Coffee With Maddie




It’s been quite a week. My coffee breaks have mainly been spent catching up on the news of the day. And there certainly has been a lot going on in our world. On the news last night, one half of the screen was footage of the anti-war rally staged during the day - the other half was footage of the “Support Our Troops” rally. To say the least, emotions are running high and there are differing opinions about what’s happening in our world. While I have a strong opinion about what’s happening, I don’t plan on making it my purpose to share it here. What I want to share with you is what I plan to do from my little corner of the world.

It seems that a common denominator amongst most people is this: Let’s support our troops. Let’s support our troops no matter if we agree with this war or not. Okay - great idea, but what can we do? While watching the morning news this past week on KARE 11 (a Minneapolis station), there was a segment entitled “Operation Appreciation.” This is a letter writing campaign to encourage our military members. More information about the program is available at their website, www.kare11.com. Another link I visited from the KARE 11 site was www.operationshoebox.com. It caught my interest because I’ve participated in something similar at Christmastime for the past 3-4 years. The site encourages people to take the time to put packages together and send them to our men and women who are deployed overseas. If you don’t have a family member serving, you can check with friends, colleagues, or church members to get the addresses of those who are. The bulletin at my church listed 16 individuals from our congregation who are serving. That’s an instant list for me.

What are items you could include in a box? The website gave numerous ideas. Following are a few examples: batteries (AA, D cell), travel games, crossword puzzles, magazines, novels, playing cards, chapstick, sunscreen, dry goods/food, eye drops, saline nasal spray, hand lotion, dental products, etc. While this is just a partial list, the site lists over 60 suggestions of items that could be included. Don’t forget you’ll be adding postage to the price of the package.

Last night I spoke with a friend who has two sons who’ve been deployed. At this point she doesn’t know where either one is being sent. I called to get the addresses of her boys so that I could start by sending something to each of them. We ended up talking for quite some time. She gave me a couple of suggestions of things I could do. One idea was to check out www.stockpins.com. It is a site where you can purchase lapel pins, etc. The other idea she gave me was to call and see if there is anything I can do to volunteer at a nearby unit. These are both good ideas that I’ll be looking in to.

What I really know is that I want to do something! I’ve never lived very far away from my hometown. After I got married my husband and I moved to Chicago for four years, but that was only about 7-8 hours from where each of us grew up. I remember feeling very lonely at times. I can’t even imagine what it must feel like to be half a world away in a foreign country.

Can you take some time today to do something positive in support of our troops? If you have any suggestions, please e-mail me at maddiecoffeebreak@yahoo.com. I’d love to hear from you!

Until next week . . . God bless you and yours! -Maddie

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Coffee With Maddie: Archive;
Blessings
Magazine Junkie!
Maddie Goes to College
Changes
Let the season begin!
Getting Older!
I'm Getting Fat!
I Love a good book!
Family Games
Manners!
Someone to Love
A Special Anniversary
New Year Goals
My Spinal Tap!
The Book Store
I Salute Our Men in Uniform
Valentine's Day
My Birthday Choices
Current Events and Politics
Cabin Fever
We Can Choose the Words We Use
Let's Get Organized!

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About the Author;
Maddie is a dear friend from the Midwest who will touch your heart with her gentle stories of home of family. You can just picture yourself at the kitchen table any early morning with Maddie, a fresh cup of coffee, maybe the smell of bacon in the air, and a log on the fire to take out the chill.

Talk to Maddie at ...
Maddie@boomerjournals.com