Honoring Caleb Lufkin
I just got home about two hours ago. I spent the time home eating dinner, while catching a glimpse of my husband on CNN. I've learned to just go with the flow. It's all so surreal it can be overwhelming, but sometimes you have to think to yourself that life is strange like that. I also saw Jesse singing on there, the woman from Hy-Vee who made all those ribbons to honor Caleb. It's amazing to watch national news and see familiar faces. And oh so strange.
"Hey I just saw you today! And now you're on the news!"
Those types of things (media coverage) are amusing, but truly not as important as what went on. Caleb Lufkin's funeral was today. The Patriot Guard came to honor him in full force. My mind is frazzled, I'm fatigued, I'm sunburnt, but I don't care. I have to write this. I just apologize in advance for any grammatical errors.
Let me start at the beginning. It's been one heck of a week. To tell you the truth, most everyone knows not to call my house before noon. This isn't exactly rocket science, people. It's summer, I won't be awake before then. Needless to say, CNN called me at nine-thirty one morning, waking me from a lovely dose of beauty sleep. This must be why I looked to ragged today. Or at least, I blame them. Because I can. Anyway, they were calling for Chris and like usual, I referred them to the cellphone number, where he can be reached. Actually lots of people called about this funeral, but CNN is the only one that annoyed me. Nine-thirty. I'm just saying.
Fast forward to today. It all began in the parking lot of Wal-Mart. They were generous and let the Patriot Guard use their lot as a rally point. Looking back on it, it HAD to have happened that way. No other place could've held so many people. I was to take pictures again. This time I did remember to hit the save button on all my screen captures, so I shouldn't have lost any pictures. I hope to put some up tomorrow. Bikes rolled in. They just kept coming. I raced up and down the lot taking pictures. More and more people kept coming, until I just had to stand back and take a moment to really get an eye-ful.
Chris debriefed the riders, everyone loaded up and off we went. Kade and I rode with Max, who is truly one of the sweetest, kindest men I have ever known. We arrived at the church, knowing the WBC protestors (Phelps and co.) were going to be there. I never saw them. I actually looked for them, but they were gone by that time. I never heard them. Don't get me wrong, they were there. Local residents stood on other blocks singing to drown them out. But the important thing is that the family didn't see them or hear them. At the end of the day, they are nothing more than fleas to flick away. Honestly, I didn't even know whether they truly were there or not. The Patriot Guard captured my full attention. They stood proud with flags waving in honor of Caleb. You could've heard a pin drop. It was just that amazing. Silent and strong.
The media was there as well, camped out on a resident's lawn. I ignored them. Come to find out, the woman from CNN that had called for Chris (and consequently had woken me up from my blissful slumber) sought him out for an interview, which he bluntly denied. Sweet justice. She had come all the way from Chicago with her cameraman in tow. Too bad, so sad. She said something like, "But I have to get my story!" Chris looked at her, looked at all the people that had come to watch, looked at all the supporters, then turned to her and said, "So get it." Then he turned his attention back to his men. I have spoken to Chris about public speaking before, but on this instance, I have to chuckle. The man is blunt, if nothing else. She ended up leaving in a bit of a huff right before the funeral procession began. (Now that I think about it, I bet it burned her a bit to know they'd shown a glimpse of Chris on the news tonight. Just a shot of him, nothing important, but hahah she didn't get her story out of him!)
I also met Andrea Zinga's husband. She was not there today, but he was. He came right over to meet Chris and me. I spoke to him for a few short minutes. He seemed really excited to be there. When I say excited, I only mean that he was revved up by seeing the Patriot Guard, not that he was excited by the death of a soldier. I just want to make that clear. He was still very reverant.
Being that it was so hot today, Soldier's Angels made their way down the line, giving out water, keeping people hydrated. Pretty soon, local residents came out and stood, too. I walked up and down snapping off picture after picture. Meanwhile, Kade was busy charming the policemen out of their cards. I don't know if this is a nationwide thing, but the cops and firemen around here have cards, much like baseball cards, that depict an officer. Kids collect them. Kade has a few of them. He was very proud of himself.
After the funeral, we all loaded up to ride the funeral procession to the cemetery. Andrea Zinga's husband (I can't for the life of me remember his name! Chris has his card, I should check that.) rode on the back (with his camera) of one of the bikes. I thought this was pretty awesome. He promised he would send us copies of any video he took. The Patriot Guard had put the flags back in Max's van in a hurry. I admit, I was helping out with this and with so many people turning their flags in at once, things got hectic. So the flags weren't put in there as neatly as they could have been. I say all this, because shortly after we began the procession, Max and I couldn't hear anything coming from the back of the van. I turned around to see Kade sleeping (it was two in the afternoon by this time, we'd been going since 6 in the morning) in a pile of American flags. I didn't think to take a picture, but upon seeing him once the van was stopped, another rider did. I hope he sends me that picture. It was really one of those priceless precious moments that makes your heart just melt.
