We meet
every Saturday morning at
9 am at
Le Boulanger at San Felipe and Yerba Buena. There is a Starbucks
across from it if you need something "special" to go with your bagel or
pastry. Vicki has graciously volunteered to be our new Coffee
Coordinator!
We will be continuing away coffee on the 3rd Sat of the month during
2014. Here are some new places for June-November. Hope to
see more of you at our coffee adventures this year. Look for a carpool
email a day or so before the event.
JUNE 21
Devine Grind - 27 Devine St (between 1st & 2nd streets north of St.
James Park)
Read about it at:
http://www.sanjose.com/2012/12/12/devine_grind/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/devine-grind-san-jose
We can
also look forward to:
JULY
Dolcetto Cafe and Market
AUG
Bel Bacio
SEPT
Sweet Peas Cafe
OCT
Top Nosh
NOV
Hash House
e-Mail
Tidbit
a
Soldiers
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 thru 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 them for their sacrifices. At the end of the
day, it's good to be an American.