Wreaths Across America

 I'm BACK!!  I should learn to write the blog in the evening instead of the morning.  It would probably be much easier.  At any rate, Saturday was Wreaths Across American day.  Their motto is REMEMBER, HONOR, TEACH.

Around here, it means getting up at O-Dark-Thirty and heading out in the foggy cold morning.  I left Mr. Cooper sleeping in his usual position!!

The wreaths are made in Maine they tell me, on wire rings, with a red bow attached.  We place 230 of them in every cemetery in our County, paid for by the lodge.  I think there are maybe ten cemeteries in all?  Every Veteran Elks Member gets a wreath every year.  Lucky for us, we get our wreaths delivered to the lodge the day before.  

I arrived at 6:15 (WAY too early to be outside my house) just in time to unlock the doors.  There was supposed to be donuts and coffee waiting.  That didn't happen.  Organizing this thing is an epic event which was handled by our Veterans Chairman.  Sadly, he passed away this year, so we weren't all that organized.  

By 7:00, my team of three ... Mark, Steven and myself ... were off to the San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery.  We had 16 wreaths to place.  Though most of them were the same as last year, so we know where to go, this time we had many extras included.  

There were four other teams at the same cemetery.  

The number of graves out here is staggering since it's opening in 1992.  To make it a little more interesting, they have changed the numbering system.  C12 is NOT the same as C-012.  The guys carried the wreaths as I yelled out the numbers, all of us walking in different areas until we found the correct name to go with the number.

We aren't the only ones out there ... many other groups like the Daughters of the American Revolution are doing the same.  And of course many families come to lay a wreath on their relatives grave.

Here's another example ... C12 304 is not the same as C-12-0304.  Confusing sometimes, but we were able to find every one this year.

We laid the wreath, tried to fix the bow since they came smashed into a box of 12, and said their name out loud.  I took pictures of several to send to their relatives.

Here's my buddy Mark (head of our RV park) ... the handyman of all handymen ... holding the wreath for our Elks Park member who passed away this year.  We sent this picture to his wife.  

Occasionally we find a mistake in the names, so I took this picture to remember where it is for next year.  We must have walked a mile looking for it.  

The grass is tall, it's foggy as you can tell, and VERY cold.  We came out soaking wet with two pounds of cut grass on our boots, stuck on by the mud from gophers building condos.  

Here's a picture of the troops that make this happen every year.  Many bring out their grandkids to learn about the wreaths.  Even our handicapped members help out.  The Elks Lodge may be known for their cheap member booze, but truly, they are all about their Veterans and children in need.  Can you pick me out?  Yeah, I've done this for many years, and I know how to dress for the cold and wet.

And so a long morning ended with an eggnog party at the lodge.  Not my thing, so I just headed home to this sweet face.  He's always so happy to see me.  

There's more ... mostly frustration ... but I'll relay that one tomorrow.  You're going to LOVE this one!!  If it's going to happen to anyone, it will happen to me.