Winona Daily News: Llamas canvas Winona Mall for troops
We'd never thought we'd ever read a lead like that which opens Llamateers help bring in goods for U.S. troops in today's Winona Daily News:
With more U.S. troops headed for Iraq, and those there facing extended tours, service men and women need all the support they can get — even from Argentine llamas and their Winona area handlers.
People accosted by camelids in their local mall are persuaded to be generous:
The Winona County 4-H Club Llamateers — a group of about 15 grade-school students — and a tawny-colored pair of the peculiar camelids launched “Operation Pillowcase” at the Winona Mall on Saturday morning.
Organizers (and llamas) collected snacks, letters of support, and money for calling cards for Winona area service men and women serving in the Middle East.
The goodies will be packaged in community-decorated pillowcases and sent abroad the second week of February.
Two hours into the drive, the Llamateers had amassed nearly $1,400 and a grocery cart full of donations.
“It seems like everyone thinks it’s a good idea,” said Gayle Nottleman, a Llamateer mom. “I’ve been overwhelmed by the reaction.”
Army Sgt. James Hertling, 26, and his 19-month-old son Jack showed up to thank the Llamateers.
“Nothing that’s sent over goes unused,” Hertling said. “It’s unbelievable.”
Hertling, who was stationed in Kuwait when the World Trade Center fell and has served two tours of duty — 16 months and one year — in Iraq since 2003, returned home for good in November and recently bought a house with his wife and two children in Rushford, Minn.
“I’ve never seen a patriotic llama,” Hertling said with a laugh.
The llamas, Azul and Moreno, were mostly indifferent and accommodating to neck petting. Their presence in the middle of a shopping mall might have been the first of its kind.
“They’re just unusual,” said Llamateer president Liz Polachek, 12, describing her interest in llamas. “And not everybody gets to work with them.”
The Llamateers and llamas — two of the 70 wooly critters Lynda Carothers houses at Carothers Llama Farm in Minnesota City — will collect additional donations from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today at the Winona Mall..
Mankato Free Press: Military kids lend willing ears
The Minnesota National Guard, 4-H, the
U.S. Army Reserve and the Minnesota Child Care Resource and Referral
Network sponsored the Speak Out for Military Kids in Mankato. Two Iraq War veterans met with kids whose parents are serving in the military, mostly in Iraq:
By Mark Fischenich
For about an hour, they looked like a typical group of adolescents at an adult-organized event on a Saturday morning.
Maybe a little bit sleepy, not particularly talkative, willing to ask a question only when pressed to come up with one.
The eight kids were children of men and women serving in the military, mostly serving in Iraq. They’d been brought to Minnesota State University for the day to let them know they weren’t alone, to help them express their fears and frustrations, and — for 90 minutes in the morning — to ask questions of a pair of guys who had been in Iraq.
So they asked about the sand, about what soldiers do with their free time, if they’d personally come under attack, if Iraq has a lot of snakes. Sgt. Ben Schlag, an MSU student who returned from his deployment a year ago, and retired Staff Sgt. Steve Robbins of Mapleton, who served in Iraq in 2004 and 2005, answered them all.
But the typical group of adolescents changed when Schlag started asking questions back. Like when he asked what the hardest thing was of having a father or mother serving in Iraq.
As the answers came, so did the sniffles and some tears and a bit of undisguised anger.
“The hardest thing is I thought he was going to come back in a couple of months,” said Nick Seibring, whose stepfather is a National Guard soldier serving with the 1st Brigade Combat Team. “Now it’s going to be September.”
President Bush’s decision to boost the number of American troops in Iraq, particularly in Baghdad, prompted the six-month extension.
“I think it’s stupid,” one youngster said. “I wish Bush would just die.”
Tony Spurling, a boy Schlag had been teasing because of his unwillingness to ask any questions, started to offer his opinion of the extension.
“It’s dumb,” Spurling said. “It’s ... Oh, never mind.”
One of the adult organizers of Saturday’s event asked Spurling if he wanted to share the word he used during a smaller group discussion to describe his feelings.
“Rage,” he said. . . .
There's more. Go read the whole thing.
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