FYI, Freeper faithful. 
Posted on 06/12/2002 7:32:27 AM PDT by ohioWfan
I want you to meet my son, Eric. He was born in 1984, the third of our four children, and on Sunday he graduated from High School in the class of 2002 as part of the so-called ‘Millennium Generation.’ President Bush has told members of the class of 2002 that they are graduating into a very different world than previous classes have done. He is right.
Eric has always been called what child experts label a ‘compliant’ child. As a small boy, he was so sensitive to wrongdoing, that he would cry when we raised our voices at him. He never needed punishment. Eric is still acutely aware of his own sinful nature, even though outwardly he never does anything very wrong. At the same time, he is very sensitive to the pain of others, and has cried because friends of his were in rebellion against God, and hurting themselves and others as a result.
Eric loves to make people happy. From the time he was a baby, we called him our ‘laughing boy’ because he smiled or laughed all the time. He still does. He loves to make others laugh too, and is gifted at imitating voices…….he can do a perfect Yoda or any number of other Star Wars characters, and can recite the entire script of Monty Python and the Holy Grail in flawless dialect, or quote lines from Braveheart and any number of other movies with perfection. He is a charming young man, who makes people happy just to be around him.
At the same time, Eric has always been a warrior. At 18 months he was seen wielding a piece of orange and yellow Hotwheels track, keeping his older brother and sister hostage in the bathroom, and delighting at their yells for help. He once chased the neighborhood kids around with a saw because he felt he had been fouled one too many times in a pick-up basketball game. He was 6 years old. He has been an avid Civil War collector since he was 8 or 9, but the only things he ever really wanted were the guns and the swords. He ran an entire Cross Country race on a stress fracture in his foot because he refused to quit ‘pressing on toward the goal.’
He is quiet, yet bold; so bold in his faith that he told his classmates Sunday in his Valedictory speech that the only way they could have a truly successful future was through faith in his Savior, Jesus Christ. His greatest desire in life is to serve that Savior and live a Christ-like life, and to serve others. He is handsome, mature, stable, interested in history and politics, fiercely competitive, wanting to be the best he can be at everything he pursues, a talented athlete and musician, and well liked by his peers…… and pretty much everyone who has ever met him. He is our son, and we are proud of him.
But today, our pride is mingled with tears, because last night he left for Army Basic training in Ft. Knox, Kentucky. In the Spring of 2001 when he was a junior, an Army Recruiter came to his school looking for potential recruits. Eric took note, but wasn’t really interested. Then in August, he got a call from the Recruiter, and felt as though he should pursue it. He and his Dad met with the Recruiter, we all prayed about it, and knew that God was leading him to join the Army Reserves.
It was a great deal. The men at the recruiting station did not try to hide their pleasure at the new Commander in Chief. The Army would help pay for college, train him in a different field while he attended college, so he would end up doubly ready for a career. He only had to put in a weekend a month, and two weeks in the summer, and would be paid for it to boot, and the only way his unit would ever be mobilized beyond the United States, would be ‘World War III’.......A great deal.
Then came September 11, and the world as we knew it came crashing down. I waited for a day after the attack, so he could start to absorb what it meant for him, and asked Eric how he was doing about the Army thing. He said ‘OK.’ And then said he now knew he had signed up for the right reasons…….not just for the college money, but because he wanted to serve his country, and now he knew they needed him.
Today he is beginning preparation for whatever his country, and his Commander in Chief, want him to do, along with thousands of others of young men and women who have made the same choice. A number of his friends have joined different branches of the service. Some young men and women have postponed college plans to serve actively, while others, like Eric, will be able to go later next year, and serve in a reserve capacity.
Last summer, Eric worked at a blueberry farm, cleaning barns and warehouses, played tennis and goofed around with his friends. This summer will be very different. Even though boot camp is not what it used to be, it is still tough, and Eric will need to pull up all the toughness he has inside to make it through. We are sure that he can do it, and he just might even like it, because he likes to be pushed and tested, and he does have that warrior inside of him. But there is also in him that little boy who cried when he was yelled at, and wants to make everyone happy. That part of himself will have to be buried deep inside for the next 9 weeks.
The reason I decided to write this, is that many of us never put a face on ‘our troops’……..even when we pray for them...... and perhaps my telling you about Eric can help you see one of those faces. Eric is not overseas……yet........ though he is seriously considering a military career, and may well end up there. He is not in combat, but many young men like him are……many young men and women are serving this great country all over the world and are in harm’s way, and in need of our support and prayers. Each one of them has a story that his or her mother or father could tell about what wonderful people they are, as I have done about Eric.
And many young men and women who last summer as teenagers, worked at blueberry farms or grocery stores, factories or fast food restaurants, are now beginning training to serve their country in this very dangerous new world…… as adults, preparing to fight the first war of the new millennium, in a very different kind of summer.
Please pray for them……..and those who love them.
FYI, Freeper faithful.
Someone said something about a care package. Ha! Can you IMAGINE the SIZE of that thing if the Guild, Dose, ATRW, and all of Freeperdome who felt led to do so???? Methinks he'd rise in ranks rather rapidly.
Somewhere in your freepmail is a note from me a couple days ago. The offer still stands. I'm very very proud of you & Mr. owf!!! AND ERIC! Tell him thank you.
Off to check my freepmail for one from you to see what that offer was.......it's been a bit hectic in the ohiowfan household these days!
Oh my!
What a wonderful post, what a wonderful son.
What fear may be bubbling beneath the surface must be kept in check by the pride that you and your husband must feel when you look at the man your little boy has become.
It makes one stop and think about how meaningless all the posturing and chest-beating of the thousands of ideologues and "I'm more of a conservative than you" keyboard pounders that cheapen the risk one son takes, and the anguish mixed with pride that parents feel in the dead of the night, when those thoughts kept in check during the day surface to haunt your nights.
Know that I feel pride in him because of my pride in knowing you. Know that I will maintain him in my prayers, as will so many more in here. Know that with him goes a little piece of each and every one of us. Know that political ideology takes a backseat to what your son is...an American and a patriot.
Most of all, know without a doubt, that your son serves his country under a good man, a man who I believe will never put him in harm's way for any reason other than the good (and in the service) of God, flag, and country.
Like you put a face on our troops, I want to send you and your son a couple of faces myself. I have never done this, never thought I would, but this is important. These are a couple of the faces that he's defending, the faces that, as you said so well, are worth more than gold to me.
These are my little boys, and I hope that they grow into the man that your little boy has become.
Thank you, and God bless you.
Luis
I will send good thoughts Eric's way and trust that God will protect him as he so bravely serves our country.
What a wonderful son and yet, what a frightening time for a mom. My son has just turned 17 and will have to register with selective service in a year. Things could be even more different next summer than this. Who knows what lies ahead.
BTW, I notice those who would question your commitment to freedom are no where to be found. The evidence of your legacy has shut their mouths.
Thank you for posting that beautiful picture of your adorable little boys! Treasure every moment of your time with them, because all too soon they will be grown and gone!
Thank you for the perspective you bring in pointing out the folly of the conservative 'wars' on FR. Thank you for your love of country, and your support of the man who is, IMO, the finest President in my lifetime.
Thank you!!
In some ways what Eric is doing is so ordinary, but in others it is extraordinary. I am thankful every moment of every day for God's gift to me in my family, my friends, my church, my President, and my country.
That very fact has not escaped me, annie. Where are those who would call me a Nazi, communist, or freedom hater? Where are those who question my patriotism now?
Shall I post a picture of my dear beautiful son every time I am accused? Will they back off then?
I wonder.
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