A Cold Treat, from Mom with Love
MAY 12, 2007 Listen to this Story
Web Resources
While many people search for a Mother's Day gift this weekend, one military mom has been getting support to send a refreshing treat to her son in Iraq. Weekend America's John Moe speaks with Sharon Crary, director of Operation Icy Treat.
Notes from Senior Reporter John Moe
When I first read about Sharon Crary's efforts to package up some Slurpee-like machines and send them to Iraq, I was intrigued. She was trying to raise a couple thousand dollars to get a machine to her son's unit in Baghdad so they could have a nice cold drink in the middle of an Iraq summer. I saw the story on the AP wire so I figured that by the time I read about this unique story, she was already deluged with offers of free machines and services. I was right.
By the time I went down and saw her early this week, Sharon's effort to get one machine had evolved into an effort to send 40 to 50 machines all over Iraq and Afghanistan. The scope of Operation Icy Treat (as she was now calling it) was massive. But what really interested me was how, at the root of it all, it was still a mom trying to get a cold drink for her son. And it's the story of a mom who vividly remembers the war in Vietnam worrying about her son now in the middle of a war in Iraq. If she can make him feel a bit better, by way of a frozen drink, maybe she can feel a bit better too.
The story wraps up with me taking Sharon to a local coffee shop where she gets a kind of whipped up frozen strawberry iced tea. It seemed to make her really happy. That might have been because it was close to 80 degrees that day. But I also think that in the midst of coordinating Operation Icy Treat that one frozen drink just made her feel a bit closer to her son.
-
- Music Bridge:
- Untitled Bright Format V2
- Artist: Kiln
- CD: Ampday (Thalassa)
Comments
Comment | Refresh
Post a Comment: Please be civil, brief and relevant.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. All comments are moderated. Weekend America reserves the right to edit any comments on this site and to read them on the air if they are extra-interesting. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting.
You must be 13 or over to submit information to American Public Media. The information entered into this form will not be used to send unsolicited email and will not be sold to a third party. For more information see Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.