Red Fridays

As I've said, occasionally I will put something non sports related in the blog. This is the first time I've done it, but it's definitely a worthwhile story. It's something I believe in strongly and I think the Pittsburgh Sports Buzz Nation is built on these values. If we didn't have these men and women protecting us we might not be free to back our favorite team.

This was sent to me by a friend.

Will you give this to my Daddy?

Last week I was in Atlanta, Georgia attending a
conference. While I was in the airport, returning home, I
heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer.
I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the
greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen.
Moving through the terminal was a group of soldiers in
their camos.. As they began heading to their gate, everyone
(well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their
hands waving and cheering.
When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being
applauded and cheered for, it hit me. I'm not alone.
I'm not the only red-blooded American who still loves
this country and supports our troops and their
families.
Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for
these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the
line everyday for us so we can go to school, work and home
without fear or reprisal.
Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country
or of our service men and women, a young girl, not more than
6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male soldiers. He
kneeled down and said 'hi.'
The little girl then asked him if he would give something
to her daddy for her.

The young soldier, who didn't look any older than maybe
22 himself, said he would try and what did she want to give
to her Daddy. Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck
of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster
and then kissed him on the cheek.
The mother of the little girl, who said her daughter's
name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband
was a Marine and had been in Iraq for 11
months now. As the mom was explaining how much her daughter
Courtney missed her father, the young soldier began to tear
up.
When this temporarily single mom was done explaining her
situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief
second. Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a
military-looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with
the device and talking back and forth on
it..
After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked
back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her,
'I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to
you.' He then hugged this little girl that he had just
met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying
'your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more
than anything and he is coming home very soon.'

The mom at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and
as the young soldier stood to his feet, he saluted Courtney
and her mom.. I was standing no more than 6 feet away from
this entire event.
As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate,
people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding
and looked around, there were very few dry eyes, including
my own. That young soldier in one last act of selflessness,
turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear
rolling down his cheek.
We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their
families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the
end of the day, it's good to be an American.

RED FRIDAYS ----- Very soon, you will see a great many
people wearing Red every Friday. The reason? Americans who
support our troops used to be called the 'silent
majority'. We are no longer silent, and are voicing our
love for God, country and home in record breaking
numbers..
We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no
liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our
opinions. Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends,
simply want to recognize that the vast majority of Americans
supports our troops.

The first thing a soldier
says when asked 'What can we do to make things better
for you?' is...We need your support and your prayers.
Let's get the word out.
THEIR BLOOD RUNS RED---- SO WEAR RED! --- MAY GOD HELP
AMERICA TO BECOME ONE NATION, UNDER GOD