Hope in Many Packages

Rachel Crews and her HOPE class at Port St. Joe High School set about on a project last fall that seemed perfect.

They would send holiday well-wishes to soldiers recovering from the injuries of war at Walter Reed Medical Center.

Seemed an appropriate exercise, extend a hand to those in uniform who were losing hands and legs and much more in defense of the country in a far-off land.

So the class set about to craft their letters and cards and added many personal touches, a bit of information about themselves, a heart-felt thank you, a story or two from back home.

But as Christine Newman would ultimately explain to Mrs. Crews and her class in a letter that arrived two weeks ago, government bureaucracy got in the way.

Turns out that the letters did not reach Walter Reed. It was hard to tell if the letters hadn't made a trip to the North Pole and back, but a whole lot of injured soldiers went without this touch of small-town gratitude.

As Ms. Newman relates, the package, by incredible circumstance and maybe a bit of divine intervention, since it defies explanation, ended up at the Tampa Polytrauma Rehab Center, part of the VA hospital network.

That was all that was written on the label, nothing more, Mrs. Newman, a ward clerk at the center explained.

To top that, when she opened the package out tumbled 47 unopened Christmas cards marked "Return to Sender."

"To say I was stunned would be putting it mildly," Newman wrote. "I think your class has just had a lesson in Government bureaucracy."

But, as they say, when handed lemons ...

The injured soldiers at Walter Reed may have missed out, but the rehabbing and injured soldiers in Tampa fully soaked in those cards.

"I want the class to know that we have opened and read every single card," Newman wrote. "They have been shared and enjoyed by the recovering soldiers, their families and the staff here at (the center).

"The recipients have been very moved by your sentiments and your sharing of details about your life and school. We have cried over some and chuckled over others. Such sincerity doesn't come along every day and reaching out to the sick and injured with a message of hope and gratitude is truly what the season is all about."

But the folks on the ward and Ms. Newman hardly stopped there.

They sent back a bit of that hope and gratitude to students they didn't know but who had cared.

Individually.

Over two typed pages each student received a personal message back, in some case a simple thanks and in others a note about the illustrations in the card, congratulations on becoming a cheerleader, encouragement for the soccer season or a note to stick with playing that guitar.

"Checked out your website. Hurry up and finish it! Your card was one that made us chuckle, Mr. CEO! You're a firecracker," read one to Dylan Dunaway.

"An honor student who wants to be a doctor or nurse ... Fabulous!" went one to Erin Kennedy.

"Thank you for your card. Most of the soldiers are not in good enough shape to write back, so I am doing it for them," was the reply to William Rish.

Reading the words sent back by these men and women, heck boys and girls in too many cases, is a testament to the human spirit and how a small act of kindness - school project or not - can ripple in ways that words simply can't capture.

And beyond the typed sentiments came the signatures and personal notes from those able to write. Your heart is an iceberg if it doesn't melt a bit.

"Dear Young Americans, Thank you so much for caring for the young men and women who risk (and sometimes give) their lives for your good future. God Bless you all," wrote the mother of one Marine.

"Dear Mrs. Crews and students, Thank you so very much for your support and thoughtfulness! Anthony, AJ and I really appreciate the uplifting notes and cards. God bless you all and I will think of you all often," wrote one soldier's wife.

Even the nurses, the psychologists and other doctors joined in sending best wishes back to Mrs. Crews and her class.

"Your kind words and wishes help our soldiers daily," wrote one nurse. "Thanks for thinking of us."

"What a great group of people you are," wrote a doctor.

Hope - it comes in all forms.