma in order
to release that trauma.
00:35:42.923 --> 00:35:45.590
(lively music)
00:35:50.550 --> 00:35:52.890
- Music and art and dance, you know,
00:35:52.890 --> 00:35:57.210
you can't get to a product
without going through a process.
00:35:57.210 --> 00:36:00.240
Performing is extremely powerful
00:36:00.240 --> 00:36:02.850
and extremely transformative.
00:36:02.850 --> 00:36:04.347
Why they're singing what they're singing
00:36:04.347 --> 00:36:06.480
and what this is doing for them
00:36:06.480 --> 00:36:09.630
and how this is impacting them
more than just breath coming
00:36:09.630 --> 00:36:11.670
through your vocal
apparatus to create sound.
00:36:11.670 --> 00:36:15.213
You're creating words and
those words have purpose.
00:36:16.662 --> 00:36:18.630
- (indistinct) Take one.
00:36:18.630 --> 00:36:20.340
- Alright, so-
- So the beginning
00:36:20.340 --> 00:36:23.133
of this song.
- Is a little sullen.
00:36:24.300 --> 00:36:25.950
I don't want the whole song to be sullen,
00:36:25.950 --> 00:36:30.150
but just the intro just to
give the listener the idea of,
00:36:30.150 --> 00:36:34.530
okay, this is not a joyous
time that she was born in,
00:36:34.530 --> 00:36:36.390
even though it turned out being joyous.
00:36:36.390 --> 00:36:37.440
It was not at first
00:36:37.440 --> 00:36:39.817
'cause everybody thought
I was dead on the bed.
00:36:40.890 --> 00:36:42.289
- And they were saying that?
00:36:42.289 --> 00:36:43.530
They kept on that?
- They kept telling us
00:36:43.530 --> 00:36:45.360
there's zero chance of survival for you.
00:36:45.360 --> 00:36:48.330
- So this is kind of a song
where we start somewhere
00:36:48.330 --> 00:36:50.430
that's darker and maybe work toward light,
00:36:50.430 --> 00:36:52.170
and so we wanna reflect that in the music?
00:36:52.170 --> 00:36:53.340
- Exactly.
- So if we had our,
00:36:53.340 --> 00:36:57.810
we have our chords picked out,
so how would you recommend,
00:36:57.810 --> 00:37:00.900
or how do you feel that this is-
00:37:00.900 --> 00:37:02.490
- It'd be in a lower cord.
00:37:02.490 --> 00:37:05.730
Starting in a lower cord
and working our way back up.
00:37:05.730 --> 00:37:07.421
- So like with your tone?
00:37:07.421 --> 00:37:09.147
- Yeah.
- So like,
00:37:09.147 --> 00:37:13.596
♪ She ♪
♪ She was born on an island ♪
00:37:13.596 --> 00:37:16.327
♪ During the time when ♪
00:37:16.327 --> 00:37:20.578
♪ Her daddy was thought to be dying ♪
00:37:20.578 --> 00:37:21.965
- Yeah, so you kinda have like that-
00:37:21.965 --> 00:37:23.882
- Yeah.
- Lower, basey.
00:37:25.092 --> 00:37:27.980
♪ She slower on an island ♪
00:37:27.980 --> 00:37:29.527
- And you kinda go down there
00:37:29.527 --> 00:37:32.001
♪ During the time when ♪
00:37:32.001 --> 00:37:36.757
♪ Her daddy was thought to be dying ♪
00:37:36.757 --> 00:37:41.351
♪ But you know for her I'll always ♪
00:37:41.351 --> 00:37:44.159
♪ Keep on trying ♪
00:37:44.159 --> 00:37:46.527
♪ Keep on trying ♪
00:37:46.527 --> 00:37:49.530
She was born two months after
I got outta the hospital.
00:37:49.530 --> 00:37:51.243
So we grew up together.
00:37:52.410 --> 00:37:53.700
- Well, I remember being really little
00:37:53.700 --> 00:37:55.710
and I remember getting
the CDs on my birthday
00:37:55.710 --> 00:37:57.057
and I loved listening to them.
00:37:57.057 --> 00:37:59.430
And I got this CD player
for Christmas once
00:37:59.430 --> 00:38:01.860
and I think I like broke it almost
00:38:01.860 --> 00:38:03.723
because I used it so much.
00:38:05.114 --> 00:38:06.150
- Now this is like the second
00:38:06.150 --> 00:38:08.070
or third verse, I can't remember.
00:38:08.070 --> 00:38:09.636
It starts like this.
00:38:09.636 --> 00:38:14.484
♪ One of my favorite things about you ♪
00:38:14.484 --> 00:38:17.524
♪ Is your personality ♪
00:38:17.524 --> 00:38:21.278
♪ It's so cute ♪
00:38:21.278 --> 00:38:23.161
♪ And how ♪
00:38:23.161 --> 00:38:25.831
♪ You shake your head ♪
00:38:25.831 --> 00:38:28.772
♪ When you're speaking to me ♪
00:38:28.772 --> 00:38:32.830
♪ And say, Daddy, you're so silly ♪
00:38:32.830 --> 00:38:36.193
♪ Doo, doo, doo, doo,
doot, doo, doot, do, doot ♪
00:38:36.193 --> 00:38:38.610
- He was going through such
an intense rehabilitation
00:38:38.610 --> 00:38:40.800
that he wasn't able to
give a lot to them of
00:38:40.800 --> 00:38:43.710
what he would expect he
should provide for his family,
00:38:43.710 --> 00:38:46.290
but he was able to provide
pieces of his heart
00:38:46.290 --> 00:38:49.800
and soul into these songs for them.
00:38:49.800 --> 00:38:52.620
And you can see based on the
time that he wrote the song,
00:38:52.620 --> 00:38:54.150
the different things that
he was going through,
00:38:54.150 --> 00:38:55.950
and you could actually track the progress
00:38:55.950 --> 00:38:59.643
of his rehabilitation through
the songs that he wrote.
00:39:00.960 --> 00:39:02.060
- [Cory] And then a C.
00:39:03.845 --> 00:39:06.678
(spirited music)
00:39:10.350 --> 00:39:11.183
The idea?
- Yeah.
00:39:11.183 --> 00:39:12.016
That's the whole structure. Yeah.
00:39:12.016 --> 00:39:14.160
- [Cory] Perfect, perfect,
so let's get this down.
00:39:14.160 --> 00:39:16.200
- Would you like to see if we can't...
00:39:16.200 --> 00:39:18.454
I'll play it on piano and-
- Yeah, no, totally-
00:39:18.454 --> 00:39:19.874
- You guys-
- Lead and-
00:39:19.874 --> 00:39:21.180
- Listen-
- Like we did. Yeah.
00:39:21.180 --> 00:39:23.220
- We'll get there.
- Absolutely.
00:39:23.220 --> 00:39:25.050
- And we're gonna loop it just like we do
00:39:25.050 --> 00:39:26.040
with any other song.
00:39:26.040 --> 00:39:28.517
So I'm just gonna keep
playing the same thing-
00:39:28.517 --> 00:39:30.360
- Until we get it.
- Until we lock. Okay?
00:39:30.360 --> 00:39:33.153
Here we go. From the top at the C.
00:39:34.047 --> 00:39:36.880
(spirited music)
00:39:45.690 --> 00:39:50.100
I took this lyrically
through the range of emotions
00:39:50.100 --> 00:39:54.360
and I hope by the end of
it people are resolved
00:39:54.360 --> 00:39:57.360
to working together because
our world's pretty chaotic.
