4:08am, eyes open, thinking about dozing some more, but don’t want to miss my yearly 6am appointment with those 130 names and their families at the Gray County Veteran’s Memorial Wall here in Pampa. So I get dressed and make my way in my walker to my Ninja coffee maker which is always set to brew a pot at 4am. I pour my 24 ounce Tervis tumbler full of some dark roast coffee & warm up the cinnamon that my daughter brought me. Then after opening the front door to check out the weather, I begin my morning routine on the computer. I send out some encouraging posts on Facebook and to my email list. Time passes quickly, 5:30, time to make my gimpy way to my JESUS IS LORD, Toyota Tundra truck. I get my walker all folded up in the backseat and slowly get in the front. I put the key in and get ready to close the garage door and begin my morning adventure. Then, oh, crud. I did the one thing I always said I would never do. My truck has an electrical leak and so I have a trickle charger always plugged in to make sure it starts. I forgot to unplug it. So I open my door and struggle with my hands holding on to the the truck, with no walker, and unplug the charger. Same struggle back to the front seat and away I go.
No traffic on Hobart, so I slowly make my way to the memorial. I’m early, that’s the way I like it, so I sit for a little while listening to K-Love, thanking God for this opportunity this morning. 5:55, time to go to the wall. I stand at the wall with those 130 names and, always in tears, thank them for their sacrifice. Then I make my way to the metal bench. I always invite folks from my church and on Facebook to join me at 6am to pray, but over the years I’ve realized that most folks will do their remembering/honoring at a more reasonable hour.
Then suddenly, while I was praying, I heard another car. It was Carline Wilson, one of my sisters in Christ from our church. We both are a real site. She walks with a cane and me with my walker; a gimpy pair, gathered to remember and honor the fallen & pray for their families. We did just that; she prayed first, me last; priceless moments with those 130 and their descendants. Thank You, LORD, for those moments of prayer.
We then visit for about and hour, enjoying the beautiful morning of cool temp and no wind. I hollered, “God bless you” to thank the men putting up the flags along Hobart. Time then for each of us to make our way to our vehicles. That was an interesting site also. But we each were able to drive away full of appreciation for the 130, more importantly for the sacrifice of JESUS, given freely to secure our eternal salvation.
I then stopped at Wendy’s to pick up a Baconator on Croissant and seasoned potatoes, breakfast pt. 2. After arriving home, I finally got the truck plugged back in and made my way back to my computer and decided to write this article. This was my Memorial Day morning. For me, this kind of a morning is a treasure every Memorial Day.
NOTE: You don’t have to honor the fallen at 6am the way I do, but somehow, some way, please, every Memorial Day, honor the fallen and pray for their families who have lived without them, and continue to do so every day. God bless.
