ONE DAY WITH MR. WILLIE

I absolutely believe in my heart of hearts this has got to be one of the most important days of my life - and that of my son.
Today I did what I wish everyone could do and that is walk in the shoes of one of our brothers and try to make a difference.

I have had the pleasure of meeting a sweet and wonderful elderly gentleman by the name of Willie Reeves, who made his way out of the devastation of hurricaine Katrina - took a flight in helicopter and his first plane ride all in the same day. I met this man while serving as a volunteer in Phoenix, AZ'S Veteran Coliseum and I don't think my life will ever be the same as a result of this.

MR. WILLIE just happened to be one of those fortunate people that made his way out of Katrina's madness - without his wife - she is in Louisiana in a nursing home - he is in a Scottsdale AZ nursing home and doing well.

Today my son and I went to the nursing home and picked him up and just took him out for the day. We did very simple things like going to the barber shop and getting Mr. Willie a haircut, went to Burger King and had lunch, went to another older gentleman's house that lives in Phoenix just so Mr. Willie would be able to say he met some people here that were just like him. He got a big kick out of my son and he told stories of days long ago in New Orleans and how he used drive a truck and how his friends made moonshine and corn mash and what it was like growing up in the south. He talked about his parents and the type of people they were and how he and his brothers and sister grew up on a farm and how happy his life had pretty much been.

He expressed his gratitude to me for being a "Great Lady" he said and how happy he was that he had met me. HOW HAPPY HE WAS HE MET ME???? Man, all the while I was thinking how blessed I am for having met HIM!! He will never know the joy I got in taking him to the barbershop for a long overdue haircut and the guys in the shop response to him on being a survivor! One guy paid for his haircut, but I was ready and willing to pay for it myself.

We went to Walmart - Mr. Willie, my son Sam and I - what a kick I got out of watching him ride through the aisles of the store in the carts they have for people who can't walk well or are in need of help. He got the hang of the driving right away and said,"Hey, I used to be a truck driver don't forget!" - What a treat it was just watching him have some sort of normalcy to his 75 year old life. He is quite a talker and has the personality of someone who can enjoy a laugh and make you laugh all at the same time, and did I laugh today!!

When we dropped him off at the nursing care facility he is currently staying in, I almost hated to leave him. The place is nice enough and clean as a whistle, but I felt like I was leaving behind an old friend. We showed him how to use the room phone - "kinda newfangled" he said, but Sam helped him out on how to use it. I let him use my cell phone to call his wife in LA and his sister in Mississippi, and he just beamed while he told his family of his latest adventures with his "new found grandchildren" - ME AND MY SON!!

I have been blessed this day more than I can say. It felt good to me to be of service to someone who really needed it and it blessed me to see how my son got into the spirit as well. We often forget our old ones in this country and what they have earned in hard work and spirit should not be taken advantage of or forgotten.

MY SWEET MR. WILLIE - I'll call him tomorrow and check on him.

I WILL NEVER STOP TRYING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!!!!!