00:39:57.360 --> 00:39:59.640
And this song is very personal to me,
00:39:59.640 --> 00:40:00.960
not just because I wrote it,
00:40:00.960 --> 00:40:04.200
but because they represent experiences
00:40:04.200 --> 00:40:06.960
that I've gone through
00:40:06.960 --> 00:40:10.080
with my service to our country
00:40:10.080 --> 00:40:13.773
and it represents people that I lost.
00:40:15.750 --> 00:40:17.550
Would you mind reading the lyrics?
00:40:17.550 --> 00:40:19.470
- I would be happy to read the lyrics.
00:40:19.470 --> 00:40:23.100
What I want you to know, it's
not easy to wake up every day
00:40:23.100 --> 00:40:25.650
not knowing what would be asked of me.
00:40:25.650 --> 00:40:27.900
It wasn't until that
moment when we were asked
00:40:27.900 --> 00:40:28.850
to give everything.
00:40:29.730 --> 00:40:32.310
The days are long. Some good, some bad.
00:40:32.310 --> 00:40:36.450
Not knowing if we would return
home or leave our family sad.
00:40:36.450 --> 00:40:39.000
What we are fighting for, do you know?
00:40:39.000 --> 00:40:41.610
Is it peace and freedom around the globe?
00:40:41.610 --> 00:40:43.500
What I want you to know.
00:40:43.500 --> 00:40:46.233
The price has been paid,
the sacrifice was made.
00:40:47.304 --> 00:40:48.137
- The C.
00:40:49.685 --> 00:40:54.685
(artist singing indistinctly)
(spirited music)
00:41:01.285 --> 00:41:04.965
♪ Whoa oh ♪
00:41:04.965 --> 00:41:07.813
♪ Oh oh oh ♪
00:41:07.813 --> 00:41:11.133
♪ Yeah yeah yeah ♪
- One more time.
00:41:13.626 --> 00:41:16.376
(spirited music)
00:41:24.808 --> 00:41:28.848
(spirited music continues)
00:41:28.848 --> 00:41:30.936
- Right on.
- Yeah. Yeah.
00:41:30.936 --> 00:41:33.470
- Did you like it?
- No, it's beautiful.
00:41:33.470 --> 00:41:36.000
And I think that's what's
special about music
00:41:36.000 --> 00:41:40.390
is I just created this at 04:00.
00:41:40.390 --> 00:41:41.850
Okay, the music.
00:41:41.850 --> 00:41:45.060
And now you guys can feel the music
00:41:45.060 --> 00:41:47.160
and so we're locked already, right?
00:41:47.160 --> 00:41:49.888
And that's phenomenal.
- Yeah.
00:41:49.888 --> 00:41:54.888
(group applauding)
(upbeat music)
00:41:56.960 --> 00:41:59.118
♪ I'm singing and playing ♪
00:41:59.118 --> 00:42:01.106
♪ Singing and playing ♪
00:42:01.106 --> 00:42:03.433
♪ Singing and playing ♪
00:42:03.433 --> 00:42:05.423
♪ I'm singing and playing ♪
00:42:05.423 --> 00:42:07.973
♪ I'm singing and playing ♪
00:42:07.973 --> 00:42:09.684
♪ Singing and I'm playing ♪
00:42:09.684 --> 00:42:12.023
♪ To feel real good ♪
00:42:12.023 --> 00:42:14.232
♪ To feel real good ♪
00:42:14.232 --> 00:42:16.251
♪ Tom, why you singing ♪
00:42:16.251 --> 00:42:19.759
♪ Tom, why you singing ♪
00:42:19.759 --> 00:42:22.074
(upbeat music)
00:42:22.074 --> 00:42:24.454
(group chuckles)
00:42:24.454 --> 00:42:27.145
♪ I'm singing to ♪
00:42:27.145 --> 00:42:29.613
(upbeat music)
00:42:29.613 --> 00:42:31.158
- [Artist] Yeah. You got it, you got it.
00:42:31.158 --> 00:42:32.907
♪ I'm singing to ♪
00:42:32.907 --> 00:42:36.041
♪ Singing to fight back the tears ♪
00:42:36.041 --> 00:42:36.874
- Yes.
- Right.
00:42:36.874 --> 00:42:39.615
♪ Singing to fight back tears ♪
00:42:39.615 --> 00:42:42.895
♪ Singing to fight back the tears ♪
00:42:42.895 --> 00:42:47.084
♪ Singing to fight back the tears ♪
00:42:47.084 --> 00:42:51.353
♪ I'm singing to fight back the tears ♪
00:42:51.353 --> 00:42:55.553
♪ I'm singing to fight back the tears ♪
00:42:55.553 --> 00:42:58.004
♪ And I'm singing to smile ♪
00:42:58.004 --> 00:43:00.352
♪ I'm singing to smile ♪
00:43:00.352 --> 00:43:01.817
♪ Yeah ♪
♪ I love it ♪
00:43:01.817 --> 00:43:06.055
♪ Tom is singing to be heard ♪
♪ Tom is singing to be heard ♪
00:43:06.055 --> 00:43:08.330
♪ Yeah, he's singing to be heard ♪
00:43:08.330 --> 00:43:10.868
♪ Yeah, he's singing to be heard ♪
00:43:10.868 --> 00:43:13.701
(shaker rattling)
00:43:17.540 --> 00:43:22.148
- You hear the rainfalls,
you hear the different sounds
00:43:22.148 --> 00:43:23.703
of relieve and the tension.
00:43:25.050 --> 00:43:27.450
And when it goes all the
way down to the other end,
00:43:27.450 --> 00:43:31.140
it's like a lot of my
tension is being relieved.
00:43:31.140 --> 00:43:34.920
And, you know, I no longer see
00:43:34.920 --> 00:43:36.543
the sands of Iraq.
00:43:37.500 --> 00:43:39.600
You know, the explosion,
00:43:39.600 --> 00:43:43.830
the bombs, the puffed clouds,
00:43:43.830 --> 00:43:46.593
the burning of all we're
going through over there.
00:43:47.460 --> 00:43:49.210
We're trying to comfort each other.
00:43:51.120 --> 00:43:54.370
But to see all the
devastation that's over there
00:43:54.370 --> 00:43:56.606
and being a part of it is...
00:43:56.606 --> 00:43:58.260
(shaker rattling)
00:43:58.260 --> 00:44:00.453
Losing friends and knowing that,
00:44:02.580 --> 00:44:04.740
you wonder if their spirit is still there.
00:44:04.740 --> 00:44:07.503
Like did it make it back home?
00:44:09.421 --> 00:44:11.701
I never really talked about that,
00:44:11.701 --> 00:44:14.112
'cause it was a scary situation.
00:44:14.112 --> 00:44:15.600
- Mm-hmm.
- Yeah.
00:44:15.600 --> 00:44:18.453
I encountered several scary situations.
00:44:19.349 --> 00:44:21.410
Uh-huh, it is what it is.
00:44:21.410 --> 00:44:24.153
Life has so many turns and calls.
00:44:25.666 --> 00:44:27.475
When you're in that ship,
00:44:27.475 --> 00:44:30.308
you just rock it back and forward.
00:44:34.696 --> 00:44:37.446
(pensive music)
00:44:45.593 --> 00:44:48.400
When I play, oh, it takes me into
00:44:49.830 --> 00:44:53.670
another zone to just, oh my gosh,
00:44:53.670 --> 00:44:57.300
just sort of like, let it go, let it go.
00:44:57.300 --> 00:44:59.520
Let it drift off to wherever it needs
00:44:59.520 --> 00:45:01.683
to drift off in the back of my mind.
00:45:03.219 --> 00:45:06.450
(spirited music)
00:45:06.450 --> 00:45:09.570
it gives me closure so
that I don't have to go out
00:45:09.570 --> 00:45:13.503
with whatever that was
tormenting me from the war.
