By Ryan Mills
The Naples Daily News
NAPLES, Fla. — A little rain never hurt anybody.
And on Tuesday evening, a lot of rain wasn’t enough to pull the plug on the final Naples Patriotic Moment of 2008.
Tuesday’s patriotic moment honored Collier County’s emergency services and Cpl. Bill Pschigoda, a Collier County sheriff’s deputy who is attempting to work his way back to the force after a December 2006 accident left him clinging to life in a pool of blood at the intersection of Collier Boulevard and U.S. 41 East.
Although rain shortened the service, it did not dampen the spirit of those who participated.
“We adapt and overcome,” joked a wet Collier Undersheriff Kevin Rambosk, who was on hand to honor Pschigoda.
The Naples Patriotic Moment was developed three years ago to honor members of all military branches with patriotic tunes and a salute to the flag. Tuesday’s shortened ceremony also honored police officers, firefighters and paramedics.
This year’s patriotic moments, which are sponsored by Merrill Lynch and the Daily News, have been held almost every Sunday, Monday and Tuesday in the Sugden Community Theater courtyard on Fifth Avenue South since Jan. 27.
“These guys come out of the woodwork,” Ray Sullivan, of Merrill Lynch, said of the veterans in attendance. “Some of these guys come all three nights every week.”
Around 5:30 p.m., ominous thunder clouds rolled above the courtyard.
About that time Sullivan learned that rain was pouring at Golden Gate Parkway.
Just as a children’s choir broke into its first song, drops of rain started falling.
The skies opened as the Collier County Sheriff’s Office color guard slid the flag down the pole and folded it into a tight triangle. To the sound of “Taps” from a single trumpeter, Rambosk presented the wet but perfectly folded flag to Pschigoda.
Diners across the courtyard at Yabba Island Grill cheered.
Pschigoda has received other honors over the past few months. Despite the downpour, he said Tuesday’s honor was probably the most memorable.
“To be categorized with all the military, as well as fire and EMS, and to be chosen like that is a great honor,” Pschigoda said. “I think it was the feeling that came from the inside more than what you saw on the outside.”
Pschigoda, a deputy for more than 20 years, was laying down stop sticks along Collier Boulevard on Dec. 5, 2006, in an effort to stop 22-year-old Jesus A. Moreno Lucio, a documented gang member and habitual felony offender who was driving recklessly and refused to pull over.
Moreno swerved around the stop sticks, striking Pschigoda and leaving him with a cracked skull, lying in a pool of blood on the side of the road.
After more than a year of rehab and recovery, Pschigoda said he is preparing to return to the force in the coming days. He concedes it will take some refresher training and recertification to get him fully back to speed.
“I’d like to go back to where I left off, back to road patrol,” Pschigoda said. “The doctors and nurses said it would be at least two years. ... I worked really hard with the community and my family, and I’m up to 14 months, 15 months now.”
Although he wouldn’t give an exact date for Pschigoda’s return, Rambosk said it could be soon.
“Hopefully, he’ll be returned to full duty and capacity,” Rambosk said. “That’s what we’re looking forward to.”
Sgt. Robert Brown, the honor guard commander, said Pschigoda was chosen for Tuesday’s honor not only because is he a deputy, but also because he volunteers with local fire departments.
Brown said Tuesday’s rain didn’t bother him.
“I come from a Marine Corps background, so I’m part amphibian,” he said. “We call nights like tonight liquid sunshine.”
Copyright 2008 Naples Daily News