A new perspective
A few of my last entries have been about my involvement with the Patriot Guard Riders (PGR). But yesterday's "mission" was very different as I was given a glimpse into the life of the soldier we were all there to honor. Sgt. Mollie Ryan Bolds is stationed in Korea with the US Army and she went to school with Andres Contreras. She was on leave at Fort Polk in Louisiana when the arrangements for the services and burial for Andres (Jo-jo as he was known to friends) was announced. She contacted the PGR for information regarding which was the best airport to fly into among other things.
I decided that I was going to make sure that Mollie's stay was going to be as anxiety-free as possible. I got a hold of her and told her where to fly into, that arrangements at a hotel had been made and that transportation will be taken care of while she was in town. Apparently, the PGR were of like minds as a number of members got into a discussion as to how to take care of Mollie's needs while she was in town. I just beat them all to it.
In the time we had spent together, she gave me a little peek at the man who was Andres. She also gave a look at what it was like to serve in the military and being stationed overseas. It is not an easy life and I have come to a better understanding to what these men and women who serve our country overseas go through. My admiration and gratitude to these people just went up a number of notches. To top it off, I also made a new friend. It was a good couple of days...
I decided that I was going to make sure that Mollie's stay was going to be as anxiety-free as possible. I got a hold of her and told her where to fly into, that arrangements at a hotel had been made and that transportation will be taken care of while she was in town. Apparently, the PGR were of like minds as a number of members got into a discussion as to how to take care of Mollie's needs while she was in town. I just beat them all to it.
In the time we had spent together, she gave me a little peek at the man who was Andres. She also gave a look at what it was like to serve in the military and being stationed overseas. It is not an easy life and I have come to a better understanding to what these men and women who serve our country overseas go through. My admiration and gratitude to these people just went up a number of notches. To top it off, I also made a new friend. It was a good couple of days...
posted by Angel at 7/26/2006 09:39:00 AM
1 Comments:
Mollie is my sister. I know I may be really late reading this, but I found it while googling her name to make sure she is still well and not in the headlines anywhere. You may not know this, but after getting out of the Army, she has moved to Africa. She is participating in many projects to clothe, school, feed and nuture kids over there. She uses much of her own resources and is dedicated to making the world a better place. I was really happy when I say this posting. What a great way to make blogging productive.
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