> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://goodoil.news/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Let Me Retell a Brief Story about Resilience - URL: https://goodoil.news/let-me-retell-a-brief-story-about-resilience/ - Published: 2021-10-15T01:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2021-10-14T02:45:03.000Z - Author: General - Tags: General, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2024-07-17 01:31 **James O’Keefe** [projectveritas.com](https://www.projectveritas.com/?ref=goodoil.news) *James O’Keefe established Project Veritas in 2011 as a non-profit journalism enterprise to continue his undercover reporting work. Today, Project Veritas investigates and exposes corruption, dishonesty, self-dealing, waste, fraud, and other misconduct in both public and private institutions to achieve a more ethical and transparent society.* --- These days, we all need to learn resilience. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/proxy/dhylp0dczbxvgbfbhz5mrurh61-nkgbqtvagnbitjhl7e5lobzaj2hyjgsap3x_ndn5ftx7seuoqixfvnicml4pte871mqpvszzebmlfdrbyk4rt8tjmhpkqjeiod7rw8ngetom3-s0-d-e1-ft.jpg) This is my dad and I in the mid-1980s. Times were tough for our family: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/proxy/3qa5pmo0efvdolvidbn2dlbqxvork53uy3tlqgssc7rx0jopfwkf0eevwdinggu5r8xl1wz_91au_diwqcmesnbc8ebotrm_l5ptx5kgjuf8qv_cjmlakyas1rljsesrj-9emvbbr6ju-s0-d-e1-ft.jpg) To make ends meet, my mom would wake up at 4 am and head into the Bronx to work at a nursing home every day. Sometimes she took me with her… ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/proxy/f0orkptislzktpscrter8hs23_2cwm6gcfthfeazteqsf5s2_7q9dbnc8k5qw9rqrqnebe95ga9bvgrwxvnkxza7g7e2vfe9nvgytsdv_w0nzhj4sqa8j__tbfqkhmjynnefpkav-xpc-s0-d-e1-ft.jpg) Meanwhile, we lived in a ratty old house in NJ and my dad decided to fix it up by himself thinking he might rent half it out: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/proxy/qozeh0etswrbnv4pqjnmcmgwppuysyi7qof0sd5rnazqzbycdh1stfzk2ebbsyjhdsram6on9dohyoo0vsosq430gywkaqnjvdytxg0bzqdttywhw8opvkskbotioradrgp4dm0om-vi-s0-d-e1-ft.jpg) The house was in such bad shape it was almost condemned. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/proxy/gryax_qex5tsvrwnnup_gmknssvhrmvolfuwx4ovihgzjntf07kpu89utjqsokbvdyh4kx0lzwqvmyn-zolz9zghwxovyiaw6n0vwa-_38jmu9xxebnsj7mmj5k2gbfkhlvldayuwnvy-s0-d-e1-ft.jpg) My dad solicited the help of my grandfather, James O’Keefe Senior, to perform a miracle. My grandfather was dyslexic but could build things out of nothing with scrap materials salvaged from the side of the road. So that’s what he did: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/proxy/9pkhaopmkxdqhlmxuhpkt-zc29vcje99eep4abesieigxo5beymiezhnzuwjfugjktbujci4ed23kpmvwx2czvfql7hrhwj0v3poaxonkeehalvstborle9rz82h7pxf0izz95ahpay7-s0-d-e1-ft.jpg) The three of us began working when I was 5\. In the beginning, I would just hand them tools: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/proxy/n_2kik3k03ucwuko8aqtkbq3xfnjuufbloviw3uubf7egnk-2ga_qtbtkvjuxdyq1qjonldddvr8_qx2otmhfhi92xw6gjx9efwkyoydnrwhl44jhbu5pa7znunlwuh2jzawigp9mr2--s0-d-e1-ft.jpg) My father was, to this day, the hardest working man I’ve ever met. People in town said things couldn’t be done — and he either found a way or he engineered a way. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/proxy/uurxey627nv-d3qulfjz9pmnkull71bcda8u68bfacif6n-f22kqc9wmrytq2fnqhxzffx_kwvx0cgjhk1p3n6qwqu8g55s30qtngfcniqjl_wnzerso11pok1msxgxpvnvz5haaewor-s0-d-e1-ft.jpg) He did everything himself and was intensely focused and driven to get the job done — so much so we didn’t make small talk while working. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/proxy/zpq-6vaiggma0pv0v57buxwcwhbbdrseyqwnpfxsjvvp_-rlnvj4b1m1ztwoxibk8bazeajsu1fgk9nzeq3yqmvt8psm9syw5h98gjob8syvplfzk0fewurj2fnnnp-i3-qrhew7mk4b-s0-d-e1-ft.jpg) As I got slightly older each year, I was forced to do more than hand them tools. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/proxy/wh-0-jzzut7gydmhywbdey5dh12g9w1ddcwjzmum5bfhtt0iqzf89qs0zcvxbsqebebayqv2dwvxbmpvanzzv2-uvvgeh55ku4amsolx1jsot-r7xoibgkszybudmjyvvwbnu4z5c9f2jg-s0-d-e1-ft.jpg) My grandfather would say to me, “You see, Irish,” as I stuck my arm down a disgusting pipe or shovelled dirt. “You must do what it takes to survive.” I didn’t understand. He would monitor each swipe of a paintbrush and supervise me scraping 100-year-old wallpaper off a wall… ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/proxy/vopthk-dqf7i_z_wwwjx_sgu6ddhk6gs4-pfuryt8sd3hkgrzfa16xsy5tez3rkjietdskb9_8eyrc84ppos2gee3jiuqrixm7tspvrgz4kf8--d7awq-t6zovov09p6rqsolmoxa4nlua-s0-d-e1-ft.jpg) It was dirty work every weekend and some nights after school. I spent some of the time dancing around and daydreaming. When the house was finished, it was such an impressive achievement the State of New Jersey gave my parents an award: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/proxy/jnm_d8cov1dp00jsookpq2g0m4b47vj7soy_fpu_styybs4d5uljjqhbotdozcvsptialbeiagmphizcddsju7weo4vmqydcy_46a3vmutohnpah8uf2o--cncnw1pv-nxg4rbtk0zaaug-s0-d-e1-ft.jpg) Later on, a house fire came and destroyed most of what we spent so long building and restoring: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/proxy/wqtpxarproz1rthkmhfv84kqgfebozbokwxeeawltxskv4ldahsxsz4xwbga19skktgv1eeohbrarva7x3tk4fucz4frti1vcvx2gwdyowcs6irfo9kibxxf3vghc03amsznrytjbzdhmg-s0-d-e1-ft.jpg) People in town, again, said the house couldn’t be saved. My grandfather told my father, “It’ll be ok, we’ll bring it back.” He moved in with us and commenced work: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/proxy/5so4na0cjsm1uvhcunznbgyl8lgin819rt8sqtkz6xvixaodalk0ezpwx7iy-0lu4seaenm1tujde42yef8r2gig-cdgqod13kbq8ppxgdf7qyl-m5gz52hsjrym_cl2xs4bczvebs_yaa-s0-d-e1-ft.jpg) For the next two years, my sister, my mother, and my father went back to work doing much of the same work all over again. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/proxy/urbpqcgc8f1cm1xofhhejyqzqrgniexjqd-3uoutfppsfsc612yd58hozl57ckkn66fljgpam0ttql7qplfe9_up5px97gqluxrzujkrkvt-842xdxrewnr6ynevfilqnrfopi3sglpg9w-s0-d-e1-ft.jpg) My grandfather effectively never retired. He lived at home in the attic and stayed by my dad’s side working on ladders and putting up Sheetrock until his stroke at 80. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/proxy/1teoo8ne8jc8ugwlni6ged4m2wbs7kdc44dzww_cpzar0ie1fykjadhdpjileosg1b05crhfwmaaalwx1lz5xyt0rzism_a_2hwfg-9ux4dzjk2sbmammdmmhkm-h9jx1ofeltsaxg00aa-s0-d-e1-ft.jpg) At 25, I was arrested by the FBI, and stood falsely accused. A political prisoner for the investigation into ACORN. Released from jail, I spent three years on federal probation. Confined in NJ under federal supervision, with no organization, and no money, I needed a place to land. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/proxy/5tauqug0wo4-r5w1otzb3vfzbfrleuy-czdrwwl_6kb66ixr0zwggvqu3segn7vfiefcganpeab928c7b30qtbltheylkjyvrmyuekl237bhejw1pq1fvvyn8x3phiv5cc4jqtja3ehnhw-s0-d-e1-ft.jpg) The carriage house garage that was the thing that began my life, with my arm down sewage pipes and scraping off paint chips… ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/proxy/rpdga6ta_1x7pz4c6emqzutui0ibx-2s02t1ny5vrzmw9nyzutghvxpwejbpq3m6uuunro9gebfvajht3kmghpz_83rz93mmnhvezs9arn6cf3cfhk8rkce5hv3q1wy8ifiv6fmpezv5ua-s0-d-e1-ft.jpg) It became the first Project Veritas Office. Unable to travel, I shipped the cameras to others… ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/proxy/tph7ceijzin2jzgzgkxt-046ygnxr74l_erbcejegvp0buwbgxhkjn7xgjk2yvfqitdc8-l6liw97moumjxjnzjxgliryo2ejotsrgyn_w2762vpz8drujzyjryg26zyyliqceaizr-z8w-s0-d-e1-ft.jpg) Project Veritas was born and expanded into a new building in 2015. My sister was the architect: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/proxy/xljlsv0ajys6bmuqncoezb2zatpa469ozdvf0ao62hxntfnlbk14lrdxf5zgfvyoaynrhsqefp76n3xia-eoc3v6lddkjbljwmat9qrfk91wvqwtln-xv7mheub_pz4jpzrz7g1kuwhc_qi-s0-d-e1-ft.jpg) And while the new office was destroyed in a flood in 2021… ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/proxy/rjremyufgzt8mxiimux-_ll3svlumgderhu9ljg4ezxzbavz9a40u4ng5vc3b_q_8shfo3dnvahgx2gthp7i1oatyizxvbpcslo4qa3zqdq3ulk4es5prnwrypcgikwnue3bifujth8eeq-s0-d-e1-ft.jpg) …life has taught me this is just the beginning… ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/proxy/xrynvzyvw3b3kbkyk4ojjqc6p-meejxejdbudvdjlgnrwtnfdzgnephhgo_w254aoqvtakjygkzlhycbg2u27wznk_3ataxnrvk_p8nkuoqlzazwpeyojpyx0d8b0xiq2ab9zfsna-ffhg-s0-d-e1-ft.jpg) RESILIENCE: pass it on… God bless, James O’Keefe III **Please share this article so that others can discover *The BFD***.