00:45:15.255 --> 00:45:18.420
(pensive music)
00:45:18.420 --> 00:45:22.480
It's interesting because my
husband was a Vietnam vet
00:45:23.580 --> 00:45:27.450
and I could not understand
what he was going through
00:45:27.450 --> 00:45:29.250
and he would never talk about it,
00:45:29.250 --> 00:45:31.530
and sometime he would weep about it,
00:45:31.530 --> 00:45:34.710
but his choice of drug was, you know,
00:45:34.710 --> 00:45:38.340
drugs and alcohol to numb the pains.
00:45:38.340 --> 00:45:40.290
And that's a scare because then you got
00:45:41.387 --> 00:45:43.200
another demon that you have to deal with.
00:45:43.200 --> 00:45:44.790
Not only the demon of the war,
00:45:44.790 --> 00:45:48.060
but you got the demon of the
drugs and getting off of it
00:45:48.060 --> 00:45:50.214
and, oh, my gosh.
00:45:50.214 --> 00:45:52.440
(pensive music)
00:45:52.440 --> 00:45:53.670
- Any kind of music making
00:45:53.670 --> 00:45:56.460
is actually producing
increases in endorphins.
00:45:56.460 --> 00:45:58.260
So playing instruments, singing,
00:45:58.260 --> 00:45:59.820
listening to music that you enjoy
00:45:59.820 --> 00:46:02.160
is also going to increase in endorphins
00:46:02.160 --> 00:46:03.970
and increased dopamine.
00:46:03.970 --> 00:46:05.970
And those are like the natural opiates
00:46:05.970 --> 00:46:07.560
and the natural mood boosters.
00:46:07.560 --> 00:46:10.590
So we get a very physiological shift
00:46:10.590 --> 00:46:13.040
that happens in the body
when we work with music.
00:46:15.164 --> 00:46:16.020
(pensive music)
00:46:16.020 --> 00:46:20.130
- You know, today I'm
struggling with not taking
00:46:20.130 --> 00:46:22.290
so much medication.
00:46:22.290 --> 00:46:24.660
I was almost there. I was almost there.
00:46:24.660 --> 00:46:26.743
I was there 'cause I was in pain
00:46:26.743 --> 00:46:31.560
and I was, you know, the pain
was so real and so painful.
00:46:31.560 --> 00:46:33.750
I have to think of other ways of trying
00:46:33.750 --> 00:46:36.180
to alleviate the pain
00:46:36.180 --> 00:46:39.660
because my biggest fear
is to become so numbed out
00:46:39.660 --> 00:46:44.193
or so dependent on drugs that
I wouldn't be able to cope.
00:46:48.265 --> 00:46:51.015
(pensive music)
00:46:59.070 --> 00:47:00.620
- Turn it the other way around.
00:47:04.013 --> 00:47:06.680
(pensive music)
00:47:08.095 --> 00:47:13.095
(hair clipper buzzing)
(pensive music continues)
00:47:15.420 --> 00:47:17.250
- She's the best mom there ever has been.
00:47:17.250 --> 00:47:18.840
I don't mean to put down
on any of your moms,
00:47:18.840 --> 00:47:20.988
but she's not what your mom is like.
00:47:20.988 --> 00:47:23.571
(Ben laughing)
00:47:24.660 --> 00:47:26.340
My mom is amazing.
00:47:26.340 --> 00:47:28.380
She and I have gone
through a lot together.
00:47:28.380 --> 00:47:30.840
We have grown up together
00:47:30.840 --> 00:47:32.910
and, well, I don't know
where I'd be without her.
00:47:32.910 --> 00:47:34.083
She's my best friend.
00:47:35.954 --> 00:47:37.330
(pensive music)
00:47:37.330 --> 00:47:40.770
- Right. Hold still.
00:47:40.770 --> 00:47:45.431
(towel fluttering)
(pensive music)
00:47:45.431 --> 00:47:48.434
There we go. All right, shake it.
00:47:48.434 --> 00:47:49.267
(Lisa chuckles)
00:47:49.267 --> 00:47:52.410
When Ben first came to
live with us back in 2014,
00:47:52.410 --> 00:47:54.210
he'd been in rehab for a year
00:47:54.210 --> 00:47:55.620
and he would always come
home on the weekends,
00:47:55.620 --> 00:47:57.063
but he was always asleep.
00:47:58.890 --> 00:48:01.937
- [Ben] I was just so
depressed and so, ugh,
00:48:01.937 --> 00:48:03.720
'cause I was going through a divorce.
00:48:03.720 --> 00:48:06.810
I had a little girl
involved that was just born.
00:48:06.810 --> 00:48:08.490
And I used to just pray for death.
00:48:08.490 --> 00:48:10.380
I was in so much pain,
I couldn't handle it,
00:48:10.380 --> 00:48:11.760
and they couldn't get a control on it,
00:48:11.760 --> 00:48:16.196
and I was taking so many drugs
and none of it was working.
00:48:16.196 --> 00:48:18.690
- He was in so much pain
that he would like bam
00:48:18.690 --> 00:48:20.880
on the walls, like,
"Somebody help me, somebody."
00:48:20.880 --> 00:48:24.090
It was horrible. And he
was on pain medication.
00:48:24.090 --> 00:48:26.640
So I get him home and I'm going through
00:48:26.640 --> 00:48:28.080
and organizing all of his medication-
00:48:28.080 --> 00:48:29.580
wait till you see, there's a ton of it-
00:48:29.580 --> 00:48:33.270
and he's on so many pain medications
00:48:33.270 --> 00:48:34.710
and I start Googling them
00:48:34.710 --> 00:48:37.620
and I see the damage
that they do to the body
00:48:37.620 --> 00:48:39.813
and he's been on 'em for eight years.
00:48:40.732 --> 00:48:43.205
So lemme just get all
these things out first.
00:48:43.205 --> 00:48:46.641
(pills rattling)
(containers knocking)
00:48:46.641 --> 00:48:51.535
Desmopressin, (speaking indistinctly).
00:48:51.535 --> 00:48:53.490
(pills rattling)
(containers knocking)
00:48:53.490 --> 00:48:55.742
So, yeah, it's way less than it was.
00:48:55.742 --> 00:48:56.575
- Like 70.
- Like I got rid
00:48:56.575 --> 00:48:58.170
of the amphetamines.
00:48:58.170 --> 00:49:02.580
He's down to almost no
antidepressant at all now. Yeah.
00:49:02.580 --> 00:49:05.460
And he was on so- he was
on heavy antidepressants.
00:49:05.460 --> 00:49:06.467
- [Ben] Which was (indistinct).
00:49:08.275 --> 00:49:09.360
- Is that-
- This is stuff that
00:49:09.360 --> 00:49:11.560
if he does not get these
pills, he will die.
00:49:14.459 --> 00:49:18.957
(pills rattling and clacking)
00:49:18.957 --> 00:49:22.693
- Good boy. Who's a good (indistinct).
00:49:22.693 --> 00:49:25.890
(pensive music)
00:49:25.890 --> 00:49:27.740
Just another beautiful day in Irvine.
00:49:28.620 --> 00:49:29.520
Evening, whatever.
00:49:30.944 --> 00:49:34.920
(people chattering)
(feet clacking)
00:49:34.920 --> 00:49:39.003
Every day is a new day, and
I wait to see what comes.
00:49:41.100 --> 00:49:43.890
Everything changed when I
fell outta that helicopter.
00:49:43.890 --> 00:49:46.770
And I can't just go and do anything.
