Hamburger Saint Project - the gift reveal
The Hamburger Saint Project
to honor the life and legacy of Sgt. Michael Barkey.
Read these:
> The genesis of the Hamburger Saint Project
> My tribute to Sgt. Barkey and shout out to @lexikon082
By happenstance or fate, Frank picked my name to be one of the first recipients of this initiative; a project which I fully support. Today I received the package from the Hamburger Saint Project, as well as a long letter from one of my boys in bootcamp!
It was a good mail day for me.
As promised, I am writing this to reveal what was received and call out to you, my dedicated readers and friends, to see if you will commit to this project.
How can you participate?
In the Senate's Congressional Record, they wrote: "We know that Michael is in heaven continuing to spread the laughter he did while on earth. And perhaps the Barkey family is right - Michael is still cracking jokes, exchanging war stories with his grandfather, and is now the patron saint of Cheetos or hamburgers."
As a project of love and remembrance, the Hamburger Saint Project it is intended to be "fun and loving" as Michael was.
To #payitforward, two Steemians who have committed to participating will receive a gift. Those two will then #payitforward to another two, and so on. Each participant writes a blog post about what they've received and call out to their community to perpetuate the project.
The gifts do not have to be new or expensive. They must have personal meaning to the sender. Gifts sent with love and thoughtfulness is the key. If you wish to have your name drawn to receive a HSP gift from me, please leave a comment expressly stating you want to be involved.
If you are selected you are committing to a reveal post and sending two gifts out.
The gift reveal
I think I may have been disappointed if I didn't get a snack bag of Cheetos but Frank did not let me down! LOL
Frank and I had one conversation about arrowheads. He told me he found a few when he was hiking. I told him about my childhood walks in the woods and finding some of my own, only to lose them later on, much to my distress. I love artifacts and history. In truth, and this may sound strange, but more than fascination, I've always felt a soul connection with Native American culture and tradition.
But the flag...
Being gifted the flag actually had my hands shaking as tears rolled down my cheeks. There is so much meaning behind a flag, but this one... This flag is attached to a man who has lived through the hell of war, lost friends, struggles with PTSD, battles the call of alcohol and still finds the strength to get up and be a loving father, husband, and a good man.
I wondered how difficult it was to part with such a piece of one's self?
I wondered if I was worthy of such a gift.
And I was touched by the remembrance of another flag. My husband Pat has also seen terrible things in war. I call them things he talks about never talking about. He protects me from those things. And ever since my boys have joined the Marine Corps, he reminisces much more about his days in the service. He talks about the flag his uncle gave him and how it was always in his pocket no matter where he was deployed.
Somewhere - Some time ago during a move or a divorce, he lost that flag. I see the sadness in his eyes when he thinks about it; the one tangible memento gone. So, I look at the flag Frank gifted and cannot help but think WOW that must have been so very hard to part with and I am honored to be the recipient of it.
Will you carry on the Hamburger Saint Project?
Please let me know if you are interested in throwing your name in for a chance to be a part of this wonderful project. Let's perpetuate Sgt. Michael Barkey's gift of love and laughter.
And while you're at it...
Be sure to follow @lexikon082 if you don't already.
Hamburger Saint Project
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This is the first post from this account, the new home of the Hamburger Saint Project. I will be working on an introduce yourself post, but just wanted to let everyone know who may read this that @hamburger-saint is where I will attempt to keep up with the happenings of this community project.
I am glad you enjoyed the gift. Yes, it was tough to cut that patch off of my uniform. However, knowing I was doing it to honor a friend who truly sacrificed all made it a lot easier. I will admit there were some tears, but there was also a joy in my heart knowing the purpose behind cutting that flag off my uniform. Thanks for participating and helping carry on the memory of Sgt.Michael Barkey.
Awesome! Let's see if we can scare up some followers for this account. Be sure to post the Introduce Yourself post on the CH message board. :)
God is the meaning of Life...
@pocketechange
to which I might reply Love IS Life
It does answer a few mysteries, right...???
thank you for good posting~
Thank YOU for stopping by and reading about the Hamburger Saint Project @enomujjas
Thank you for sharing.
And I also thank you for stopping by to read about the Hamburger Saint Project. Your time is appreciated @melowd :)
thank you for sharing ,upvoted :)
Thank you for stopping by @freshstuff
Our community is better because you're in it. You should be thanked more often. So thank you for posting!!! Looking forward to more great content!!!
Thank YOU @marshall117 - I look forward to seeing what you're posting too. All best.
Such a wonderful project! Thank you for sharing your gift package. It is truly an honor to see and read. I would like to participate in this cause. Please let me know what I need to do.
Woohoo! This is awesome @jdawg
I'm going to wait until the end of the month to draw two names and forward a gift which has much love and meaning behind it. If you are chosen I will send you a message in order to get a shipping address. :)
Wonderful! I am honored to be a part of this.
I have forwarded the address and phone information to you of another volunteer.