There are Heroes I've never met...But this one I know

The cars lined the street in front of the house, in the drive and in front of the house next door. Across the street seems full with bumper to bumper parallel parked cars as well. You begin to think, "This is more than a family BBQ, right?" It was talked about last month as something to put on the calendar. Another reason to meet at a friend's home on a Holiday, great food and good company.



Each Holiday we do this and every time it's at a different one of our homes. Typically for each Holiday event there are other factors leading up to the event. The celebration is reserved for the day however there may be traditions, cards, Church, visiting family, Praise, Cheer, gifts, Fire Works, decorations, and/or special event attire. For this Holiday there was just a reminder the day before and "oh bring a bathing suit for the kids."

Arriving at the designated 'Party' house, offered no clues for anyone to distinguish this was a Memorial Day Celebration. We were in the home of retired servicemen; I suppose that may have been the relevance for the selection of 'whose' house we would have this party. There were no Flags waving, there really was no natural wind or breeze moving for that matter. There were however, heavy duty box type fans, about 3, low to the ground pointed upward blowing strong gusts of air directly in the middle of impromptu gatherings of 4 or more. I myself had a Marilyn Monroe type moment, less all the alluring glamour, when I unknowingly stepped directly in front of low lying super fan. We were a larger than normal group. There was the hum of music and the boisterous sounds of happiness from children's laughter, summer pool splashing, new introductions, bright vibrant, reds, yellows, pinks or was it fuschia, wet and worn by small agile bodies in love with FUN and passionate about pool tricks. The sun was vibrant and the rays kissed our skin as we focused on casual conversations, smiles, food and drink.


Did I mention food? I suppose it was synonymous with theme of the day, American hotdogs, grilled hamburgers, the lists goes on. Of Course there were a variety of icy cold Beers and other spirits.Could it be that the foods suited the Memorial Day celebration? American favorites served outdoors to friends and family paying homage to slain soldiers of U.S. Wars past and Present? I think that may be a long stretch but I believe there was some consideration when the menu was planned to create a Holiday theme, Red, White and BLUE. There were many poignant discussions going on. We even talked politics. Obama just visited Tampa days before and few in our party went to see him. Two boasted about how "HE" shook their hands. They were eye to eye with "the Future President". There were in fact over 20,000 people there so the 'hand shakes' are impressive and deserves a moment in the Spotlight. In the midst of this conversation, discussions of War or the significance of remembering fallen heroes and celebrating and lifting up troops fighting in the current war proved to be somber "buzz killers." I guess I believed the day to be something more about others and less about us. For our particular group on this day, Memorial Day 2008 it was about the "Q", the pool and the music...oh and the family and friends present.


Well I couldn't let the weekend pass without acknowledging that while I love a GREAT party, being with my family of friends and meeting new people is "FABulous", I had to find a personal way to honor those who chose and choose to sacrifice their lives daily against any enemy so that I, my family, your family, We, can live FREE. I decided to write and create opportunity for others to meet and Honor a local Soldier/Hero.

I learned that Andrew Wood, a fellow Real Estate professional was a War Veteran. He's young and ambitious, bold and selfless. During this day before the Party, we met and it was by chance that we discussed his life before Keller Williams Kelly Realty. He was a soldier serving in the Iraq War. Reservedly he talked about some of his experiences of WAR. He seemed to look inward and not at me when he remembered facts: missing the birth of his son, returning to war days after being married, seemingly endless sand in an impoverished land, Afghanistan, land mines, careful trekking, the bus he was on that blew up, weeks upon weeks hospitalized, near life ending experiences, death, instant and in stages surrounding "them." There were vivid images of life taken. Some situations he shared, others played out behind his bright eyes. He blinked hard and worked to shift his focus and the conversation. I could not press. It was not my intention or business to request so much of him.


I thanked him for sharing. He's humble and spirited. He spends so much time these days working diligently to create a better place for his now 5 year old son, family, friends and his clients here in Sunny Florida. There are mixed feelings about the War or rather the survival of War. He is however faithful to his Country and true to his fellow service men and women. He honorably represents the best of the Best. Simper Fi!!!! He earned a Purple Heart, a Survivor! He is a Hero. There are Heroes I've never met...But this one I know.

Because of you and what you do, I'm thankful we don't fall asleep hopeless and wake up to gunfire or bombs while we shiver in fear and anxiety confined to a small space in what used to be Home.

Because of you and what you do, I'm thankful that we don't step out of our homes and notice the structure next to us is non-existent along with the people, the families that worked or resided there, gone in a fiery blaze and clouds of black smoke, instant and intentional.

Because of you and what you do, I'm thankful that we don't grow numb to sirens daily or the heart wrenching blasts of heavy armor and gunfire. Nor do we grow accustomed to the overwhelming stench of life days gone from bodies left and ignored in the streets we used to watch our children race down or hovering in pain near dead, Hopeless. I digress!

It's been stated that "WAR is Hell!" I know that I'm thankful for those servicemen and women performing their duties to serve this country and protect life as we've grown to love it here. It's a selfless act that warrants Honor and Praise on this day and everyday. We pray they all could and would return home alive and well. But we know all too well that this may not be the case for too many.

To have lived for years in Iraq and Afghanistan, where many lose their aspiration to live another day and believe that any day could be their very last is not how Andrew LIVES NOW. This is not how we LIVE here in the U.S. Thank God HOPE is restored. May this be the realization for All troops fighting STILL. "Keep HOPE ALIVE!"








God Bless you All.