Care Packages and Thank-You Notes for our Troops in Afghanistan

self | 7-3-04 | patriciaruth

[patriciaruth]

Our troop support group finally found a way to send care packages to our troops in Afghanistan, and I've received a couple letters this week requesting goodies. We're pretty excited about finally making contact, and are inviting others who want to show support to join us.

If you can't afford to contribute money or goods, the troops also really appreciate letters, cards and notes, and request your prayers for their safety and peace of mind.

The first set of care packages and thank you cards and notes that we sent to Afghanistan for the Fourth of July were received with joy and you can read about them on the second half of our last thread, Write a Thank You Note to a Soldier in Iraq this Memorial Day Weekend

We've been collecting goodies and contributions toward the next set of care packages to go to Afghanistan. Our contact there will send them to the troops at the outlying fire bases, and has requested toiletries, movies, paperback books, snacks, and games for them.

Also, there are ongoing requests from a group of soldiers near Kirkuk in Iraq for items for the poor village schools and children in the surrounding area, specifically elementary school supplies and children's toys and crayons 24 to a box are a special project of theirs.

[Peach]

Pat - how very sweet. God love our soldiers.

And thank you for all your diligence and caring support and work on their behalf; you make it so easy for us to support them.

[patriciaruth]

Pinging you to our current thread.

FReepmail coming.

[Dante3]

BUMP

[patriciaruth]

Arjay just had Sam's Club ship a VCR/DVD player for the troops at Kirkuk. MJY1288 is going to have the chore of readdressing it and priority mailing it to the army depot with the APO address when it arrives in 10 or so days.

Bagram just got the "Did you say movies and popcorn" box, and are "thrilled."

To refresh memory it contained:

Mailed July 8, 2004, 1 box to Bagram:
snacks: 4 boxes of 5 Kettle Corn microwave popcorn (Act II brand), 4 boxes of Orville R. brand 6 microwaves buttered popcorn.
DVD Movies: Requests: The Jerk (Steve Martin), Broken Arrow (John Travolta). Emergency chick flick airlift: My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Forever Young (Mel Gibson), Forces of Nature (Sandra Bullock, Ben Affleck), Last of the Dogmen (Tom Berenger, Barbara Hershey), Moulin Rouge (Ewan McGregor, Nicole Kidman), Grand Canyon (Alfie Woodard, Danny Glover, Kevin Kline, Steve Martin), Best of Friends TV show (first 3 seasons), and to fill a hole Back to the Future Trilogy (Michael J. Fox)
Toiletries: 5 lipbalm spf30, 8 oz sunblock cream spf50, 8 Kleenex travel size.
1 Army magazine on Iraq, 1 Decision with J.C. Watts on the cover.

Asgardshill has been a real trooper, donating bunches of DVD movies from the Bagram wish list, and from the Kirkuk wish list, and a few of our personal favorites that cost an arm and a leg, like the Stargate SG-1 cable TV series. He sent Contact, Brian's Song and the requested Chocolat, Sea of Love, U-571, Antz, Finding Nemo, Hunt for Red October, Office Space, Three Kings, and is currently rounding up early James Bond and Westerns for the guys at Kirkuk. He's definitely got the bug!

Note: We have an offer for Lonesome Dove available in VHS. If the VCR sent by Diamondhead to Bagram still works when it gets there, we'll send Lonesome Dove.
Bagram also requested Hildalgo and Shrek2 which will not released for another month or two, and asgardshill has offered to grab them when they do.

We still need someone to tape the Orange Country TV series on Fox Channel, now that Bagram is getting a VCR.

A special thank for those who've taken the time to write a letter or note. These mean a lot to the troops, and I always tuck them in the boxes.

A separate post will be up soon with a postcard from Iraq and the news on the latest care packages sent to Bagram and Kirkuk.

Finally great thanks to all who've sent postage and walking around money this last month--including, off the top of my head, TexasCowboy, daybreakcoming, Bigg Redd, Mo1, jtill, , libertina, Kathy in Alaska, FreeRepublic, Battle Axe, luvyadubya, JustAmy, etabeta, and a couple whose names I know but don't know their screen names.

Everyone please continue your prayers for our guys and gals in harm's way.

[patriciaruth]

Forgot to put you on the ping list. I was just remembering the great letters you and your wife wrote that I just sealed into boxes going to Bagram tomorrow.

[patriciaruth]

Please see post two up from this one.

[POA2]

Thanks for the ping - (from both my wife and I) -

You are obviously doing a great job - Wonderful that our troops have someone like you looking out for them.

[asgardshill]

Ping noted.

And there's more flix 'a comin', very soon. Thor has ordered me to pick up the pace, and one simply does NOT argue with the Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet (not unless one wants to be transported down to an ice age planet sans clothing).