00:49:46.770 --> 00:49:49.230
I have to have somebody there to take care
00:49:49.230 --> 00:49:50.520
of me and take care of my meds,
00:49:50.520 --> 00:49:53.340
'cause I can't do that
by myself, I'm blind.
00:49:53.340 --> 00:49:56.370
And so I just can't just
pack up and go anymore,
00:49:56.370 --> 00:49:58.932
and that was heartbreaking
00:49:58.932 --> 00:50:01.599
because, you know, that's what I did
00:50:01.599 --> 00:50:03.890
since 18 years old, I packed up and left
00:50:05.180 --> 00:50:06.030
and didn't come back until
00:50:06.030 --> 00:50:07.842
after I fell outta the helicopter.
00:50:07.842 --> 00:50:10.429
(dog barking)
(pensive music)
00:50:10.429 --> 00:50:13.932
- Come on, come on. Good girl, good girl.
00:50:13.932 --> 00:50:18.801
(dog barking)
(pensive music)
00:50:18.801 --> 00:50:20.134
Heel. Good girl.
00:50:21.283 --> 00:50:23.296
Good girl. No treat, no treat this time.
00:50:23.296 --> 00:50:24.495
- Oh no treat this time.
00:50:24.495 --> 00:50:26.760
Oh, daddy's being stingy. (chuckles)
00:50:26.760 --> 00:50:27.900
- Okay.
- Go ahead,
00:50:27.900 --> 00:50:29.130
- Watch.
00:50:29.130 --> 00:50:31.200
- Yes. Beautiful.
- Good girl.
00:50:31.200 --> 00:50:34.320
- Get out the treats and
her for that, Lito. Come on.
00:50:34.320 --> 00:50:35.730
And as soon as she moves closer,
00:50:35.730 --> 00:50:36.900
we're in for the treats, free!
00:50:36.900 --> 00:50:39.840
- Okay, you know, when I play music,
00:50:39.840 --> 00:50:43.170
I am enjoying being emotional,
00:50:43.170 --> 00:50:47.220
but then I'm also realizing
I can only take so much.
00:50:47.220 --> 00:50:50.763
Whether it's anger, it's
nervousness, it's anxiety.
00:50:52.740 --> 00:50:56.910
There's this fear of
seeing the other side,
00:50:56.910 --> 00:50:58.950
the person that has emotion.
00:50:58.950 --> 00:51:00.393
- There you go. Good.
- Yeah.
00:51:00.393 --> 00:51:02.340
Like I sat down one afternoon
00:51:02.340 --> 00:51:04.110
and I said, "You know what?
00:51:04.110 --> 00:51:07.110
There's a big span of time
00:51:07.110 --> 00:51:11.790
during the day that it is
expected I will be by myself.
00:51:11.790 --> 00:51:14.730
And physically my friends aren't there.
00:51:14.730 --> 00:51:17.433
My spouse and my children aren't there.
00:51:18.360 --> 00:51:20.340
And that's when I kinda realize,
00:51:20.340 --> 00:51:22.773
well, there is a way not to be alone.
00:51:27.753 --> 00:51:31.256
(pensive music)
(horn honks)
00:51:31.256 --> 00:51:36.256
(birds chirping)
(wings fluttering)
00:51:36.976 --> 00:51:41.787
(traffic humming)
(vehicles whirring)
00:51:41.787 --> 00:51:44.945
(door clatters and squeaks)
00:51:44.945 --> 00:51:47.612
(lively music)
00:51:50.400 --> 00:51:52.640
- How you doing? Oh, I'm so glad y'all.
00:51:55.020 --> 00:51:56.625
- You look tired. You okay?
00:51:56.625 --> 00:51:57.763
- Yeah, I'm fine.
- All right.
00:51:57.763 --> 00:52:00.603
- Yeah. I'ma go get my medication.
00:52:01.749 --> 00:52:03.057
Thank you.
00:52:03.057 --> 00:52:04.530
- [Host] But I wanna take this opportunity
00:52:04.530 --> 00:52:07.530
to say Happy Veterans Day to
each and every one of you here.
00:52:08.367 --> 00:52:10.917
Praise the work of each
and every one of you, amen.
00:52:11.947 --> 00:52:15.390
- We praise God for Lay Minister Simon
00:52:15.390 --> 00:52:18.218
and her heart for the Veterans service.
00:52:18.218 --> 00:52:19.385
- Amen.
- Amen.
00:52:21.342 --> 00:52:22.677
- We thank you for their sacrifice.
00:52:22.677 --> 00:52:24.750
We thank you for their families,
00:52:24.750 --> 00:52:28.738
because behind every veteran
there is a family, Lord.
00:52:28.738 --> 00:52:31.910
♪ On the battlefield ♪
00:52:31.910 --> 00:52:35.742
♪ For my Lord ♪
00:52:35.742 --> 00:52:37.140
♪ Yes, I'm on ♪
00:52:37.140 --> 00:52:40.860
- Music in general has a
special place in my heart.
00:52:40.860 --> 00:52:44.130
Yeah, I pray, and prayer is powerful,
00:52:44.130 --> 00:52:48.660
but music plays a special
chord in our soul,
00:52:48.660 --> 00:52:51.300
'cause some of us go into seclusion.
00:52:51.300 --> 00:52:53.190
I know a lot of times I just didn't wanna
00:52:53.190 --> 00:52:55.560
be bothered with nobody.
00:52:55.560 --> 00:52:58.031
Not even my family.
00:52:58.031 --> 00:52:59.730
- I love you.
- I love you too, baby.
00:52:59.730 --> 00:53:01.543
- Job well done.
- Y'all going looking
00:53:01.543 --> 00:53:02.376
for a house?
00:53:02.376 --> 00:53:03.720
- Yeah.
- Are y'all gonna try
00:53:03.720 --> 00:53:05.670
to move me out the projects? (chuckles)
00:53:05.670 --> 00:53:08.490
- You ain't wanna leave. (lips smacking)
00:53:08.490 --> 00:53:11.340
- Okay, you know, and my son who was here,
00:53:11.340 --> 00:53:12.690
who did the catering,
00:53:12.690 --> 00:53:15.180
he was just so angry with the military
00:53:15.180 --> 00:53:17.343
because he couldn't understand, you know,
00:53:17.343 --> 00:53:19.683
here my mother was vibrant
and now she's this.
00:53:20.799 --> 00:53:23.466
(lively music)
00:53:25.320 --> 00:53:26.153
- We're in a battle every day.
00:53:26.153 --> 00:53:28.500
- Yeah.
- It's a spiritual battle
00:53:28.500 --> 00:53:30.539
- Yes.
- And it starts in the mind.
00:53:30.539 --> 00:53:31.380
- Yeah.
- Amen?
00:53:31.380 --> 00:53:32.760
And most of us don't know this
00:53:32.760 --> 00:53:36.900
because we aren't under the
teaching that we need to be.
00:53:36.900 --> 00:53:38.670
We don't come into the house of the Lord.
00:53:38.670 --> 00:53:40.500
This is also a hospital. Right?
00:53:40.500 --> 00:53:41.970
We talked about this before.
00:53:41.970 --> 00:53:44.430
A place where sick
people come to be healed.
00:53:44.430 --> 00:53:45.480
- Exactly.
- And as Christians,
00:53:45.480 --> 00:53:47.070
we need to look at the spirits that are
00:53:47.070 --> 00:53:50.340
behind what the world calls mental illness
00:53:50.340 --> 00:53:51.660
and what we in the body of Christ
00:53:51.660 --> 00:53:54.800
should be called demonic oppression.
00:53:54.800 --> 00:53:58.110
- Amen.
- We thank God for the word.
00:53:58.110 --> 00:54:02.953
I hope you understand that
you'll now enter the revelation.
