Paying respect

On Thursday, 5 June 2009, Staff Sgt. John C. Beale was killed in Afghanistan along with two other members of the Georgia Army National Guard. Staff Sgt. Beale lived in McDonough, which is in neighboring Henry County, and I paid my respects to him last evening.

The body of Sergeant First Class John C. Beale arrived at Falcon Field in Peachtree City yesterday at 6 p.m. and was escorted to the funeral home in McDonough by the Henry County Police Department. The route of the procession was distributed by email and posted on local news web sites, and the public was asked to line the streets along the route to help honor this fallen soldier and to show his family support and concern.

James and I decided that it was important for us to be there, so we ate dinner quickly, asked Aidan to don his Cub Scout uniform, and then drove to a small church alongside Hwy. 85. We chose that church because the parking lot is close to the road and we were pleased to see when we arrived that we would not be alone. By the time the procession reached our location, the parking lot was full (and then some) and the berm was filled with people of all ages, most holding U.S. flags. As I looked up and down Hwy. 85, I could see many other groups of people gathered on both sides of the road.

As the procession approached, everyone fell silent and stood tall, with either hands over our hearts or in a salute. The procession was amazing. First came law enforcement vehicles from Fayette and Henry counties, fanned out across the width of the road and with light bars flashing. Behind those cars were police officers on motorcycles, then many, many Patriot Guard Riders.

Then came the hearse and the cars of the family members. By that time, tears were streaming down my face, both because of the sadness that I felt for this man and his family, but also because I was very emotional about the people who came out to pay their respects. A few more law enforcement vehicles brought up the rear, and then the procession was over.

We talked with Aidan before and after about the importance of showing respect to those who have died in service to our country and to those who continue to serve. I hope that the family of Staff Sgt. Beale received a small measure of comfort from what we and many others did last evening; it was the very least we could do.

Bits o'knitting

I don't have many FOs (finished objects) to show lately; with the end of school busyness and being away for a spell, I haven't sat down and knitted for good periods of time. The Buckeye book bag is going well - perhaps I am almost halfway? - but I am too lazy right now to take and post a photo.

Quick knits have really been the name of my game lately. I paired some bright green cotton yarn with two great colorful cotton yarns that I received from my friend Kelli for my birthday, and made a set of three dishcloths in my new favorite Double Bump pattern:


I bartered the set with my friend Jennifer in New York for a custom set of catnip filled cat toys for Spenser. In true cat fashion, he is ignoring the toys until some moment (probably around 2 am) when no one is watching, and will thunder around the house, batting them from corner to corner.

(Note: The above photo is now one of the featured photos on the Double Bump pattern page on Ravelry - kind of a thrill to see my work highlighted in a minor way!)

Back in March when I first visited our new local yarn shop, Sugarfoot Yarns, I bought some Mission Falls 1824 Cotton in a bright purple. I frogged the first baby hat that I tried to make with the yarn; there is so much texture in the yarn itself that the pattern of the hat was almost impossible to see. I decided to try a more simple pattern, the Umbilical Cord hat, and I like the result:


I am planning to send the hat to a friend in the Motherhood Later group on Ravelry that has a new bean on the way.