Held in History's Hands...

They pulled into our driveway in a sleek, shiny new Camero.

It begged to be noticed. (Well, actually, it did not have to beg)

They came in and joined us around our dinner table, and we picked up our friendship right back, as if years of our being preoccupied with having babies had not paused it.

This was no ordinary couple in our home.

John, a rare breed of John Wayne-type men, and his lovely wife, Cynthia-born and bred in the midwest, survivor of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, were the drivers of that fancy car that sat in our driveway from 5 to 8pm on Sunday evening.

John's brashy boldness and "say it like it is" mentality has served him well...particularly as he served our country as one of the brave pilots involved in the Berlin Airlift during the late 1940's in post-war Germany. For those of you who may not recall, the very condensed version goes like this: Germany was divided into three different districts controlled by 3 seperate countries: France, United States and Russia. After a series of moves made to unify currency among the provinces, Russia (who desired to inject communism into the tattered German landscape) made a statement of intention to control by forbidding traffic to and from West Berlin (East Berlin was under our and our Ally's control). This left a very dark and dire situation for the citizen's of West Berlin, leaving them with the prospect of starvation and lack of all medical supplies.

Under very a precarious 'atmosphere', our brave men in uniform took the skies-270,000 times to be precise, delivering over two million TONS of supplies (I prefer to call it 'hope') to an already war-weary people who desperately needed help.

The same hands who piloted a C-47 countless times over the city of Berlin, in full knowledge that it could spark World War III but did it anyway, are the same hands who held my little boy around our kitchen table. The significance of it was not lost on me.

While my son is not named after this John, he will grow up knowing of him, of what he (and others like him) did and I pray that he appreciates the sacrifices and 'inherits' the brave courageousness of the elder John.

We entertained a National Treasure in our home Sunday night, tonight I want to honor him in this small way and in the future, I want to teach our children the specifics of our great American history and the brave individuals whose hands guided it.

Thank you, John, Cynthia (a good woman standing with her man is every bit the hero) and all the men who are no longer facing the battle field of war and who can be considerably under-appreciated by the current generations....THANK YOU for being an indelible part of why we live free today.