I’ve had “writer’s block,” or something a whole lot like it, so haven’t updated my blog in a while. As the whole world probably knows by now, Middle Tennessee suffered a devastating flood the first weekend of May. Our family wasn’t personally impacted by the flood waters, but it’s been really hard to get my mind wrapped around the damage and devastation so many folks have suffered right here in our county. When the call went out for donations of items for flood victims who’d lost everything, I rounded up my entire Soldier Stash and carried it all to the collection center at our church. Deodorant, shower gel, bar soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, underwear, blankets & sheets, it all went. I figured our Warriors would understand if I couldn’t send care packages for a while.
The Troop Support account is also down to nothing again. There was supposed to be a yard sale at the National Guard Armory here in Ashland City, and the FRG coordinator offered space and a table for me to sell bread so I could get the account built back up. I had plans to bake 8 loaves of bread each night this week, so I would have 40 loaves ready to sell. I baked 8 loaves Monday night, then got a message that the yard sale was postponed until June 11th through 13th because Lori (the FRG coordinator) had fallen and hurt her head and her back . So I took the bread to work yesterday morning, and by the end of the day there were only two loaves left. One person added $5 to her payment for a loaf of bread, so that gave me $35 for the troops. I’ll get a couple of packages put together and mailed off this weekend, and plan on baking again the week of the yard sale. I’m also considering baking some cookies to sell, as well as the bread. Every little bit helps…
We got a free mail letter from one of our Warriors thanking us for the care package. He said it was “perfect,” that the food was well-received, he kept the tuna packets for himself, and the rest was gone in a matter of minutes – “including the box! Them guys can eat you out of house and home!” I got a kick out of that; when I reply to his letter, I’m going to offer to marinate the next box in something tasty so it will be easier to eat. LOL!
One of our Marines in Afghanistan is with a group that has suffered several losses in the past month. He posted on his facebook page yesterday that his dog back home had been hit by a car and killed, and said “Now what do I do?” You can imagine how tough and macho our Marines are, holding it all together in spite of the loss of battle buddies; then for one of them to get the news that their beloved pet has lost its life – well, I can imagine how devastating that would be. I commented on his status that I was sorry to hear of his loss, and told him not to be Mr. Macho; he needs to go someplace where he can yell, stomp his feet, hit something, cry… whatever it takes to grieve his loss. It’s not “just a dog” he lost, as anybody who has ever owned a dog understands; it’s a member of his family that he was looking forward to seeing when he returns home from Afghanistan.
I’m all out of words again. Thanks for reading my ramblings. God bless our Warrior, Charly, and his four-legged friend, Tank. Hang in there, Charly.