Even before we begin to hear stories from the soldiers who will receive the packages that readers of this Blog have been mailing to Capt. Kevin Stacy for distribution to soldiers around Baghdad, heart warming stories are beginning to come to me from those who have already been blessed merely by choosing to participate in this simple, yet profound, act of giving to our troops in Iraq. This morning I received an e-mail message from Randy Anderson. Randy is a former Naval aviator. I first met Randy when he was serving as Co-President of the Armed Forces Alumni Association at Harvard Business School. As soon as Randy read the Blog posting a few weeks ago inviting readers to send packages to troops in the Gulf via my friend, Kiowa Scout helicopter pilot Kevin Stacy, he told me that he had chosen to share the message with several friends. I have a feeling that the stories that Randy and his wife, Bird, share below represent only the tip of the iceberg.
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Kevin and Al,
Below is a copy of an e-mail my wife put together for those we heard back from re: sending packages to Kevin's troops. As you will see, the response was overwhelming.
Heads up Kevin - you're going to need a Chinook to haul the bounty!
Al,
The "Box in the Hall" piece on your Blog was great.
"Bird and Randy”
To Undisclosed-Recipient: 12/21/2005 04:15 PM
Subject: Feedback on your packages - A huge thank you from the Andersons
Hello and a huge thank you to each of you - for the package/s you sent:
All told, there were approximately 72 packages sent (w/10 specifically marked for "Female Soldiers"). And that was a tally of only those that wrote me directly specifying the package/s sent themselves. I did not count packages that people suspected their friends would be sending. So, surely, there were others sent. The response from friends all across the country (14 states) was extraordinary. We thought you might enjoy reading some of the many wonderful ways this request had a chain reaction, and how folks we don't even know ended up "paying it forward". Your responses were overwhelmingly generous. The level of thoughtfulness and care with regard to the packages and their contents was incredible.
Some people sent "generic" packages with all sorts of very useful goodies. Others choose a"theme". We had boxes labeled for "a sports nut", "a mystery reader", "a games player", and "an artist (drawing supplies)". Almost everyone thanked us (!) for including them in the experience, and told us what fun it was. One family decided to do this instead of sending out Christmas cards. One participant wrote: "I had so much fun putting together a package today! Fun shopping for toiletries and goodies, getting the box, having (my toddler) help pack it, writing a note, just fun. More fun than buying Christmas presents for some family members who might not appreciate them (grumble grumble)."
We had young and old alike participating - a friend, who had been wanting to find a way for her 6 year old son to be able to communicate with a soldier over the holidays, found the opportunity just that; a school teacher friend who took up a collection from students, faculty and staff and put a "platoon" of packages together; one woman who had told a friend about it wrote to say: "I had one particular friend call crying the minute she opened the email. She had once been a Marine stationed overseas at the holidays. There were 2 years in a row she didn't receive anything for the holidays. Needless to say, she was dropping her children off at school this morning and heading to the post office for her boxes"; one set of grandparents managed to send three packages while visiting their kids who had just had their latest grandchild. They were busy, not only making packages while away from home, but also tending to the new babe and mother, and the two young siblings.
But we were particularly touched with how much of a chain reaction took place - friend of a friend of a friend ... all the way to perfect strangers! For example, one woman wrote: "I just wanted to let you know how much fun I had this morning picking out various items to be sent overseas. I informed the store clerks what I was doing and a few threw in extras from their stores. I went to(one store) where the clerk's sister just returned from Iraq and he helped me pick out what (the soldiers) might like as well. "However, one random act of kindness really touched me. A dear friend of my parents had gone to the local drug store, and while she was there, she got talking to the clerk about her package. The clerk was eager to know how to participate herself. Our friend copied our E-mail on the Xerox in the drugstore. However, she never told us about this encounter as she figured it would be unlikely that the clerk would really follow through. Then, out of the blue, I received the following email one day last week:
"I WORK IN A DRUG STORE IN WESTWOOD MASSACHUSETTS. A WOMAN CAME IN PURCHASING SMALL ITEMS ETC TO SEND. WE STARTED TALKING AND I ASKED IF SHE WOULD MAKE ME A COPY OF YOUR INSTRUCTIONS. I HAVE 2 PACKAGES TO BE MAILED OFF. I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO MAIL THEM UNTIL SATURDAY, 12/17 - I KNOW AFTER THE DEADLINE ... I HOPE THE PACKAGES WILL STILL BE ACCEPTED. AS YOU SAY, SOMEONE FAR FROM HOME WILL PROBABLY BE HAPPY TO RECEIVE A PACKAGE AT ANY TIME. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEND SOMETHING TO A REAL HERO."
When I shared this email with our family friend (deducing who it might have been from the town mentioned in the shop clerk's email) she made the point: "I suspect that many Americans would do the same thing if they only had such clear instructions as yours." This small act of sharing with you of a clear and tangible way in which you could make a difference in the lives of those in harm's way who are serving our nation, has been very rewarding for us. We wanted to share some of that with each of you. In a time where it seems few can agree on anything about this war, it became clear to us that no matter one's political opinion on the war, most Americans support the men and women engaged in it. It may not shine through every day, but we really are a generous, thoughtful, caring people.
May this be the spirit of the New Year! Happiest of Holidays to all of you.
Love from Bird, Randy, Jake and Gaucha
PS: if you wrote about friends whom you thought would be sending packages etc., please feel free to share this email with them for, as said, we only are here responding to folks we heard directly from.
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Keep in mind that these results are from one single family who read the Blog and decided to spread the love. Thanks to Randy and Bird and their kids for keeping the ball rolling. One quotation in Bird’s e-mail struck me: "I HAVE 2 PACKAGES TO BE MAILED OFF. I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO MAIL THEM UNTIL SATURDAY, 12/17 - I KNOW AFTER THE DEADLINE ... I HOPE THE PACKAGES WILL STILL BE ACCEPTED. AS YOU SAY, SOMEONE FAR FROM HOME WILL PROBABLY BE HAPPY TO RECEIVE A PACKAGE AT ANY TIME."
(Even though the deadline has passed for getting the packages to our troops by Christmas Day, it is not too late to participate. If you did not have time before now to prepare a package, generic gift packages will always be received and distributed to needy soldiers serving in Iraq. Kevin Stacy will continue to oversee distributing them to those most in need of a reminder that people back home still care. To review the instructions, visit the original posting in the Blog Archives dated December 5. Let's keep the chain reaction of love and support growing; share this encouraging story with others as an extra Christmas gift!)
I know that my celebration of Christmas will be a little brighter knowing that in a small way the readers of this Blog are helping our troops to feel connected to home. Because of you, on Christmas Day, men and women serving half a world away will be able to experience God’s love – the original Spirit of Christmas – in the form of your tangible expressions of love and support wrapped up in a Priority Mail package from home.
“For It Is In Giving That We Receive”
God bless.
Al
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