bozodog Posted December 9, 2007 Report Share Posted December 9, 2007 Sprawled in his recliner, tired and achy after three days of nearly nonstop work, James Ward hardly looks like Santa Claus.But this laid-off truck driver has just made Christmas brighter for thousands of U.S. service members overseas by mailing them miniature, live spruce trees with all the holiday trimmings.A year after Ward started Operation Christmas Tree to cheer up his deployed stepdaughter and a few dozen of her fellow soldiers in Iraq, the project has blossomed into a national campaign that shipped 5,000 potted trees this season.About 2,200 of the 2-foot trees _ packed along with bags of colorful ornaments and battery-powered lights _ were mailed Dec. 3 to individual service members, mostly in Afghanistan and Iraq, whose families paid $20 to Ward's nonprofit organization.The rest of the story Quote Link to post Share on other sites
irregularjoe Posted December 19, 2007 Report Share Posted December 19, 2007 (edited) Sprawled in his recliner, tired and achy after three days of nearly nonstop work, James Ward hardly looks like Santa Claus.But this laid-off truck driver has just made Christmas brighter for thousands of U.S. service members overseas by mailing them miniature, live spruce trees with all the holiday trimmings.A year after Ward started Operation Christmas Tree to cheer up his deployed stepdaughter and a few dozen of her fellow soldiers in Iraq, the project has blossomed into a national campaign that shipped 5,000 potted trees this season.About 2,200 of the 2-foot trees _ packed along with bags of colorful ornaments and battery-powered lights _ were mailed Dec. 3 to individual service members, mostly in Afghanistan and Iraq, whose families paid $20 to Ward's nonprofit organization.The rest of the storyThat's an interesting story.I am definately NOT one to promote the war effort in any way. But your post does give light to the REAL people that are somehow involved in it whether by choice or, more probably, chance, in one way or another.I hope that those trees (that survive) grow into beacons of understanding, forgiveness, and life............Poem lyrics of "A Drop Fell On The Apple Tree" by Emily Dickinson.A drop fell on the apple treeAnother on the roof;A half a dozen kissed the eaves,And made the gables laugh.A few went out to help the brook,That went to help the sea.Myself conjectured, Were they pearls,What necklaces could be! Edited December 19, 2007 by irregularjoe Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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