00:54:05.010 --> 00:54:08.133
- So it's almost like,
suppress it. You alright.
00:54:09.000 --> 00:54:12.810
I always say, say five
Hail Mary, our father,
00:54:12.810 --> 00:54:15.630
and, you know, you are
healed, you're okay.
00:54:15.630 --> 00:54:18.030
Forget about anything that comes up.
00:54:18.030 --> 00:54:21.780
But when those demons starts
creeping up, the explosions,
00:54:21.780 --> 00:54:24.150
seeing your friends get killed,
00:54:24.150 --> 00:54:27.870
those who weren't there
don't seem to understand it.
00:54:27.870 --> 00:54:31.560
When I came back from Iraq,
00:54:31.560 --> 00:54:33.660
I cried all the time.
00:54:33.660 --> 00:54:35.880
For three years, I cried.
00:54:35.880 --> 00:54:39.800
And the first thing somebody
say, "Did you kill somebody?"
00:54:39.800 --> 00:54:42.510
Is that something to say to
somebody who's been to war,
00:54:42.510 --> 00:54:45.450
and those of us who may
have experienced that,
00:54:45.450 --> 00:54:47.400
do we wanna talk about that?
00:54:47.400 --> 00:54:50.250
And that's where you see
a lot of homeless veterans
00:54:50.250 --> 00:54:53.820
or those who drink and drink
themself into a bliss is
00:54:53.820 --> 00:54:56.910
because you just wanna make yourself numb
00:54:56.910 --> 00:54:59.640
to people and society who's asking you all
00:54:59.640 --> 00:55:01.710
of these crazy questions.
00:55:01.710 --> 00:55:04.560
Today I might be able to, now
I'm able to talk about it,
00:55:04.560 --> 00:55:07.050
but tomorrow I may not
even wanna mention it,
00:55:07.050 --> 00:55:09.660
but I have to put on my
happy face to say something
00:55:09.660 --> 00:55:12.573
to the congregation and
the church, you know?
00:55:14.550 --> 00:55:17.520
- A lot of us have gone through
a lot of different stresses
00:55:17.520 --> 00:55:19.920
and the different campaigns and wars
00:55:19.920 --> 00:55:24.780
and all, a very stressful
time, and music has been cure.
00:55:24.780 --> 00:55:28.770
It's a challenge, but it's
a beautiful challenge.
00:55:28.770 --> 00:55:31.420
You know, especially when
those notes come out right.
00:55:32.721 --> 00:55:36.750
And it's just very, very
magical, therapeutic,
00:55:36.750 --> 00:55:37.833
more than anything.
00:55:40.160 --> 00:55:43.260
- We all have different
atmospheres of what we did
00:55:43.260 --> 00:55:45.300
or what we went through,
00:55:45.300 --> 00:55:48.240
but this is one atmosphere
that is beautiful.
00:55:48.240 --> 00:55:50.490
Like I said, I'm trained as a grunt.
00:55:50.490 --> 00:55:53.463
This is showing me to be a
bird and fly free in the sky.
00:55:54.510 --> 00:55:55.560
What else can you do?
00:55:57.000 --> 00:55:59.440
- I haven't made that leap of faith
00:56:00.780 --> 00:56:03.420
that Brother Earl is talking about.
00:56:03.420 --> 00:56:07.080
I'm listening to him how
he's transferred (chuckles)
00:56:07.080 --> 00:56:09.000
and I'm wishing for that myself
00:56:09.000 --> 00:56:12.840
because like I said, I have
one foot still in there
00:56:12.840 --> 00:56:16.530
and I have another foot
here in this society,
00:56:16.530 --> 00:56:21.240
and I would consider myself
in the transferring stage
00:56:21.240 --> 00:56:25.260
where I feel secure enough
00:56:25.260 --> 00:56:29.010
to open up and maybe
speak about these things.
00:56:29.010 --> 00:56:30.510
But what stood out to me
00:56:30.510 --> 00:56:33.030
is that even though this Agent Orange
00:56:33.030 --> 00:56:35.220
has devastated my life,
00:56:35.220 --> 00:56:37.890
I didn't think about it
until she mentioned it.
00:56:37.890 --> 00:56:41.250
And I know that a lot
of post-military things
00:56:41.250 --> 00:56:44.250
that I'm going through is the result
00:56:44.250 --> 00:56:46.050
of the exposure to Agent Orange
00:56:46.050 --> 00:56:51.050
'cause the area that I was
in was heavily fortified,
00:56:51.510 --> 00:56:54.180
three-canopy jungle type stuff
00:56:54.180 --> 00:56:56.880
that you just couldn't
hack your way through.
00:56:56.880 --> 00:57:00.630
The Agent Orange has caused eye damage,
00:57:00.630 --> 00:57:02.103
sensitive to light.
00:57:03.270 --> 00:57:06.270
I have some gastrointestinal issues.
00:57:06.270 --> 00:57:09.630
The last time I spoke
with a military person
00:57:09.630 --> 00:57:11.670
in reference to this Agent Orange thing,
00:57:11.670 --> 00:57:14.310
they said 95% of the guys
00:57:14.310 --> 00:57:17.340
that was with me are dead.
00:57:17.340 --> 00:57:22.320
Health problems in terms
of Vietnam veterans
00:57:22.320 --> 00:57:25.950
is really a issue
00:57:25.950 --> 00:57:27.840
that's not being treated
00:57:27.840 --> 00:57:29.400
even though every once in a while
00:57:29.400 --> 00:57:33.150
they said they included
this, they included that.
00:57:33.150 --> 00:57:37.830
And a lot of veterans are
suspicious of the statement that
00:57:37.830 --> 00:57:42.030
if you can't get what you
want at a VA hospital,
00:57:42.030 --> 00:57:44.760
you can go outside and get it.
00:57:44.760 --> 00:57:46.470
- Can I share-
- I beg your pardon?
00:57:46.470 --> 00:57:47.567
- Lemme just say something.
00:57:47.567 --> 00:57:51.600
Bashir, I understand what
you're talking about,
00:57:51.600 --> 00:57:55.290
but to get to where what
I was talking about,
00:57:55.290 --> 00:57:58.155
'cause I know you copied
off of mine, right?
00:57:58.155 --> 00:57:58.988
No, yes, no, no.
- Yeah, it resonated.
00:57:58.988 --> 00:58:00.913
- Right.
- It resonated.
00:58:00.913 --> 00:58:03.870
- But what I was saying
00:58:03.870 --> 00:58:07.950
is to not go down that road,
00:58:07.950 --> 00:58:09.840
'cause I knew where that road was,
00:58:09.840 --> 00:58:11.043
because you got me motivated.
00:58:11.043 --> 00:58:13.890
I'ma be honest, I'm not
gonna bite my tongue.
00:58:13.890 --> 00:58:17.550
It got me motivated. It got me tense.
00:58:17.550 --> 00:58:19.350
What it was is to show
00:58:19.350 --> 00:58:23.820
what this place right here did for me.
00:58:23.820 --> 00:58:25.200
I didn't wanna go down that road.
00:58:25.200 --> 00:58:29.223
I didn't wanna wake him up.
I didn't wanna wake him up.
00:58:30.162 --> 00:58:33.870
I didn't wanna wake him up.
I didn't wanna wake you up.
00:58:33.870 --> 00:58:34.703
- I'm woke.
00:58:36.480 --> 00:58:39.450
- Yes, but you see, this
is a different atmosphere.
00:58:39.450 --> 00:58:40.590
what we're talking about.
00:58:40.590 --> 00:58:42.000
This whole thing right here
00:58:42.000 --> 00:58:44.130
is a wholly different atmosphere.
