Jason Everman, the man who got booted from both Nirvana and Soundgarden, two of the most iconic bands in music history, and then became a US Army Ranger and Green Beret.
Born on a remote Alaskan island and mostly raised in small-town Washington, Everman discovered the guitar in an unusual way. After he and a buddy got in trouble for blowing up a junior high toilet with a firecracker, therapy sessions led him to pick up the instrument. It clicked. By the late ’80s, he was living the rock and roll fantasy most people only dream about.
He joined Nirvana on guitar, personally funding the recording of their debut album Bleach, and later switched to bass for Soundgarden.
Yet somehow, he became the guy both bands ultimately let go, the very groups that would go on to shape an entire genre. As he later admitted, it crushed him.
Plenty of people would have milked that “I was in Nirvana and Soundgarden” story for the rest of their lives. Everman chose a completely different path. He traveled the Himalayas, spent time in a Buddhist monastery searching for answers, and when that didn’t provide them, he did something almost no one saw coming: in 1994, he enlisted in the US Army.
He earned a spot in the elite 2nd Ranger Battalion, left, then returned to tackle the notoriously brutal Special Forces Qualification Course. He ultimately became a Green Beret with 3rd Special Forces Group and deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan. The former long haired rocker had transformed into a quiet, highly capable soldier.
Even that wasn’t the end of his reinventions.
After leaving the military, he earned a philosophy degree from Columbia University (with a recommendation letter from General Stanley McChrystal) and later returned to music as part of the all-veteran band Silence & Light.
Artist, soldier, philosopher, the three identities he always said he wanted to cultivate within himself. Few lives are as unlikely or as genuinely inspiring as Jason Everman’s. It’s powerful proof that with enough courage, a person can reinvent themselves as many times as it takes.
“You see, down South, we don’t deal with all that tomfoolery that y’all are dealing with over there in New York City, California, Maine, Minnesota, or any of those woke states. We don’t deal with that.
You see, around these parts, yeah, around these parts, we believe in God, guns, and butter, and in that order.
God, and His name is Jesus Christ. Let’s not be confused.
Pretty much all of us concealed carry. There will be no “entering into every household in America.” That part. Catch it.
And we love to eat, so we put butter on everything. And I mean everything. That part.
And I did not mention it, but let me be very, very clear: God, guns, butter, but also, we are very, very commonsense and patriotic.
See, unlike Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, we know what a woman is. That part.
And there will be American flags flying in everybody’s yard, okay? So, if you have a problem with that, you may not want to move down South.
Yes, the homes are cheaper, but they look just as good as those high-priced homes y’all are paying for up North and on the East and West Coasts. That part.
We’re comfortable classifying all the white boys in the Cajun Navy as our friends. That part.
You see, when the tornadoes and hurricanes happen, they come on through, and they don’t care what color the hand is that they’re helping. That part.
Our men are not emasculated. At least around these parts, they ain’t.
And chivalry sure enough ain’t dead.
And last but not least, we believe in keeping our babies around here, okay?
So, I lied to your oddball over there: You will not be entering into every household in America. And all that yelling and screaming in pro-lifers’ faces around these parts doesn’t work.
You feel me? Because we hit back. That part.
God bless. Welcome to the South.”
"I find myself sitting in the parking lot at Kroger trying to compose myself. You see, while inside getting groceries, I came upon a little girl prancing down the aisle making a crazy noise.
I turned around to see this young lady wearing massive boots compared to her tiny body.
At first I just giggled and continued shopping. I ended up in the check out lane behind her and her mother.
As good southerners do, we struck up conversation. I told the little girl that I liked her boots. She had a massive grin on her face and began to speak.
She let me know that those boots belonged to her Daddy.
Today would have been his birthday, but he was killed last year in 'Afghan Stan.' To feel better about today, she was allowed to wear his boots.
As her mom started to cry, so did I, as did the cashier.
Apparently, the gentleman behind me heard the story and gave the little girl a cupcake out of the dozen he was buying.
He told the little girl to always eat a cupcake for her dad's birthday.
He told her that her dad was a hero and that she should be proud to be his daughter.
Please remember why we are able to celebrate America. Let's stop to think about those who protect the freedom that we often take for granted!"
🎩 to Katie Shuler 🫶🏼✨💖
My son got cut from the baseball team because we couldn't afford the uniform and fees. I was sitting in the car outside the field trying to explain it to him when Coach Thompson knocked on the window. "Heard what happened. Kid's got heart. I got an extra uniform from last season that should fit. And the league fees? Already covered it with the booster club." He ruffled my boy's hair and added, "Practice starts Tuesday. Don't be late." The coach's cleats were caked in red dirt. That man didn't just give my son a uniform — he gave him back his confidence. A youth sports coach in dusty cleats saw a kid who needed a chance and handed him one. Faith in humanity restored.
Anonymous
I was thirty-eight when I pulled that little girl from a burning car on my way home from work. Her parents didn’t make it, and she clung to me like she had no one else. Everyone told me to step back, but she reached for me every time I returned. With no relatives found, I signed the papers and took her home. She became Avery—strong, disciplined, determined. Twenty-five years later, wearing her new badge, she whispered, “Dad… now let me protect you.”
"It's funny people talking about robbing grocery stores because they're not getting their SNAP benefits... But If you're physically able to ROB A STORE, that means you're physically able to go GET A JOB!" 🔥🔥