Being that Kade was asleep, I was loathe to wake him. So while the other riders saluted flags at the cemetery site, I stayed behind at the van to watch over Kade. While there, I straightened the remaining flags in an orderly and neat way. I don't know why, but that just made me feel better.
Upon looking at the ride waiver that everyone has to sign before each mission, I counted over two hundred names. The bike count was at least 176, not counting four-wheeled vehicles. The procession had been over a mile long. People came from everywhere to honor this young man. They stood in the blazing sun with no shade. They didn't complain. They barely moved. They stood strong. I can't put it into words. This is the way it should be.
I will quote another rider I'd heard over the course of the day...
"The Patriot Guard is great, but the sooner people forget us, the better. When we are no longer needed, the better off we'll all be."
They don't come for personal glory. They don't come to get their faces on tv. They only come to honor America's fallen soldiers. They will be there, protestors or not. They will be there, media or not. I can't imagine a better way to honor Caleb. Not only to honor his sacrifice, but this life as well. To see men and women riding from all across the country merely to stand outside the church where his body is being mourned... It's amazing and it brings tears to my eyes to know that there are people out there like this. To know that there IS good out there.
Yes, I will admit, it's overwhelming when I read a column a certain newspaper that writes a scathing article of Chris and mentions him by name. And it's amusing to see him on television ignoring the cameras. The truth is he cares for none of these things. They can write what they want. They can say and show whatever images they like. I know the man he is. I know why he does this. And I know that when the media vans have long sinced packed up to rush off for another story, my husband will be there to hug the parents. My husband will be there offering a flag to them. Not because he is special, but because he is just like every other Patriot Guard out there. He merely does what any one of them would do in his place. He is great, but so are they all. He is but one among many. And they are all magnificent.
"Hey I just saw you today! And now you're on the news!"
Those types of things (media coverage) are amusing, but truly not as important as what went on. Caleb Lufkin's funeral was today. The Patriot Guard came to honor him in full force. My mind is frazzled, I'm fatigued, I'm sunburnt, but I don't care. I have to write this. I just apologize in advance for any grammatical errors.
Let me start at the beginning. It's been one heck of a week. To tell you the truth, most everyone knows not to call my house before noon. This isn't exactly rocket science, people. It's summer, I won't be awake before then. Needless to say, CNN called me at nine-thirty one morning, waking me from a lovely dose of beauty sleep. This must be why I looked to ragged today. Or at least, I blame them. Because I can. Anyway, they were calling for Chris and like usual, I referred them to the cellphone number, where he can be reached. Actually lots of people called about this funeral, but CNN is the only one that annoyed me. Nine-thirty. I'm just saying.
Fast forward to today. It all began in the parking lot of Wal-Mart. They were generous and let the Patriot Guard use their lot as a rally point. Looking back on it, it HAD to have happened that way. No other place could've held so many people. I was to take pictures again. This time I did remember to hit the save button on all my screen captures, so I shouldn't have lost any pictures. I hope to put some up tomorrow. Bikes rolled in. They just kept coming. I raced up and down the lot taking pictures. More and more people kept coming, until I just had to stand back and take a moment to really get an eye-ful.
Chris debriefed the riders, everyone loaded up and off we went. Kade and I rode with Max, who is truly one of the sweetest, kindest men I have ever known. We arrived at the church, knowing the WBC protestors (Phelps and co.) were going to be there. I never saw them. I actually looked for them, but they were gone by that time. I never heard them. Don't get me wrong, they were there. Local residents stood on other blocks singing to drown them out. But the important thing is that the family didn't see them or hear them. At the end of the day, they are nothing more than fleas to flick away. Honestly, I didn't even know whether they truly were there or not. The Patriot Guard captured my full attention. They stood proud with flags waving in honor of Caleb. You could've heard a pin drop. It was just that amazing. Silent and strong.