00:58:44.130 --> 00:58:45.690
- How long did that take you?
- Huh-
00:58:45.690 --> 00:58:47.490
- No. How long did that take you?
00:58:47.490 --> 00:58:49.170
- It's going to take you time.
00:58:49.170 --> 00:58:51.060
Wait, listen, listen, hold it.
- That's you.
00:58:51.060 --> 00:58:52.470
No, but listen.
- That's you.
00:58:52.470 --> 00:58:53.957
- Because you know why?
- You can't generalize
00:58:53.957 --> 00:58:56.160
your experience to everyone.
00:58:56.160 --> 00:58:57.960
- No, I'm not saying my experience.
00:58:57.960 --> 00:59:01.320
What I'm saying is that I
didn't open that closet door
00:59:01.320 --> 00:59:04.440
is because they didn't walk them shoes,
00:59:04.440 --> 00:59:07.110
so why should I make 'em
try to walk my shoes?
00:59:07.110 --> 00:59:08.340
I'm not gonna do that.
00:59:08.340 --> 00:59:11.553
I wanna play my base. I
know everybody wanna play.
00:59:12.510 --> 00:59:14.673
- Can I just share a moment?
00:59:16.740 --> 00:59:19.680
In order for us to leave here,
00:59:19.680 --> 00:59:21.450
I'd like the opportunity for us
00:59:21.450 --> 00:59:26.280
to play, for us to heal and
leave on a positive note
00:59:26.280 --> 00:59:29.670
because we all have dark places
00:59:29.670 --> 00:59:32.790
and I'd just like us to
play before we leave.
00:59:32.790 --> 00:59:35.280
- Few minutes to play.
- So let's play for
00:59:35.280 --> 00:59:37.560
a few minutes and let's not leave.
00:59:37.560 --> 00:59:38.730
- I can't play no more.
- With our
00:59:38.730 --> 00:59:40.260
ourselves opened up.
00:59:40.260 --> 00:59:45.083
Let's close that gap with some
music just for healing sake.\
00:59:45.083 --> 00:59:46.422
(group chattering)
(chair screeching)
00:59:46.422 --> 00:59:49.530
- [Veteran] Hang on.
00:59:49.530 --> 00:59:50.407
- I think you're in the lead right now.
00:59:50.407 --> 00:59:51.993
So go for it. We'll follow you.
00:59:53.728 --> 00:59:56.395
(pensive music)
01:00:07.008 --> 01:00:10.508
(pensive music continues)
01:00:18.403 --> 01:00:21.903
(pensive music continues)
01:00:29.116 --> 01:00:32.616
(pensive music continues)
01:00:38.118 --> 01:00:42.206
(pensive music continues)
01:00:42.206 --> 01:00:47.206
(veteran vocalizing)
(pensive music continues)
01:00:55.847 --> 01:01:00.847
(veteran vocalizing)
(pensive music continues)
01:01:09.236 --> 01:01:14.236
(veteran vocalizing)
(pensive music continues)
01:01:21.404 --> 01:01:26.404
(veteran vocalizing)
(pensive music continues)
01:01:35.146 --> 01:01:40.146
(veteran vocalizing)
(pensive music continues)
01:01:43.135 --> 01:01:46.890
(saxophone blowing)
01:01:46.890 --> 01:01:48.360
- I wanna check in first of all
01:01:48.360 --> 01:01:51.570
and see if there's anybody
here today who wants
01:01:51.570 --> 01:01:54.130
to do a remembrance for a loved one.
01:01:54.130 --> 01:01:56.970
- Well, it was a gentleman in our parish
01:01:56.970 --> 01:01:59.730
and we never got to say goodbye to him.
01:01:59.730 --> 01:02:02.130
He was 88 years old, he died of cancer,
01:02:02.130 --> 01:02:04.113
and he couldn't even be with his wife.
01:02:05.190 --> 01:02:07.890
because of the existing situation.
01:02:07.890 --> 01:02:09.962
I'd like to have a candle for him.
01:02:09.962 --> 01:02:12.129
- Okay.
- Thank you. Appreciate it.
01:02:12.129 --> 01:02:14.565
- You're welcome. Here's a candle for him.
01:02:14.565 --> 01:02:16.841
(lighter scratching)
01:02:16.841 --> 01:02:18.540
- Thank you.
- You're very welcome.
01:02:18.540 --> 01:02:19.470
Thank you for sharing that.
01:02:19.470 --> 01:02:22.893
Anybody else want me to add
to my four candles here?
01:02:26.192 --> 01:02:27.630
- [Deborah] This shut down,
01:02:27.630 --> 01:02:30.690
everybody has to stay socially distanced.
01:02:30.690 --> 01:02:33.023
That's such a strain for me.
01:02:34.440 --> 01:02:36.683
It's different. It's so different.
01:02:36.683 --> 01:02:39.840
It truly, truly, to me,
it's like a ghost town.
01:02:39.840 --> 01:02:42.675
Everything is like a ghost town.
01:02:42.675 --> 01:02:47.583
And this virtual stuff, it
just don't feel connected.
01:02:48.976 --> 01:02:51.726
(pensive music)
01:02:53.160 --> 01:02:55.617
You know, the church is not open.
01:02:55.617 --> 01:02:57.843
Not even for social distancing.
01:02:59.686 --> 01:03:02.436
(pensive music)
01:03:04.410 --> 01:03:06.453
Great morning, great day, everybody.
01:03:07.444 --> 01:03:09.720
And I just wanna read this poem.
01:03:09.720 --> 01:03:11.640
I am a soldier in God's army.
01:03:11.640 --> 01:03:13.080
Faith, prayer
01:03:13.080 --> 01:03:15.930
and the words of God are
my weapons of warfare.
01:03:15.930 --> 01:03:17.230
I am taught by the Holy...
01:03:22.286 --> 01:03:23.286
(indistinct) That...
01:03:24.527 --> 01:03:28.290
I am (indistinct). I
volunteered in this army.
01:03:28.290 --> 01:03:29.940
Enlisted in the enemy internally.
01:03:33.000 --> 01:03:34.650
- All right, so what are we doing?
01:03:34.650 --> 01:03:38.070
- So for this song, you bring
up that you have a mission.
01:03:38.070 --> 01:03:40.170
What's the mission you're describing here?
01:03:41.700 --> 01:03:46.700
- Recovery. Your mission
is quality of life.
01:03:47.240 --> 01:03:49.971
(mellow music)
01:03:49.971 --> 01:03:52.312
♪ God speaks to me, says ♪
01:03:52.312 --> 01:03:56.752
♪ Son, I have a job for you ♪
01:03:56.752 --> 01:03:59.170
♪ Details are still unsure ♪
01:03:59.170 --> 01:04:03.803
♪ But I know this much is true ♪
01:04:03.803 --> 01:04:06.319
♪ You are my miracle ♪
01:04:06.319 --> 01:04:10.240
♪ Sent from the sky so blue ♪
01:04:10.240 --> 01:04:15.240
♪ You've overcome so much,
there's not a lot you cannot do ♪
01:04:17.849 --> 01:04:21.207
♪ As long as you walk with me ♪
01:04:21.207 --> 01:04:25.180
♪ I'll get you through ♪
01:04:25.180 --> 01:04:30.180
♪ God needs us to work together ♪
01:04:30.609 --> 01:04:34.986
♪ So we can do our part to make this ♪
01:04:34.986 --> 01:04:36.888
♪ Life better ♪
01:04:36.888 --> 01:04:41.888
♪ United we must stand a
world strong and tethered ♪
01:04:42.816 --> 01:04:45.688
♪ I believe we can achieve this ♪
01:04:45.688 --> 01:04:48.855
♪ if we band together ♪
01:04:51.620 --> 01:04:53.523
- That brings back memories.
