Afghanistan, Athenae, Do Something

Care Packages

I was JOKING about needing a forklift, but it might be useful in getting all of this to the post office:

Carepackage.stuff

It’s hard to see under all of the everything but for the record that is 25 pounds of coffee (at least, 25 is when I stopped counting the coffee), video games, snackies, hundreds of minutes of phone time, more peanuts, animal crackers, goldfish, fancy fruit-nut mixes, handfuls of candy, card games and magazines than you can fit in six priority mail boxes. I need to pick up one, maybe two more on my way home from work.

Carepackages.packed

Now it all goes to the post office. I sent leinie a pic and here’s what she sent back:

E and his buddies are going to get all this stuff that says,
hey, in the midst of the teabaggers and the silly season and elevating
corporations so they have more rights than people, brouhahas onMTV
and baseball playoffs and jackasses on Survivor, you aren’t forgotten.
We remember you. We wish you didn’t have to be there, but since you
are, thank you for your service and have a touch of home. Partially
because it is a bunch of strangers, who have never met him, hell,
they’ve never met me, and they could still find it in their hearts to
say this one, this sailor (cuz he’s on loan to the Army from the Navy)
is important and let’s recognize him, for no other reason than a handle
and opinion and foul mouth in a chat box somehow managed to make him
real for you. That in the shittiest economy of our lifetime, with
people getting squeezed on all sides, people could find a little
something to send to do this. In some ways, it’s unreal, and yet it is
because it is SO real, real people, real humanity, real goodness, that
I’m as touched as I am.

Mission most definitely accomplished, all. Thank you.

A.

19 thoughts on “Care Packages”

  1. That is fabulous! Looks like they are already packed, but I was going to suggest stuffing in a bunch of sandwich baggies, so that snacks can be easily packed along. That’s what I’ve done in the past and it seemed appreciated.

  2. Thanks for the opportunity to participate in this. I always worry I don’t have enough to give that will make much difference. Even though I know any little bit helps, it’s still great to be in a group so my contribution is amplified.
    Also, thanks to you and Mr. A for doing all the schlepping.

  3. Thanks, A. Like virgotex, I’m grateful for the opportunity to maximize my meagre munificence. (Monday is Alliteration Day in BuggyQVille)

  4. Wow, that’s fantastic. It makes me proud to be the new guy at First Draft. Our readers not only rock, they rule.

  5. I appreciate the opportunity, too. Thanks.
    If you’ll forgive some poaching (blatant blogwhore to follow) I’m working on getting kids’ books to a hospital in Iraq so moms and dads on deployment, staff and patients, can be recorded reading bedtime stories to their kids back home. If you are interested, drop me a line at davidterrenoire at hotmail.com and I’ll give you the address. It’s the 47th Combat Support Hospital in Al Asad.
    Thanks for letting me use First Draft’s bandwidth. I wouldn’t do this if it wasn’t such a damn good idea.

  9. Way to go, First Draft!
    If I had more than my very best wishes to add, I sure would. Being unemployed has many perks, but cash in hand isn’t one of ’em.
    David T.: what sort of media are the readings going to be recorded upon?

  10. Ummm, Goldfish?
    Then again, why the hell not? I’m proud to have contributed to a little chai life. 😉
    Best wishes to the soldiers from li’l ol’ moi.

  11. The O. Sarah:
    My nephew is a surgeon with the hospital. He said he “got his hands on a video camera” (I didn’t ask) and would send the kids DVDs along with the book. So, that’s what I’m assuming.
    Thanks for asking.

  12. Thank you A. for doing this. My little contribution makes me feel like a million dollars right now.

  13. All 7 Packages made it safely to the Wheaton Post Office (near where I work). Now it’s up to the Post Office and the military.

  14. Mr. A, thanks for standing in line and filling out the customs forms. That’s a pain, I know from experience, so you get a special shout out.
    I will NEVER be able to tell y’all how wonderful this was. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’d need A and Digby’s eloquence combined to even attempt to accurately convey it, and then I’d STILL fall short. 7 boxes. Wow.
    To everyone who contributed, thank you. To everyone who couldn’t contribute but sent good wishes (Sarah, pansypoo, anyone else) thank you.
    I love this place.

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