“Leadership is service, not position.” ― Tim Fargo
Editor-In-Chief, Chester “Trip” Buckenmaier III, MD, COL (ret.), MC, USA
It has been a particularly challenging few weeks for Team Buckenmaier. We recently pulled our floating home (a Lagoon 42 catamaran) for much-needed routine maintenance and bottom work at a local yacht yard. Our 3,000-plus miles in the Atlantic had taken their toll on the boat and its systems. Removing the boat from the water for annual maintenance and inspection is a crucial safety routine if you are planning for offshore cruising. Nothing in boating is inexpensive, and despite the necessity of the work, it was hard to see the K-bucks fly from our bank account.
Then again, complaining about the cost of servicing your yacht is definitely a “first-world problem.” My wife, Pam, and I were greatly relieved (along with our checking account) when the work was completed, and we had our boat, Shavasana, safely back at the marina, shiny, bottom clean, and ready for our next sailing season. We were planning on wintering in the Bahamas. To celebrate, we went out for dinner. Upon returning to the boat that evening, we had to rush on board to avoid a furious thunderstorm blowing across the marina. We had bought some groceries, and I had just beaten the rain on board after returning the dock cart. A few seconds after I entered the boat’s salon, the world went white with light, and I observed bolts of lightning leaping among the docked boats, followed by a tremendous ‘BOOM!’
Everything went dark, alarms I had never experienced sounded, and our electric panel smoked. Shavasana was the recipient of a direct lightning strike. I doubt I would be generating this editorial if I had been just a few seconds slower and still on the dock when the bolt hit. You know what they say about “the luck of fools and drunks.” Well, I was not drunk.
I have never experienced something so epic, powerful and awe-inspiring but seemingly evil simultaneously. I had the presence of mind to turn everything off at the battery panel, and fortunately, our lithium battery-powered boat did not catch fire. Shavasana is electronically dead, though (essentially everything with a printed circuit board is gone, which is essentially everything), and we are without a home for the first time. I specifically did not say we are homeless because the outpouring of support from friends and family has been truly heartwarming. Although, our sailing season is definitely kaput.
Shavasana is back on the hard at the yacht yard for repair, and fortunately, we have good insurance. Regardless, it still is a financial blow and hurts like losing a family member. It has been difficult not to feel sorry for myself, but I managed to succumb to melancholy during a recent exercise walk in a local park. My outlook on things was particularly dark when I received a call from my daughter (we are staying with them; thanks, Hannah, and new husband, Cam) asking if I had heard that President Joe Biden was not going to seek a second term for the good of the country.
I was gobsmacked by the President’s genuinely selfless act of leadership. Furthermore, I was ashamed of my whining about my circumstances. I had violated the first rule of our family, “Thou shalt not whine!” Suddenly, the burden of my broken yacht seemed beyond petty (so trivial, it is even hard to write).
I have feared for my posterity and the America they will inherit for some time. I felt positively buoyant at the Commander in Chief’s demonstration of selfless service. With this sublime act of authentic leadership, President Biden restored my faith in the American experiment in democracy. Regardless of the 2024 election outcome, President Joe Biden will go down in history as a leader who put country before self. I hope future leaders will be smart enough to take a page from the Biden playbook – it’s about the country, stupid.
I imagine most federal medicine providers experienced the same pride as I did when they learned of Biden’s selfless act, regardless of one’s political bent. Selfless service is no stranger to federal medicine workers. Toiling in our national healthcare system may not provide the largest paychecks or most pleasant working conditions, but it is peerless regarding the pride derived from selfless service. Federal medicine providers swell with pride at President Biden’s deed because we recognize ourselves in his actions.
Recently, Pam and I were sitting with the yacht yard workers, who were commiserating with our dismay at the critical condition of our floating home. They were aware of my military service and deployments and embarrassingly called me a hero. I graciously accepted the praise and explained that I had the honor, through federal medicine, of taking care of heroes—folks who are the model of selfless service to the country. I have also come to understand that through my military experience, I can recognize heroes in action.
The opinions expressed here belong solely to the author and are not necessarily those of U.S. Medicine, the United States government, or any of its agencies.