Want Some Spaghetti?

PRIORITY NEWS #1

I can't believe I'm doing this folks, but I

am.

fixing.

you.

some.

spaghetti.

Next Sunday night, August 12, at the Esquire.

You show up, and I'm going to feed you spaghetti.

I have, actually, no idea how I'm going to make this happen, BUT, the fine folks at The Esquire have given me the space and are ready to make this party happen.

There will be door prizes, and a 50/50. Brian and his friends will be there, and I will be there, and the family and friends you know will be there.

If you don't know us...well, then get thyself out and introduce. If the free spaghetti's not draw enough, how about a free hug?!

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we could use a dollar, I admit it. Last week I touted the number of beanies we had at 7,000. More have poured in since then, and Jeff and Michelle picked up 1500 more from a Viet Nam vet in Decatur, this morning.

We need to ship these beanies. We want to buy soccer balls. We want to prepare care packages to those soldiers.

We will take your dollar, and cross our fingers that you win a pizza or two.

But, eh...I'm really more excited about feeding my kid, feeding you, and shaking your hand, than I am about the dollars. The dollars, they will come.

PRIORITY NEWS #2

HALP!!! Help, help, help, how'm I ever going to put this together in the next 8 days?!!

• I'm going to hit up a few local businesses on the spaghetti; if they can't help, then I have to do it. If you want to help, then e-mail me. RIGHT NOW. ljstewart@gmail.com
• If you have anything to offer in the way of a door prize, hit me up about that too. If you know someone that might donate...yeah...that's ljstewart@gmail.com
• If you have any other ideas or suggestions...ljstewart@gmail.com
• If you want to ship your own box o' beanies, we'll hand you one, along with a custom's form. Post office awaits you on Monday morning.
• If you just want to share some love...lj..you know what to do.

If you just want me to shut up about Spaghetti Dinners at the Esquire on August 12, and just look at a few photos of my kid from the last few days...then stop reading, and start looking!

It's hard to wrap your mind around the fact that there are others that want your child home as much or more than you do. Brian's friends commented on this blog that they could hardly wait for him to get home, and they networked on the telephone with me while we waited, and after I'd picked him up from O'Hare.

Courtney seemed almost as overjoyed as I was that Brian was home. Even more, maybe?



Brian was happy to see her also:


We were having so much fun, the first day he arrived, that I'd almost forgotten the conditions my son has been living in since he left. A cot in a tent, in 117-degree heat. He jumped into his bed at home, and began moving his arms and legs back and forth. It was only when he said "I'm making bed angels," that I realized what a soft mattress in an air-conditioned house must feel like to him now. I'm sure I still don't quite get it.


I've spent time with friends that have been somewhat absent since Brian left. Chad, my "have you heard from Brian lately?" buddy, was home to keep me in stitches:



Nothing like having your kid crashed out on the living room floor. Here he is with Minx, and a spare beanie:


And cooking for him again, oh the cooking. When he couldn't wait for the burgers this afternoon, I threw a bag of chips and a small bowl of salsa at him and John, to tide them over:

Just a small bowl.

And when he gets sick of the camera, and tries to make stupid faces,



He doesn't know who he's messing with...I can wait it out until he can't keep a straight face.



That's it for now. See ya Sunday, a'ight?!