Serving departing military humbling experience
http://www.selahnews.com/articles/518/1/Serving-departing-military-humbling-experience/Page1.html
Contributor Submission
By Contributor Submission
Published on 08/14/2008
To the editor,
On Wednesday, Aug. 6th, I was one of several who served at a barbecue for our men and women of 2-146 FA BN at the Training Center. I had a wonderful, but nevertheless humbling experience.
Some of the volunteers did the barbecuing of different kinds of meats, and others, the serving of the side dishes, plates, silverware. A majority of everything was donated and included pasta salads, potato salads, luscious bread/rolls all made by Selah’s local businesses, chips of all kinds, along with some great Army corn on the cob, watermelon, etc.
Volunteers brought in baked beans. One gentleman brought in a huge container of homemade potato salad which came just in time as the other salads were depleting fast. Anything “homemade” outside of the Center was a sacred dish to these soldiers!
Another gentleman brought in 8, count ’em, 8 large foil pans of layered bean dip. The soldiers’ faces lit up when they saw those.
Whoa! I should have had a stopwatch on the time it took before they were all gone!
And then two turkey roasting pans of a pasta dish were put out on the tables. I thought to myself, I gotta hire these folks to cater my next holiday dinner! One soldier asked me what the dressing was that made the pasta so good........well, I told him, but I better not say publicly because it might be a family secret.
As the soldiers came down the line, we heard over and over “thank you ma’am, thank you sir”. And yet it was us who couldn’t say thank you enough for all they were sacrificing for us.
Some said there was so much to eat, they didn’t know where it was going to fit on their plates. As someone who is no slouch on the intricacies of dining, I gave a bit of advice......start eating while you’re moving on down the line, and there should be room for the meat & dessert. And then I told them to start all over again. (My husband told me to also give them large helpings. He’s on his 4th year in Iraq and he misses the good food here.)
The only thing I could think of to add to this great menu was a bit of the Valley...apple or huckleberry pie.
And Mary & Bessie, see you Aug 19th at Wixson Park for another barbecue send-off.
Renee Heide
Selah
On Wednesday, Aug. 6th, I was one of several who served at a barbecue for our men and women of 2-146 FA BN at the Training Center. I had a wonderful, but nevertheless humbling experience.
Some of the volunteers did the barbecuing of different kinds of meats, and others, the serving of the side dishes, plates, silverware. A majority of everything was donated and included pasta salads, potato salads, luscious bread/rolls all made by Selah’s local businesses, chips of all kinds, along with some great Army corn on the cob, watermelon, etc.
Volunteers brought in baked beans. One gentleman brought in a huge container of homemade potato salad which came just in time as the other salads were depleting fast. Anything “homemade” outside of the Center was a sacred dish to these soldiers!
Another gentleman brought in 8, count ’em, 8 large foil pans of layered bean dip. The soldiers’ faces lit up when they saw those.
Whoa! I should have had a stopwatch on the time it took before they were all gone!
And then two turkey roasting pans of a pasta dish were put out on the tables. I thought to myself, I gotta hire these folks to cater my next holiday dinner! One soldier asked me what the dressing was that made the pasta so good........well, I told him, but I better not say publicly because it might be a family secret.
As the soldiers came down the line, we heard over and over “thank you ma’am, thank you sir”. And yet it was us who couldn’t say thank you enough for all they were sacrificing for us.
Some said there was so much to eat, they didn’t know where it was going to fit on their plates. As someone who is no slouch on the intricacies of dining, I gave a bit of advice......start eating while you’re moving on down the line, and there should be room for the meat & dessert. And then I told them to start all over again. (My husband told me to also give them large helpings. He’s on his 4th year in Iraq and he misses the good food here.)
The only thing I could think of to add to this great menu was a bit of the Valley...apple or huckleberry pie.
And Mary & Bessie, see you Aug 19th at Wixson Park for another barbecue send-off.
Renee Heide
Selah