So I have been receiving wonderful emails from a hero....I must say, it is an amazing experience to get a response from someone who has earned a Silver Star and Purple Heart. And he is so appreciative and unassuming..... just a regular guy....but I know he is much more than that....he is extraordinary.

Mile High Comics

Yesterday I went to Mile High Comics because one of the soldiers with whom I have been corresponding has requested them for his guys. Since I have never been a real comic connoisseur I actually asked for assistance when I arrived (this is not my norm). I explained to the store clerk that I was planning on sending the comics to soldiers in Iraq. He was so helpful and helped me to pick out several popular Marvel comic books. He also told me that if he were in Iraq, he would really want some comic books. He asked me several other questions about my sending stuff to soldiers, ie did I have a son over there....No, I said, I just get names of people who need things and I send them. Another gentleman who worked at the store overheard our conversation and said that they had a few other customers who did the same thing. I was glad to know that there were others. As I was leaving the store after checking out, this gentleman brought me two copies of the X-men Ultimate for me to send over.....I was so humbled and grateful....The human spirit can be amazing. Now I shall send them a thank you letter.

www.milehighcomics.com

My Letter to the Editor

Letters to soldiers can be rewarding
I read with great interest Jinny Jordan’s column “Letter writing will not be my lost art” (on Feb. 15). I, too, have tried to maintain letter writing as part of my skill set as I know that letters, rather than bills, bring great joy to others.
I often send “thank you” notes to my staff so that they know that I have noticed them and that, in fact, I really do care about what is happening.
However, I must say, the letters of which I am most proud, are those that I have sent to U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a Navy veteran, I have felt compelled to support my comrades. I would like to suggest that anyone who shares the desire to maintain the art of letter writing should write to a soldier overseas. There are several Web sites where one can get the name of a soldier: www.solidiersangels.org, www.adoptaplatoon.org, www.anysoldier.com.
Soldiersangels.org, in fact, has a letter-writing team.
Thank you.
Elizabeth Welch-Carre,
Former Navy officer,
Broomfield

Connections via mail

It is incredible the level of connection that one can make just via mail. Years ago, letter writing was the primary form of distance communication; and it could take days, weeks for a letter to traverse the country, much less the world, yet people seemed to still maintain relationships. Remarkable.
Today, one can have instant gratification with the internet. One can send words, audio, photos, videos which only makes the virtual seem more real.
So last year for two weeks I was disconnected from the soldier with whom I had been writing. His computer died and thus, so did communication. However, because his computer had crumped, he could not let me know why I was not hearing from him. I knew that several of his peers had recently been killed in action, so I worried. And I worried more. I had seen photos of his family; I had heard tales of his life....he was a real human in a dangerous place. So even though I didn't really "know" him in my real world, he was a part of this world and I worried. I can not describe the sense of relief I had when one day I opened my email and there was an email from him with the heading "Hello Again."

In 2007 I met a young Marine in Vegas....he was just back from Iraq. We were on the 22nd floor and he was looking out the window at the view down below. He said that it didn't look that radically different than Iraq seeing as how Vegas is a desert too. He was shaking. As a mother, I felt like I should try to figure out a way to soothe his soul, but as a stranger, I recognized that that wouldn't be appropriate. So I talked to him for a little while. I thanked him for his service and he assured me that he would be going back to Iraq as a good Marine would.

It was then that I decided that I would adopt a soldier in Iraq. In fact, I adopted 2. However, I was only able to maintain contact with one as the other was moved and I didn't get information about where he went. I do recall that when his packages were returned to me that I worried that something had happened to him. I was so relieved to know that he had just been moved.

The other soldier I was able to exchange letters with for a year. What an extraordinary transaction. I came to know him as a friend. I suspect that he and I would never had become friends under normal circumstances because our paths would not have ever crossed. I have wondered if perhaps this was the universe's way of telling me to look outside my normal circle or square, as it may be.

The one thing that I came to know was that having someone, a stranger, back home write to him, made a difference for him. You can often be yourself with a stranger in a way that it is sometimes difficult to be with someone you know well. And knowing that I made his day better, made my day better.

So I continue to write....almost daily, to different soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. And when I hear back from them, it puts a smile on my face......

My kids....all 5 of them.