{"id":11403,"date":"2015-11-09T08:30:02","date_gmt":"2015-11-09T08:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?post_type=blog&p=11403"},"modified":"2015-11-09T19:28:49","modified_gmt":"2015-11-09T19:28:49","slug":"ron-stray-dog-veterans-and-stepsons","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blog\/ron-stray-dog-veterans-and-stepsons\/","title":{"rendered":"“Stray Dog” Updates: Ron Advises Veterans and His Stepsons Check In"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stray Dog<\/a> filmmaker Debra Granik, on our behalf, checked back in with the subjects of her film, Ron “Stray Dog” Hall, and his Mexican-born stepsons, Angel\u00a0and Jes\u00fas, to see how they were faring these days.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Ron wanted to focus specifically on veterans. To follow up on\u00a0a question I asked Granik<\/a>\u00a0about how veterans respond to\u00a0the film, here are some of Ron’s thoughts about how vets who see the film can find help and solace.<\/em><\/p>\n

On Loyalty Among Veterans<\/b><\/p>\n

“You can find veterans in all walks of life. A few are in high business positions, but that type of success is not the norm for us. You will find us among law enforcement personnel, and also in prison. You\u2019ll find us working two or three jobs, or as a homeless drunk living on the street. Even with these differences in lifestyles, you will still find us as brothers and sisters.<\/span><\/p>\n

“For a very long time, other vets were all we had. We must never forget that, and always look out for each other. We are and must always be our brother\u2019s keeper. It\u2019s broken people like us that help broken people like us. Many of our brothers are still left out, simply because they live in small towns where there are no veteran’s organizations to welcome them into the extended family that we have created. Many feel alone all their life because there is no one close by who understands their suffering.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ron

Ron and his wife Alicia pay their respects at the grave of a fellow veteran<\/p><\/div>\n

“I encourage all veterans to locate other veterans and spend time together. If you need help, get it. If you don’t, then help someone that does. If there are only two of you, then create a group of two.”<\/span><\/p>\n

On Younger Veterans<\/strong><\/p>\n

“The younger generation of veterans needs us older types. In many cases, we can understand them better than their own families do. It must be passed on to them that never again will one generation of veterans turn its back on another. We remember what it was like when we came home. Granted, the younger vets don\u2019t meet the hostility that we did coming out of Vietnam, but they still suffer, which we can relate to better than any others can. People will say ‘it’s not a real war,’ or ‘it’s not a big war.’ I ask everyone to understand this much \u2014 if an enemy is killing your brothers and shooting at you, it does not make any difference what is going on half\u00a0a click away. At your location, you are at war. <\/span><\/p>\n

“I think we are better off when we learn to stop blaming people for not understanding us. How the hell could they? Too often we feel rejected by those we need, because they cannot understand us. We become angry and push them away. If you feel rejected by them, it’s likely that they feel rejected by you. This is not a point of right and wrong, it is just the way of things. Go to a Vet Counseling Center, and talk with others like you. Include your spouse in this. Vet families need to know that there are therapies and interventions that can put us on a path to having a better life.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ron

Ron shares a moment on the road with a fellow veteran-biker<\/p><\/div>\n

On Veterans and Motorcycling<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Veterans are very well represented in the motorcycle community, for two major reasons:\u00a0we get some of the brotherhood that we miss from serving in the military, and second \u2014 and this is just my take on it \u2014 we get addicted to the adrenaline rush of combat. Veterans of all wars have founded outlaw motorcycle clubs or joined one. I\u2019m not saying that all veterans go outlaw, but I am saying that was a way they found friends who did not judge them, and got some of their brotherhood back. There are several biker organizations created by Vietnam veterans, [including]\u00a0Patriot Guard Riders, an organization created by veterans to stand against protesters at veteran’s funerals. We have always honored and respected our dead. I would like to see more respect for our living veterans as well.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Veterans in Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n

“I encourage veterans to get more political. It’s difficult to get veterans to agree about anything political, but we have common interests that we do agree on. We stand together on how we should be respected by the V.A., which is one of our constitutional rights. When the V. A. doesn\u2019t provide you with adequate service, write letters to your Representatives, telephone them with your concerns, demand an investigation into the actions of the V.A. <\/span><\/p>\n

“We all took an oath to our God on the peril of our soul (and on the pearl of our soul) \u2014 to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath has no expiration date. In our current political situation, we get all sorts of contradictory information, and it\u2019s hard to sort out the truth. We don’t always know who or what to believe. No single veteran is going to change this, but together we can be a force to reckon with.”<\/span><\/p>\n

“I’m not endorsing any particular political party or telling anyone how to vote. I am suggesting that we demand the truth from our politicians. I doubt that we will ever get the whole truth, but we sure could get closer to it.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ron

Ron “Stray Dog” Hall teaches his Mexican stepsons a salty piece of American slang<\/p><\/div>\n

We also asked Ron’s stepsons, whom we see in the film struggling to adapt to a very different\u00a0way of life after they move from urban Mexico to rural Missouri, how life has been since the filming stopped:<\/em><\/p>\n

Jes\u00fas:
\n<\/strong>
\n“We just started college this semester (fall 2015) at Missouri State University. My dog, Gizmo, is also doing well. Of course, when we came here to Branson, Missouri, we expected a city, but it is a small town. Overall there are good people here, a lot of veterans. But the things that we still miss from living in a big city such as Mexico City are places to have fun like parks, museums, and places to go with our friends. Overall, authentic Mexican food here is good, but there are some differences that make us miss the food from home.<\/p>\n

“At the beginning Ronnie and our mom helped us a lot to survive here in America, and after some time, the English course we took was really helping, so were friends at the job, and having hope that one day we will be someone here in America. I am working as a server in a Mexican restaurant. The work is kind of easy because, as I speak Spanish, it is easy for me to know the dishes and also is interesting talking with customers.<\/p>\n

“[Going to college] makes me happy even though I do not speak perfectly like an American, but I really like going to MSU. We joined an international club, so we have a lot of friends from all over the world like Chinese, friends from the Arab world, Colombians, and Brazilians. Of course, we have some American friends from our classes.”<\/p>\n