Tuesday, September 20, 2011

An American Hero

I love the show Dancing with the Stars. But this season I love it even more. They have such a varied cast of contestants. Stars we love, Stars we hate and Stars we love to hate!

I enjoyed watching Nancy Grace and Ricki Lake solely because they are larger women and they moved with such elegance and grace and were both so light on their feet.

But the Star that stole the show and stole my heart was J.R. Martinez, an American Hero. You might not have heard much about him in the weeks leading up to the premiere of the show because there were other much more visible and controversial stars such as Chaz Bono and Rob Kardashian. I definitely had never heard of J.R. Martinez and am so happy that DWTS brought him into my life.

J.R. Martinez, who is now 28 years old, joined the military when he was only 19. In 2003 while he was deployed in Iraq he drove his military truck over a live land mine. He was badly injured and suffered burns over 40% of his body. He's had about 33 surgeries and various skin grafts. He's missing one ear and most of the hair on his head.

One would think that after all he went through he would be out of the public eye but instead he landed a role on the soap opera All My Children as an ex combat veteran turned police chief. I've never watched All My Children but now wish I had just to have seen J.R.

Here's a video of the first dance performance for J.R. and his partner Karina Smirnoff. What an amazing young man, an amazing dancer and an American Hero. Good Luck J.R., I hope you win! Regardless you are a winner in my eyes!


15 comments:

  1. Wow, that was an amazing dance. Thanks for posting it here, otherwise I would have missed it. His story is very inspiring and I to am glad he is on DWTS. He is a good dancer.

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  2. He is a rather an amazing guy. Very positive and upbeat, and a good dancer too. I wish much luck in the competition. Very nice post!

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  3. I have great admiration for people like Martinez who despite the injuries suffered in war , don't give up their dreams.
    Beautiful people, beautiful post!

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  4. Angie - You're welcome. I'm glad you watched the video and hope that you vote for him to remain on the show.

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  5. Sextant - Thank you for dropping by. He is amazing. It's nice to meet someone upbeat and positive for a change.

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  6. DUTA - Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the post. I am so proud of him even though I don't know him personally. To go through so much and still continue to live your dream and inspire others is commendable!

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  7. Alicia, I caught my first episode of AMC in years this past week and saw this guy. Wondered who he was- and here you are, giving me info on him! What an inspiration... Thanks for sharing this- I'll check out Dancing, too.
    hugs, Sue

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  8. Sue - I live to serve...lol. I'm glad that I was able to give you some info on this amazing young person!

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  9. What a note on which to start the day - inspiration comes from the oddest places, and this morning I'm going ahead with the thought of this brave young man.

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  10. I love that! I never watch TV, so I hadn't heard of this. Thank you so much for sharing.

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  11. Pondside - As I said in my email to you, I agree, definitely we can take inspiration from this wonderful young man!

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  12. jennifer black - You are so welcome. I was glad I was able to find the video!

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  13. Well did you notice the judges giving everyone the same score last night. JR dance along with Chyna's (however the hell she spells it) were the best of the evening, but judges found numerous faults. That show is so hoakey, it is beyond belief, not to mention the back stage soap operas that are now in full swing. Just dance for crying out loud and leave the high theatrics for daytime TV.

    Anyhow, JR truly has an amazing talent, and is just one super personality.

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  14. Sextant - I'm glad I wasn't the only one that noticed that last night! I couldn't believe the praise they gave Rob Kardashian! He wasn't any better than he was last week and I like Rob, but he was stiff and has no rhythm!

    And again I totally agree with you that there is way too much drama. I think they try to make it very dramatic and the stories heart-wrenching, but c'mon...these are Stars, their lives aren't that bad. So Rob has man boobs and Nancy Grace wants to be a little child and keep saying No, No, No!

    It would be best if they just danced. JR was wonderful again and he's so honest and sincere and you just feel like there is good in the world just by seeing him smile!

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  15. DWTS keeps me busy Monday nights. I hope J.R. makes it to the finals or even to the semi-finals.

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Please leave a comment.I would love to know your thoughts!