One more thing
I really had no intention of reviewing Operation Celebration since I rambled on and on about it so much before the weekend even got here, but I find I have a couple of things to say. No surprise there, huh? Actually it would be a little tough to completely ignore this past weekend.
I hope all of you had a chance to participate in at least some of it. It was a good way to spend a Saturday and Sunday. I hope you got to meet Salena Shriver and her sister Helen (Shriver) Brundage, both of whom are WWII veterans and former Peabody residents. They flew in from California and Colorado to take part. Pretty cool, don't you think?
Of course, we are lucky to still have many local veterans and a bunch of them were on hand also.
Often during the planning of this weekend, we were aware of how many veterans were no longer with us
We should have asked long ago for their appearance in parades and their stories to save for the generations that will follow.
You have no idea how many volunteers signed on for this project and were happy to give. The weekend saw some teary moments, some "oh no" moments, and some "wow" moments. It would take more space than I have here to tell you all the good parts I saw or about which I heard. Thanks to everyone who helped with food, a monetary contribution, attendance at an event, an hour or two of time, some brawn or brains, a smile of appreciation, or a pleasant word.
As you know I always have an opinion about the whiners and nay-sayers, but this time I'm just not going to waste the time and energy to give them press coverage.
Thanks to the rest of you.
— SUSAN MARSHALL