I’ve been blessed to have shared so many incredible moments with friends and family throughout my life, but last Saturday will always stand out as one of those unforgettable nights that I wish was recorded from start to finish so I could replay it over and over again. Here’s what happened:
Martin Sierra, a great friend and my personal hero, invited me to his house for drinks. (For those of you who don’t know, Martin is a fellow NYC LES native who joined the Army with his son in 2001. Since 9/11 he’s had multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and was awarded the Bonze Star as well as numerous other medals.) So I’m expecting a few beers and a couple of rounds of pool in his man cave, but when I walk into his house it’s packed with friends, family and Special Ops soldiers he’s served with and they’re all standing, clapping and cheering. When I realized that the applause was for me and they were all there to celebrate the success of my novel Bishop’s War, I literally stood there frozen. The moment was overwhelming and as I realized what Martin and his beautiful and amazing wife Pepsi had done for me, I had one immediate goal: Don’t Cry! Not only did they invite everyone there, they made poster-sized blow ups of the book cover (and my author pic!), they set up a table with microphones where Martin interviewed me and had me do my first book signing! Pepsi even hired a pianist and a bartender, and cooked up a spectacular feast.
No one has ever done anything like this for me before and my description doesn’t come close to capturing how special it was. It’s also very humbling to receive praise from these true heroes who selflessly serve our country and will soon be leaving home for another year.
Thank you Martin and Pepsi Sierra for giving me a night that I will never forget.
God bless you and may he protect you all while you’re gone and bring you home safe and sound.