01:04:54.960 --> 01:04:57.058
- And you didn't miss one word.
01:04:57.058 --> 01:04:58.200
- I know.
- I think it's interesting.
01:04:58.200 --> 01:04:59.430
It brings back memories.
01:04:59.430 --> 01:05:02.430
It brings us back, you know,
to that day in the classroom,
01:05:02.430 --> 01:05:05.100
to that time on stage we performed it.
01:05:05.100 --> 01:05:07.620
If you had to sum up, I
would say that chorus,
01:05:07.620 --> 01:05:09.320
what are some words you would have
01:05:09.320 --> 01:05:10.710
to like capture the meaning
01:05:10.710 --> 01:05:12.663
and essence of the song you created?
01:05:13.800 --> 01:05:17.640
- I guess this life isn't about
you. It's about everybody.
01:05:17.640 --> 01:05:19.290
It's not just about you out there.
01:05:19.290 --> 01:05:22.440
You gotta, even though
we're a gigantic world
01:05:22.440 --> 01:05:23.760
and there's so much space
01:05:23.760 --> 01:05:25.170
and people are so far away,
01:05:25.170 --> 01:05:26.970
we're still just a community.
01:05:26.970 --> 01:05:29.310
We're all one big community
on one planet trying
01:05:29.310 --> 01:05:30.570
to make this thing work.
01:05:30.570 --> 01:05:33.660
We're trying to make it
last as long as it will.
01:05:33.660 --> 01:05:34.623
And if we don't work together,
01:05:34.623 --> 01:05:36.723
then it's gonna, a fuse is gonna burn out.
01:05:37.770 --> 01:05:39.750
- And, you know, speaking of that, I mean,
01:05:39.750 --> 01:05:41.100
we're far apart right now
01:05:41.100 --> 01:05:45.457
and we're having a shared
experience. (laughing)
01:05:45.457 --> 01:05:46.772
- That's right. (laughing)
01:05:46.772 --> 01:05:48.070
- [Rebecca] Yeah.
01:05:48.070 --> 01:05:49.320
- That's right.
01:05:50.796 --> 01:05:53.596
(dog panting)
(chain clinking)
01:05:53.596 --> 01:05:55.708
What is it?
01:05:55.708 --> 01:05:57.479
(Ben laughing)
01:05:57.479 --> 01:05:59.191
(daughter gasps)
01:05:59.191 --> 01:06:00.169
Is that what you wanted, princess?
01:06:00.169 --> 01:06:02.943
- Yes. Thank you.
01:06:04.620 --> 01:06:06.483
Oh, I love 'em. Thank you.
01:06:07.946 --> 01:06:11.279
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
01:06:13.115 --> 01:06:14.115
- Woo!
- Woo!
01:06:17.576 --> 01:06:18.570
♪ Still to come ♪
01:06:18.570 --> 01:06:20.700
- The rest of my life
is gonna be recovering
01:06:20.700 --> 01:06:22.923
and I'll never fully 100% recover.
01:06:24.030 --> 01:06:26.283
I obliterated two parts of my brain, man.
01:06:27.840 --> 01:06:29.340
I'm not supposed to be alive.
01:06:29.340 --> 01:06:31.080
The doctors are all,
01:06:31.080 --> 01:06:33.360
every neurologist in America
01:06:33.360 --> 01:06:35.060
is scratching their head about me.
01:06:36.270 --> 01:06:40.530
I got a great word. It's
gonna gimme like 50 points.
01:06:40.530 --> 01:06:41.363
- No, it won't.
01:06:42.441 --> 01:06:43.920
You have like three H's.
01:06:43.920 --> 01:06:45.273
- You have three H's.
01:06:46.650 --> 01:06:49.440
- No.
- It is N-O-I-R, isn't it?
01:06:49.440 --> 01:06:51.693
- Yeah. (chuckles)
01:06:52.697 --> 01:06:55.670
(Ben laughing)
(pensive music)
01:06:55.670 --> 01:06:58.050
- In the Marine Corps, I
was used to being in charge
01:06:58.050 --> 01:07:02.353
and now my little girl's
like, "Dad, no, no."
01:07:02.353 --> 01:07:04.740
And I have to be like, "Yeah, thank you,
01:07:04.740 --> 01:07:09.150
'cause I'll get killed
otherwise. (chuckles)
01:07:09.150 --> 01:07:11.820
What did you wanna put above fear?
01:07:11.820 --> 01:07:14.831
- Open.
- Open? (laughing)
01:07:14.831 --> 01:07:16.650
I'm such a blessed man.
01:07:16.650 --> 01:07:18.180
I have a little girl that's amazing.
01:07:18.180 --> 01:07:22.290
She's 13 years old,
(scoffs) which makes me 40.
01:07:22.290 --> 01:07:26.520
I don't how that happened and I got my mom
01:07:26.520 --> 01:07:27.353
who takes care of me.
01:07:27.353 --> 01:07:29.760
Without her, I wouldn't be alive either.
01:07:29.760 --> 01:07:32.940
My mom is my backbone.
She's the greatest thing.
01:07:32.940 --> 01:07:36.600
With her and music and Rebecca,
01:07:36.600 --> 01:07:41.070
my life has gotten to be
actually pretty great.
01:07:41.070 --> 01:07:44.130
I never thought I'd be
there again. So I'm okay.
01:07:44.130 --> 01:07:45.540
I have family and I have friends
01:07:45.540 --> 01:07:47.390
and that's really what makes it okay.
01:07:48.690 --> 01:07:51.783
So every day I spend time
with the people I can.
01:07:54.281 --> 01:07:56.948
(pensive music)
01:07:58.941 --> 01:08:01.608
(lively music)
01:08:06.550 --> 01:08:11.550
♪ I guess I just feel like ♪
01:08:12.394 --> 01:08:17.394
♪ The jokes getting old, ♪
01:08:18.103 --> 01:08:23.103
♪ The future is fading ♪
01:08:23.632 --> 01:08:28.632
♪ And the past on hold ♪
01:08:29.453 --> 01:08:32.655
♪ But I know that I'm open ♪
01:08:32.655 --> 01:08:36.275
♪ And I know that I'm free. ♪
01:08:36.275 --> 01:08:39.064
♪ And I'll always let hope in ♪
01:08:39.064 --> 01:08:41.705
♪ Wherever I'll be ♪
01:08:41.705 --> 01:08:43.783
♪ And if I go blind ♪
01:08:43.783 --> 01:08:48.371
♪ I'd still find my way ♪
01:08:48.371 --> 01:08:53.371
♪ I guess I just felt like ♪
01:08:53.834 --> 01:08:56.910
♪ Giving up today ♪
01:08:56.910 --> 01:08:59.730
- This visit is amazing.
01:08:59.730 --> 01:09:03.990
You know, to reconnect with you is like,
01:09:03.990 --> 01:09:08.920
not closure, but a full circle
of what started in 2018.
01:09:12.720 --> 01:09:17.250
It is amazing where I'm at now
01:09:17.250 --> 01:09:19.773
as to where I was two years ago.
01:09:21.960 --> 01:09:24.810
I'm training myself to be a parent again.
01:09:24.810 --> 01:09:27.930
I am kinda catching up with the parenthood
01:09:27.930 --> 01:09:29.640
that I was not able to give my children
01:09:29.640 --> 01:09:32.613
when I was wearing the uniform, so,
01:09:34.133 --> 01:09:36.393
I've, to this day, not grieved.
