Project 2996: Staff Sgt. Maudlyn A. White

"Project 2996” is a tribute to the victims of 9/11. In 2006, more than 3,500 volunteer writers came together on September 11, each to blog in memory of a single victim. Once again, we pool our collective talents to remember and honor the men and women who were lost.

Staff Sgt. Maudlyn A. White is described by those who knew her as a quiet, independent woman. Even so, she touched everyone she came into contact with. A colleague of hers during an assignment in Frankfurt, Germany, said, “You showed me how I could be a strong person. You influenced my life greatly…”

At almost six feet tall, Staff Sgt. White’s friends and co-worker literally and figuratively looked up to her. “You made me the soldier I am today. The best NCOIC [Non-commissioned officer in charge] I ever had.”

However committed the 16-year Army veteran was to her job though, ultimately her life revolved around her young daughter, Vielka. The two were more than mother and daughter – they were best friends. The joy Staff Sgt. White felt at being a mom was not something she kept to herself. Friends say it could be found in her “big beautiful smile with the whitest teeth ever,” and the way she laughed.

Staff Sgt. White, 38, born in Montserrat and raised in St. Croix, sought knowledge wherever she went and shared it liberally, giving her best to everyone.
She rests now in the shadows of the Pentagon where she was working that day.
It has been inspiring learning and writing about this stalwart “Lady Solider.” She will never be forgotten by those who knew and loved her or by me.  

On the count of three, don't smile

I love Philadelphia. It has culture, shopping, history, FOOD, and much, much more. And it's easily accessible from DC and New York by train or car. All of which make it a great meeting place in which to connect with my folks. And that's just what Gary and I are doing on Presidents' Day weekend.
We went to Philly last year after getting a GREAT deal from a hotel called the Palomar. The staff was great; the location was great, the room was wonderfully comfortable. Just a delight from start to finish. So we're gonna stay there again. Only thing is, that awesome deal isn't available anymore. So I looked and looked on the website and came up with a federal government/military travelers room rate that comes with breakfast. Works for me! Since Gary is a federal employee, we grabbed that rate -- twice.
Of course, you can't just take the government rate without being expected to show proof that you really work for/with the government. Again, no problem. Gary will bring his ID card with him.
That got me thinking...
Does it actually say "US Government" on the ID card? If so, where? So I looked at Gary's ID this morning. Sure enough, wedged into the farthest corner of the card there's teeny tiny print that says "US Government." Now I can't look at the ID without looking at the photo. Oy. It doesn't do my handsome guy justice.
So I said to him, "You could have at least smiled in the picture, no?"
And he says, "Nope. We're not allowed to smile. We told specifically not to smile!"
I've heard of some crazy rules, but "We're not allowed to smile?" Seriously? Good thing I was sitting down when he told me that!

24 Carrot Smile

It's amazing where you can get with a smile and a friendly word.

I was at the county garden plot with Gary this past weekend. It was hot as all get out and we had just planned to be there for a few minutes to admire my recent handiwork and water the beds with greenery other than weeds in them.

I was picking little weeds from among the melons and tomatoes and Gary offered to fill the watering cans. I get some serious tunnel vision when I weed. Being "in the zone" I didn't want to stop weeding, so Gary went off by himself.

Soon afterwards he came back and we emptied the three watering cans/buckets we had, but still the beds did not look sufficiently "happy" so we both went back for more water. (Think Jack and Jill going up a hill...)

On the way to the water source, Gary told me that another gardener had attached a hose to the spout without using a "splitter" so no one else could take water from the spout. That's pretty rude. However, Gary said, it had been no problem to fill the watering cans before and would surely not be a problem this time either. So we went to see the guy whose hose was on the spout.

I thought the guy would detach his hose so we could use the spout (I have NO idea what I was thinking...). But instead he just put his hose into the watering cans and filled them up. While he did, we got to talking...

Those of you who know me know my penchant for talking, telling stories, etc.

Gary knew the garden would never get watered if I had anything to do with it, so he went off to finish the job, while I kibitzed.

So it turns out that this guy, Sam, is one of the pioneer county plot gardeners having transferred his"crops" to Franconia Park when the original garden on Beulah Street was essentially paved over to build a school, several years ago. As a result, Sam has a double plot at Franconia Park and whoa does he have veggies! One thing I'm continually learning about the gardeners at the county plots is that they are interesting, generous people.

So I ask Sam if I can have a look at what he's got. I don't know what I said, but when Gary came back to get me about 20 minutes later, I was carrying an armful of zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, purple basil, peppers and more.

Each time Sam pressed something else on me I replied politely "Oh, I couldn't possibly take it" knowing all the while that I could and, odds are, that I also knew that, in fact, I "would."

We had pasta with an awesome spicy vegetable sauce for dinner that night.

And to think it all started with a good word and a grin.

Talk about a 24-carrot smile!

Score: Domestic Divahood, 7; Unfulfilled on the job, 0