It’s always nice to see a smile on a child’s face, especially in a war-torn country. The one thing I knew, that always brought joy to the children, was candy. Knowing that made me want to do something special. I did it for the children. It was first deployed as a buck sergeant. The daily routine was missing something. I wanted to do something, to bring joy and happiness to what was, for lack of a better term, a lousy situation. One evening, after my guard shift, I made a phone call to my Mom. The call wasn’t routine, so she was pleasantly surprised. Of course we exchanged pleasantries, but that wasn’t why I had called.
I told her about my idea, and she was absolutely thrilled to help out. She started asking me so many questions at once like, “how much should I send? ” and, “what do the children like? Do they like taffy? ” I couldn’t keep up with the questions! I gave up, and let Mom take the reigns. I knew she’d be on board. She certainly didn’t hesitate to get the goods, and ship them out. Three weeks later, I received a huge box from Mom. As always, my buddies were hovering, trying to sneak a peek at the contents. Judging by the weight, there was 20 pounds of candy in that box.
I opened to box, and immediately had to close it. Inside was some of the best candies. She put everything in there, from chocolate peanut butter cups to handmade saltwater taffy. I was tempted to keep it for myself, but I couldn’t do that; I knew Mom would want some pictures. The next day was our trip to the local village. I went to my superiors with the idea and they were very supportive. The village was small, with only about 70 inhabitants. A single dirt path ran through the middle of a group of tiny brick and mortar buildings. It was exactly like I remembered it in the movies.
As we went in to town, the locals welcomed us. The children laughed and played, as they chased our vehicle to the village police station. The children gathered around as my crew and I dismounted. They were all so eager to see what I had brought them. It was odd to me that they knew I was bringing something. I think our translator tipped them off. I began passing out the candy the all the boys and girls. I must have been out there passing out candy for hours, I then realized I was supposed to be taking pictures for Mom. I managed to get a few photos in before I had to wrap up, and sadly get down to business.