01:09:37.230 --> 01:09:39.720
Yeah, lost both my parents,
01:09:39.720 --> 01:09:40.803
my younger sister,
01:09:41.820 --> 01:09:44.280
and I know they're gone,
and I know I miss them,
01:09:44.280 --> 01:09:46.893
but I'm worried the day
that emotion comes out,
01:09:47.730 --> 01:09:50.580
'cause I'm sure it's gonna be hard.
01:09:50.580 --> 01:09:52.800
- I think the thing is is
like the day it will come out
01:09:52.800 --> 01:09:56.070
won't be as shocking to you
because it's coming out now.
01:09:56.070 --> 01:09:57.420
It's coming out in your music.
01:09:57.420 --> 01:10:00.750
You're releasing it bit by
bit in a very controlled way
01:10:00.750 --> 01:10:03.510
that you are in the driver's seat of.
01:10:03.510 --> 01:10:05.610
And it's the same thing
when you work with Halia.
01:10:05.610 --> 01:10:09.240
And this will hopefully
prevent someday a huge,
01:10:09.240 --> 01:10:11.010
like when that pillar
of strength crumbles,
01:10:11.010 --> 01:10:12.870
like you're fearful of that.
01:10:12.870 --> 01:10:14.760
- When it does come, it will be difficult,
01:10:14.760 --> 01:10:19.423
but the hope is it won't be as
hard as I think it would be.
01:10:21.300 --> 01:10:24.690
- Just as much as we
live, we laugh, we grieve.
01:10:24.690 --> 01:10:27.090
I mean, it's a daily thing.
01:10:27.090 --> 01:10:29.700
We're not static beings, you know?
01:10:29.700 --> 01:10:32.000
We're just very, we're
very dynamic by nature.
01:10:34.810 --> 01:10:39.810
♪ The weight of my worries ♪
01:10:40.269 --> 01:10:45.269
♪ It's too much to take on ♪
01:10:45.887 --> 01:10:49.029
♪ I think I remember ♪
01:10:49.029 --> 01:10:51.829
♪ The dream that I had ♪
01:10:51.829 --> 01:10:54.879
♪ The love's gonna save us ♪
01:10:54.879 --> 01:10:58.260
♪ From a world that's gone mad ♪
01:10:58.260 --> 01:11:03.260
♪ I guess I just feel like ♪
01:11:03.839 --> 01:11:07.931
♪ What happened to that ♪
01:11:07.931 --> 01:11:12.931
(birds chirping)
(vehicles whirring)
01:11:14.583 --> 01:11:17.666
(people chattering)
01:11:18.570 --> 01:11:21.180
- So much has changed with this epidemic
01:11:21.180 --> 01:11:23.800
and a lot of people
01:11:25.573 --> 01:11:27.330
are here and gone.
01:11:27.330 --> 01:11:31.173
So many people who once was close to me,
01:11:32.490 --> 01:11:35.220
it just felt empty for a while.
01:11:35.220 --> 01:11:38.910
Just so isolated, so empty, so alone.
01:11:38.910 --> 01:11:42.153
And for me, I love people contact.
01:11:43.770 --> 01:11:44.973
Is that Shirley?
01:11:45.850 --> 01:11:46.758
- Yeah, girl.
01:11:46.758 --> 01:11:49.740
(Deborah laughing)
01:11:49.740 --> 01:11:52.950
- That's the same lady we
talked to when we first came.
01:11:53.790 --> 01:11:55.299
Yes.
- I know from the
01:11:55.299 --> 01:11:57.630
beginning of this, God
could turn this around,
01:11:57.630 --> 01:11:58.650
but this is happening for a reason.
01:11:58.650 --> 01:11:59.970
- That's right.
- There ain't no
01:11:59.970 --> 01:12:01.620
coincidences in life.
01:12:01.620 --> 01:12:04.230
- That's right.
- Everything that happened
01:12:04.230 --> 01:12:05.493
is for a reason.
01:12:06.479 --> 01:12:07.535
- Yes.
01:12:07.535 --> 01:12:09.420
(pensive music)
01:12:09.420 --> 01:12:12.060
With 9/11, for like three years,
01:12:12.060 --> 01:12:14.280
we smelled the smell of death
01:12:14.280 --> 01:12:16.080
and each time they tear something down,
01:12:16.080 --> 01:12:18.870
that smell comes back again.
01:12:18.870 --> 01:12:23.870
Whereas with COVID, it's really no smell.
01:12:24.090 --> 01:12:25.230
It's a disaster,
01:12:25.230 --> 01:12:29.283
but it's a different type
of disaster, it's odorless.
01:12:31.824 --> 01:12:33.330
(pensive music)
01:12:33.330 --> 01:12:35.491
Going up to the music therapy,
01:12:35.491 --> 01:12:36.885
you know, that was my special day
01:12:36.885 --> 01:12:39.270
to have lunch out in the restaurant
01:12:39.270 --> 01:12:41.340
and a group of us would get together.
01:12:41.340 --> 01:12:42.930
It was more therapeutic.
01:12:42.930 --> 01:12:46.979
You had all the different
music to play and learn.
01:12:46.979 --> 01:12:48.750
(pensive music)
01:12:48.750 --> 01:12:50.880
- And wait, listen. listen.
- That's you.
01:12:50.880 --> 01:12:52.740
- No, but listen.
- That's you.
01:12:52.740 --> 01:12:56.010
- A lot of the Vietnam
vets didn't get the support
01:12:56.010 --> 01:12:59.343
that they need, especially
the vets of color.
01:13:00.240 --> 01:13:02.820
And so when we touched on a subject,
01:13:02.820 --> 01:13:05.250
he needed to talk about it.
01:13:05.250 --> 01:13:08.400
I'd like the opportunity for us to play,
01:13:08.400 --> 01:13:11.523
for us to heal and leave
on a positive note.
01:13:12.900 --> 01:13:17.340
I felt his pain and I know what it's like.
01:13:17.340 --> 01:13:20.760
There was no words at that
time that I could share.
01:13:20.760 --> 01:13:23.853
But music is soothing when
you going through something.
01:13:27.120 --> 01:13:29.430
You know, this pandemic,
01:13:29.430 --> 01:13:32.310
this disease that has came about,
01:13:32.310 --> 01:13:35.430
put a different meaning on isolation,
01:13:35.430 --> 01:13:38.760
especially when you're by
yourself, you live alone.
01:13:38.760 --> 01:13:41.817
And I had to listen to the word of God,
01:13:41.817 --> 01:13:43.500
and you're not alone.
01:13:43.500 --> 01:13:48.030
You're okay. You know, you're here.
01:13:48.030 --> 01:13:49.433
You're just not alone.
01:13:53.615 --> 01:13:56.198
(somber music)
01:14:05.709 --> 01:14:09.126
(somber music continues)
01:14:16.340 --> 01:14:19.757
(somber music continues)
01:14:30.459 --> 01:14:33.876
(somber music continues)
01:14:40.955 --> 01:14:44.372
(somber music continues)
01:14:53.510 --> 01:14:56.927
(somber music continues)
01:15:05.299 --> 01:15:08.716
(somber music continues)
01:15:20.177 --> 01:15:23.594
(somber music continues)
01:15:36.966 --> 01:15:39.549
(somber music)
01:15:50.560 --> 01:15:53.977
(somber music continues)
01:16:05.123 --> 01:16:08.540
(somber music continues)
01:16:20.550 --> 01:16:23.967
(somber music continues)
01:16:34.872 --> 01:16:38.289
(somber music continues)
01:16:50.363 --> 01:16:53.780
(somber music continues)
01:17:04.608 --> 01:17:08.025
(somber music continues)
01:17:20.355 --> 01:17:23.772
(somber music continues)
01:17:34.974 --> 01:17:38.391
(somber music continues)