In My Own Words

I was out of pocket for four days while Jack and I were in Illinois visiting kinfolk, so when we got back I had a lot of catching up to do. The first place I went was the DoD website to check for updates on fallen heroes. There were 7 Warriors to add to my pages – I list the names of the men and women who have paid the ultimate price on this site as well as on the Fallen Heroes group at teapartynation.com. Once I got that task completed, I checked for new comments on my blog page. I’ve got it set up where I have to approve comments before they’re posted, otherwise the ads for Viagra, “free porn,” and other assorted crap that has nothing to do with my site and everything to do with SPAM would be mixed in with the legitimate comments people leave.

There are a handful of folks that comment on my blogs on a somewhat regular basis, but once in awhile I will get one from a random “stranger.” In my latest bunch of approved comments was one from Patti Ward, whose son Joshua was killed in Mosul, Iraq on 2/9/09. Joshua was exactly a year younger than our son Paul. Paul was born 10/23/77, and Joshua was born 10/23/78. Patti’s name was a link to her page on facebook, so I clicked that link and asked if I could add her as a friend. She accepted, and I spent an hour or so looking at her pictures and learning about Josh’s family – the wife and children he left behind. She thanked me for what I do; that was pretty humbling, considering what she and her family have gone through. They are the ones who deserve thanks, not me.

At the most, I “sacrifice” a little time and money. I “do without” things that are of no consequence in the bigger picture. So what if I don’t eat out for lunch like a lot of people do? Who needs manicures, pedicures, fancy hair-dos? Just think of all the things our Troops are doing without.  I don’t have a son or daughter, niece or nephew, spouse, or other loved one in the fight. I merely do whatever is in my power and ability to hopefully bring a piece of home to somebody else’s loved one serving far from home. If I can make one Warrior smile by letting them know that they are thought of and appreciated by someone they’re not likely to ever meet in person, I consider that a success, however trivial it may seem to someone standing on the outside looking in.

It’s time for me to go to work; I could go on and on, I just don’t have the time at the moment. To my new friend Patti, THANK YOU!! Your Hero is in the arms of the angels now, and he’s watching over y’all just as he did in life. He will NEVER be forgotten.