[patriciaruth]

Thor's a good guy. I'm sure you'd never end up on Andor unless you deserved it.

[asgardshill]

Sez you. Yeah, Thor's all cute and all that when he knows he's going to be on TV, but behind that shrunken gray chest bests the hearts of a little Napoleon, at least when it comes to his staff.

Ever been transported right in the middle of a shower to work when the G'oauld attack, then get yelled at for dripping on his nice clean deck? I have. Ever have a whoopie cushion surgically attached to your butt? THAT'S Thor's idea of big laughs. Ever have to eat those little yellow protein cubes when you're working late and all the Chinese take-out places are in the next galaxy? And, who do you think fills out all the paperwork when Thor "borrows" the entire contents of a Defense Department armory to go fight the Replicators? That's right - yours truly.

If it weren't for the medical plan (perfect health, dental, never having to go to the bathroom) and the 401K, I'd tell Thor where he can stick his "diplomatic position" tomorrow. That is, if he had the appropriate orifice to begin with!

[Dante3]

bttt

[patriciaruth]

Ah, so that's why you put in Smokey and the Bandit trilogy and City Slickers? The underlying hostility to authority? The underlying desire to get back to a simpler time?

If you'll just lie down for a moment on the couch here and tell me all about it.

The little grey men can be Nazis sometimes. Am I right?

[patriciaruth]

Notice: Tampa Caver just tested out my paypal account and it is working.

2 boxes mailed July 21, 2004, to Bagram for the outlying fire bases, postage $108.40, insured for total of $257.16. Dried food is HEAVY.

Two almost identical boxes each containing
Trail mix fixings: 2 lb. bag shredded coconut, 2 lb. sliced almonds, 1 lb. walnuts, 1 lb. cashews, 2-2 lb. bags raisins, 7 oz.bags diced dried fruit (2 dates, 1 tropical mix,1 cherry flavored cranberries, 2 mixed fruit), 15 oz.boxes of cereal--honey graham, toasted oatmeal clusters, and apple cinnamon Cherrios, 30 pack of individual Kellogg's sweetened and plain cereals, including applejacks, corn pops, frosted flakes, fruit loops, corn flakes, raisin bran, frosted mini wheats, etc.
2 boxes 40 ziplock quart baggies and 3 large plastic spoons for making up individual packs of trail mix.
Misc. snacks: 1 box 6 apple cranberry trail mix bars, 2 cans with 6 cups artificially sweetened lemonade mix (32 qts.), bag of 42 life savers, 20 small packs of Juicy Fruit gum,
Misc. entertainment: 1 CD album holder in each box, 1 box has July Road and Track magazine while the other has 2 decks playing cards, one box has DVD movies Rio Bravo, There's Something about Mary, and Bruce Almighty, and the other has the Smokey and the Bandit trilogy and Dennis Miller-The Raw Feed (2003).
Both boxes get letter with list of donors, list of Bagram lending library movies and books, an SAE, an Army magazine, and several thank you letters..

Postcard from Iraq
Has a nice picture looking up the steps of an ancient ziggurat, and the message was not "Wish you were here."

"Dear Patricia,
thanks alot for all wonderful goodies in your latest care package. I really don't know how you do it, but am grateful for your motivation! thanks for helping make my tour more bearable and thanks on behalf of [his unit].
God bless.
C*****"

Just received a bunch of stuff from JustAmy and it will go combo with some things Mr. and Mrs. Diamondhead dropped off. Asgardshill continues to send movies. And a couple trusted patriots have mailed boxes directly recently.

[asgardshill]

Smokey and the Bandit was the result of my being pulled over the day before by a pompous, rather obese county sheriff. This guardian of democracy decided that the country would be a safer place if I washed off a spot of mud about the size of a nickel on my license plate.

At least I didn't get a ticket. (sigh)

And yes, there is all sorts of sub-psychological byplay that goes on that affects my movie choices :)

[patriciaruth]

Rather your head undergo light liquidation by a Goa'uld than attend another traffic school session?

[asgardshill]

LOL

[Dante3]

bttt

[AuntB]

Thanks, patriciaruth, I'm still working on my package. Have a couple people I'm waiting on who say they want to add to it. Also, went to town yesterday to get supplies to make "headbands". They are filled with water rentention crystals and when soaked in ice water stay cold and wet for hours. They should be helpful in that horrid heat. I made some for our wildland firefighters and they loved them.

[patriciaruth]

Please give me more info about your headbands and how to make them. They sound great, except how do they work if someone doesn't have access to ice water?

[asgardshill]

Please give me more info about your headbands and how to make them.

They're great for outdoor work in hot weather. I have a couple of these wraps .