Just marking the date
I don’t have anything special or profound to say on this 5th anniversary of 9/11. I remember it vividly and don’t require any TV specials to keep me interested in continuing to persue and kill terrorists. But, it does help to have a cool T-Shirt to show which side you’re on.
A product of Crye Precision and originally spotted by Pirate First Class Allen, this is the perfect gift for the warrior who has everything. It would also be a great thing to wear to the Support The Troops Weekend on the Washington Mall on September 22/23rd.
September 11th, 2006 at 9:41 pm
Great pics.
And a great sentiment…
September 11th, 2006 at 9:48 pm
Words kinda elude me too GN.
September 12th, 2006 at 11:57 am
GN, I admit when I hit your link to Pirate First Class Allen, it was just to bust you for mispelling private, then to find out he’s not a private and why you wrote Pirate. It gave me a wake up call as to why I get such a small percent of troops writing me back when I send what I feel I send out decent care packages and/or correspondence. I don’t want thanks. My packages are to thank them and Ms. Manners says you need not thank someone for a thankyou gift as then you’d have to thank for the thankyou card and it could go on forever.I would think however that the ones who are bored requesting games and crafts cuz they are bored could take five minutes and drop me a line.Everyday I look at the mail and if it says free I’m as thrilled as if my own relatives were writing me (more so in some cases, if you know what I mean).Yes I know its not about me so I keep on doing it with very little support with my last nickle.I guess I’m a greedy middle-age lady who needs to get a life.
September 12th, 2006 at 12:52 pm
j-b(s) – I had the duct tape wrapped around my head pretty tightly all day. I just can’t take all the hand-wringing and wailing anymore…
Karen – I know what you mean. Just a note saying that your package(s) arrived is thrilling. Have you tried including a self-addressed envelope or postcard? Make it as easy as possible for the recipient to respond. I always include my email address, too. Sometimes I hear back, sometimes not but I don’t worry about it.
Keep sending those packages and letters. They mean a lot more than you’ll ever know. Thanks Karen!!
September 12th, 2006 at 1:44 pm
RE: Karen
I always send a self addressed envelope in the box and I might get 2-3 out of 5 returned with a note. But, I know going in that I intentionally pick guys who will likely have less time to write. Many of them do not have internet either. My experience is that the guys on the bigger Camps/FOB’s can stay in touch better, but the others need the support most. So, all I can say is to hang in there and keep writing and sending packages. These guys are more grateful than you might imagine. One guy had never written me, EVER, and not long ago I got a package delivered with wine glasses from Italy. He wanted to say thank you for much needed support, when times were at their toughest for him and his guys. When something like that happens, it makes it ALL worthwhile. Another guy sent a thank you email after being home for a YEAR. He had been wounded and wrote when he got healed and back to work. That one I sent to Marty and he posted it on that contact’s page. So, if you ever need support to keep you going, shoot me an email! We church ladies need to stick together;)
September 12th, 2006 at 2:42 pm
It’s sooo true…I hardly get any letters or cards. More e-mails. I’ve been mailing care packages for 2 years. At first it was hard, but with time it was easier to accept that I probably won’t hear from the guys/gals.
Maybe we should mail a card to each other?
As Mrs. Diva said – I too usually choose contacts that I KNOW will very likely NOT have time or energy to write back. They are in middle of nowhere, with a spotty Internet connection, outgoing mail maybe every 2 weeks or once a month, and on missions all the time. They need the “stuff†the most though.
You would be surprised how much they actually appreciate you support! I had a chance to talk to 3 soldiers who were briefly “home†from Afghanistan 2 weeks ago– when I told them I’m AnySoldier.com supporter they were ecstatic. 2 were medics, on the missions all the time. They said it wasn’t just for the “goodiesâ€, but it was important for them to know that somebody cares.
Karen – have you thought about joining your state’s PGR group?
http://patriotguard.org/
I can send you a card too if you want
September 12th, 2006 at 3:01 pm
Oh yeah Karen, one more thing…he’s a really nice pirate!! There’s even a pic of him licking GN’s Boobah (JP Borda doll) at Fran O’Brien’s last April.
September 12th, 2006 at 6:02 pm
Karen – Ditto on the church ladies & our glue. And I have it on good authority (Concerned Grunt) that even those who rarely communicate (Tony) are touched by what we do. Sometimes it does seem like those cards and packages get mailed to a black hole. (Then I remember those guys are actually in a living hell…) What’s worse for me is the number of local people I tell what I’m doing and their eyes glaze over. I’m always shocked that they don’t immediately reach into their pocket and hand me some cash to buy things or say they want to send a package themselves. I can take not hearing a thank you from a soldier I’m helping; what’s discouraging for me is those at home who haven’t a clue. That’s why Our Tribe and these blogs is such an….addiction
Tell us who you write to – like GN’s stand-up guy Pete.
September 12th, 2006 at 6:04 pm
Damn I pushed the send and didn’t finish my thought (or maybe that’s GN’s way of cutting off us long-winded ladies. Anyway tell us which AnyS guys you write to and I’ll look ‘em up. It’s always fun to see who others choose.
September 12th, 2006 at 9:20 pm
Just as GunnNutt returns cuz she can’t stand the wailing anymore, she comes home to a whiner on her blog.Thanks for the encouragement everyone. I had been trying to target people that aren’t getting anything (which is easier to do now since we can find out the number requesting addresses now) but I would get caught up with anybody having a special project. Hence, Taco’s sweatshirt run (he wrote back, more good upbringing),and projects related to gardening, golfing, cake decorating and breadbaking.I resisted sending anything to Major Pain and Brian because I figured everybody was. Then I thought if everyone thought that way, they weren’t getting anything. So I sent them a couple of things to thank them for their oratory,besides their service, of course.I can’t wait for their book.I did get a stainless steel coffee mug from the embassy in Iraq from a Marine, and a Soldier sent me a flag. Both have a place of honor in the middle of my entertainment center.Mrs. Diva, thanks for clarifying regarding GN’s Boobah.
September 12th, 2006 at 10:00 pm
The cutest response i received was when 6 Privates from the same platoon wrote me (in separate envelopes) to thank me for a box I’d sent “any…” They were all so enthusiastically appreciative and assured me that if I wrote back they’d be penpals. And one of them asked for a tattoo magazine (which I had to ask one of the 20-somethings at work if she’d go to the tattoo parlor and get it for me ‘cuz I couldn’t imagine walking in there myself – what would my mother say???). I dutifully sent the tattoo magazine and lots of other stuff including chatty letters to each of the 6, but i never heard from any of them again. I still smile about their boyish enthusiasm, and hope they all made it safely home. God Bless ‘Em !!!
September 13th, 2006 at 4:43 pm
That is cute,Sammy D. Here’s the naughtiest letter I got.Some soldiers in Afghanistan needed foot products so I sent a box of everything I could think of regarding feet. I was determined that they would have the best feet in Afghanistan. They share the contents. I got a letter back thanking me for the foot products and the dildo (foot massager-I had even included a foot massage mini book but not next to the “dildo”) I had to go online and find a catalog picturing them, copy one and write back and explain what it was,sending snacks this time. I never heard from them again and am now careful to include my husbands name, too.
September 13th, 2006 at 9:55 pm
I’m so proud of all you “Church Ladies”! You’re so thoughtful and generous, I know you’ve made a whole lot of young men and women smile and feel good about themselves.
Kare, I would LOVE to know what kind of pranks those guys played with your special foot messager!