Moving to say the least.
I attended the Homfront Heroes Gala 2007The room was filled with the full spectrum the US Military can offer.  Veterans from pretty much every war, current soldiers and their families and some civilians. 

 Ah!  There was also this Canadian guy with a French accent who received a prize for the Best Support to Military Families.  He also announced the donation of free lifetime accounts to all children of fallen US soldiers from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
 To explain the type of night… I started to chat with the couple sitting to my right and the spouse asks me to explain my services.  Well 2 phrases into my explanation tear drops start falling from here eyes.  She says ‘sorry, please continue, I will explain’.  I finished my explanation pretty much there and she explained.  ‘  I lost my father in the Vietnam War when I was 6 years old.  I still remember his laugh.  You don’t understand the power of your services, keep on doing what you are doing, it’s beautiful’.   

 My presentation was at the end of the night and as I was reading the speech prepared by my PR company, I didn’t agree with many words as I felt they were inappropriate and completely overboard.  The writer said ‘trust me; your speech will be the less patriotic of all speeches that night’.  Well he was right, the conviction and determination in the voices that night had me stirred.  I read a lot about democracy and freedom and none of the current democracies could have emerged without the courage and sacrifice of military men and women.  

 The result of those sacrifices has been my freedoms.  To these brave men and women I say thank you.  I was humbled by the recognition and the applause I got from the audience as I announced the donation and mostly when I received my award.  You see, they briefly explained my service as I received my award, I saw many eyes that were intrigued.
 My announcement was the final presentation of the night.  As I went through the motions of my speech explaining the service and the donation I tried not to look at the 5yr old child sitting feet’s away with a framed picture of his dad who is serving in Iraq.  It was quite simply overwhelming, the buzz in the crowd as I explained the service and the claps I received from the donation announcement.
 The final moment of the night was after the reception when a Lewis Lee Millett Jr. , a veteran came to see me.  He shook my hand, took my shoulder and In a faint emotional voice he said ‘What you are doing is important, keep at it young man.  As he walked away, I opened my hand and he had gave me a medallion of the National Memorial for Prisoners of war and Missing in Action.
 My next task is to reach all the families of fallen soldiers.  This will be done through a series of articles in the military press and magazine.  I will also be a host on the Military Wife Talk Radio.
 I wasn’t sure I knew what I was getting into when I took the decision of donating accounts to children of fallen soldiers.  Well I am still unsure of what’s to come but I do know one thing…  This is bigger than me and it feels right.

Yesterday was pretty uneventful.
I worked until 2, rented a bike, went over the golden gate bridge into the mountain bike trails got lost and finally found my way out after 4hrs of riding.  I did get some awesome pics and had the mountain clouds right at me.

I then made my way back to San Fran by ferry and ended up at a blues bar.  I then went looking for a pub that had the hockey game on.  I walked in this tiny pub to find 5 young Canadians from Alberta.  We were the only ones in the bar and the end result was closing the pub.
I don’t remember any of their names but I would just like to say it was a pleasure signing Oh Canada at the top of our lungs.  It will be remembered.
Here they are… in no particular order
- Funny bearded bartender amateur
- Kirk Cobain look alike
- Girl falling off stools
- Green Shirt Guy
- Emily (I think)
 

After waking up with what seemed (was) a light headache, I headed to a morning meeting in the financial district.  As I rode the bus, I thought about what I do and why I do it.  
 

While roaming the streets of San Francisco, I was told to watch out for the ‘bush man’   I was expecting a busker in a fully fledged bush ‘suit’.  Well it turns out this guy is hidden behind a couple of branches on the sidewalk and makes ‘boo’ to people walking by.  You couldn’t believe the laughs he got out of his little act.  

 

He has been at it for 27 years.  27 years of making people laugh.  I am not sure if he one day decided this would be his calling… or is it by necessity.  I don’t know his reason but it was clear to me he was doing something bigger than himself.
 

 

As I walked through Marina Green Park it dawned on me this could be it.  This would be larger than me.
  I had a discussion with the owner of www.militaryconnections.com .  She is a mother of 2, cancer survivor involved with the military.  Her words were…
 Give lifetime accounts to the children of fallen soldiers.  The surviving spouse will get the friends and co-workers to create capsules to be delivered throughout time to the children.  The children will learn more and more about the parent as time goes on and the friends will be able to tell stories they would not have been able to tell to a child who is 4 years old.
 I will be announcing this Friday at the gala our military recognition initiative.  A free lifetime account to the children of Canadian and American fallen soldiers.