The media was there as well, camped out on a resident's lawn. I ignored them. Come to find out, the woman from CNN that had called for Chris (and consequently had woken me up from my blissful slumber) sought him out for an interview, which he bluntly denied. Sweet justice. She had come all the way from Chicago with her cameraman in tow. Too bad, so sad. She said something like, "But I have to get my story!" Chris looked at her, looked at all the people that had come to watch, looked at all the supporters, then turned to her and said, "So get it." Then he turned his attention back to his men. I have spoken to Chris about public speaking before, but on this instance, I have to chuckle. The man is blunt, if nothing else. She ended up leaving in a bit of a huff right before the funeral procession began. (Now that I think about it, I bet it burned her a bit to know they'd shown a glimpse of Chris on the news tonight. Just a shot of him, nothing important, but hahah she didn't get her story out of him!)
I also met Andrea Zinga's husband. She was not there today, but he was. He came right over to meet Chris and me. I spoke to him for a few short minutes. He seemed really excited to be there. When I say excited, I only mean that he was revved up by seeing the Patriot Guard, not that he was excited by the death of a soldier. I just want to make that clear. He was still very reverant.
Being that it was so hot today, Soldier's Angels made their way down the line, giving out water, keeping people hydrated. Pretty soon, local residents came out and stood, too. I walked up and down snapping off picture after picture. Meanwhile, Kade was busy charming the policemen out of their cards. I don't know if this is a nationwide thing, but the cops and firemen around here have cards, much like baseball cards, that depict an officer. Kids collect them. Kade has a few of them. He was very proud of himself.
After the funeral, we all loaded up to ride the funeral procession to the cemetery. Andrea Zinga's husband (I can't for the life of me remember his name! Chris has his card, I should check that.) rode on the back (with his camera) of one of the bikes. I thought this was pretty awesome. He promised he would send us copies of any video he took. The Patriot Guard had put the flags back in Max's van in a hurry. I admit, I was helping out with this and with so many people turning their flags in at once, things got hectic. So the flags weren't put in there as neatly as they could have been. I say all this, because shortly after we began the procession, Max and I couldn't hear anything coming from the back of the van. I turned around to see Kade sleeping (it was two in the afternoon by this time, we'd been going since 6 in the morning) in a pile of American flags. I didn't think to take a picture, but upon seeing him once the van was stopped, another rider did. I hope he sends me that picture. It was really one of those priceless precious moments that makes your heart just melt.
Being that Kade was asleep, I was loathe to wake him. So while the other riders saluted flags at the cemetery site, I stayed behind at the van to watch over Kade. While there, I straightened the remaining flags in an orderly and neat way. I don't know why, but that just made me feel better.
Upon looking at the ride waiver that everyone has to sign before each mission, I counted over two hundred names. The bike count was at least 176, not counting four-wheeled vehicles. The procession had been over a mile long. People came from everywhere to honor this young man. They stood in the blazing sun with no shade. They didn't complain. They barely moved. They stood strong. I can't put it into words. This is the way it should be.
I will quote another rider I'd heard over the course of the day...
"The Patriot Guard is great, but the sooner people forget us, the better. When we are no longer needed, the better off we'll all be."
They don't come for personal glory. They don't come to get their faces on tv. They only come to honor America's fallen soldiers. They will be there, protestors or not. They will be there, media or not. I can't imagine a better way to honor Caleb. Not only to honor his sacrifice, but this life as well. To see men and women riding from all across the country merely to stand outside the church where his body is being mourned... It's amazing and it brings tears to my eyes to know that there are people out there like this. To know that there IS good out there.
Yes, I will admit, it's overwhelming when I read a column a certain newspaper that writes a scathing article of Chris and mentions him by name. And it's amusing to see him on television ignoring the cameras. The truth is he cares for none of these things. They can write what they want. They can say and show whatever images they like. I know the man he is. I know why he does this. And I know that when the media vans have long sinced packed up to rush off for another story, my husband will be there to hug the parents. My husband will be there offering a flag to them. Not because he is special, but because he is just like every other Patriot Guard out there. He merely does what any one of them would do in his place. He is great, but so are they all. He is but one among many. And they are all magnificent.
God Bless You, Caleb
Rest in Peace
posted by Ari at 5:44 PM
3 Comments:
another awesome and so strong entry hon, the pride in your words is so justified to. Let the media, protestors, all of them do what they want, the important thing, the human thing is being there and doing and remembering. Job done and Caleb's loved ones have been able to let him rest with all the dignity and honour that is deserved for those that give their lives in service. There's a time for politics and a time for protest and a time for anger, days like yesterday were a time for none of those, it was a time for exactly what you guys did. Very very moving.
What a moving entry! Keep up the good work. - Julie -
Your right the media won't be there afterwards, so they don't deserve a story. I'm glad your husband ignored them.
Why would protestors come to a funeral? That is wrong. Is nothing sacred anymore.
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