EDITOR:
Last week, my husband and I announced to our three children that we were having a real, live hero come to visit us for dinner on Saturday. My 6-year old daughter squealed.
"Superman?" she guessed.
Even better than Superman - a U.S. Marine.
And not just any Marine, this was our beloved Uncle Steve driving from his pre-deployment training in Hawthorne. His entire unit, the 3rd Recon Battalion, is headed to Afghanistan in early November, not an easy pill to swallow for his wife and toddler boys currently stationed in Okinawa.
Our dinner with a hero was short, but savored.
The only thing that made our farewells easier was the knowledge that we would see Uncle Steve one last time, on Oct. 9 before he and his entire company is deployed.
Some amazing community members have heard about our local heroes - both Steve and his fellow men, who are training in Hawthorne - and have put together an amazing day off for these men.
Unbeknownst to them, these Marines will be transported to South Lake Tahoe to do some much-needed sightseeing, complete with a barbecue and gondola ride at the Heavenly Ski Resort. Other friends and family have heard about this day and are looking for ways to be involved. With this in mind, we are hosting a breakfast for these heroes. They will be driving through our beautiful valley in the early morning hours Friday, not knowing why or where they are going. The Town of Minden and family and friends and local businesses will be serving these 85 Marines a homemade breakfast at 8:30 a.m. at the Minden Park on Friday.
And this is where you come in. Would you consider hanging your American flag for these men? As they drive through our town, we would like to communicate our support. Better yet, will you come down to the Minden Park and shake their hand?
I mentioned it to someone just yesterday and they groaned, "That's too early." Perhaps it is. But I have a feeling these men have gone to extremely inconvenient measures for us in ways we may never know. Random acts of kindness are sweet, and so are deliberate ones.
Join us.
My kids will be the three clinging to the Marine wearing a Superman cape. It's not every day that superheroes come through town. Shaking their hand is not our gift to them, as much as it is yet another gift they give to us. To me, that's worth a school tardy slip on Friday morning.
Craig and Karen Berger
Minden
