OVERWHELMINGLY NEGATIVE

That is my characterization of the news stories available today. I've told you for some time that the quantity of stories pertaining to Iraq is in decline. Of course much of the news today seems focused on the Kerryesque flip flops of Richard Clarke (Good Job - no wait, Bad Job) on capitol hill.

If you could see the same list of headlines pertaining to Operation Iraqi Freedom you would certainly have the same impression I do...they are written by folks with their fingers in their ears yelling "LA LA LA LA I'm not listening...Bush Lied, It is Blood For Oil...LA LA LA LA LA".

So...I'm going to give you the entire text of a story sent to me by reader Beth in Texas. I don't have a link for it, but I believe credit goes to the Army Times.

Because this story is about folks who know there is something bigger than themselves. Just as soldiers who serve know it as well.

Couple’s ‘little way’ makes big difference
Husband-and-wife team donates thousands to troops and their families

By C. Mark Brinkley
Times staff writer

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — Try a little experiment.

Go to the ATM and check your account balance. For every thousand dollars in your account, take out $200. Got $5,000 in savings? Take out a grand. Now, walk up to a stranger and give it away. Do it again next month. And the month after. Use your vacation time to drive around the country, giving away 20 percent of what you make to others.

Then you’ll see how special Ed and Tonie Negrin are.

The husband-and-wife team, entrepreneurs from Scottsdale, Ariz., set aside 20 percent to 25 percent of the gross profits from their nationwide shipping business.

Then they give it away, to troops and their families, for no other reason than just because.

The Negrins make a good living, so the pot grows into thousands of dollars pretty quick. Money they use to buy things. Hats, T-shirts, compact discs, books. Stuffed animals and gourmet chocolates.

‘Our little way’

During a farewell here for Marines and sailors from Camp Lejeune’s 2nd Force Service Support Group — many of them headed to Iraq for their second pump — Ed summed up the burning “Why?” by posing this question:

“If you get to the end of your life and haven’t been meaningful to others, what good was it?”

At the Camp Lejeune event, one Marine walked up to Ed and stuck out his hand.

“Thanks for doing this for us,” he said.

Negrin flashed an embarrassed grin and shook the officer’s hand.

“We wouldn’t have anything if it wasn’t for what you guys do,” Negrin told the Marine. “It’s our little way.”

That’s how the Negrins — two people, business owners with no personal connection to the military other than a love of freedom, giving donation after donation, month after month — see it.

Chances are good that you’ve seen them already, driving their SUVs and pickups emblazoned with colorful images of flags and tanks and troops. They call their campaign “America’s Truck,” a roving billboard drumming up public support for the armed forces.

“If you’re driving all over, you have this great canvas you can encourage people with,” Ed Negrin said. “You can make a difference, in that little second of time.”

That’s how it happened for him. After Sept. 11, 2001, Ed was driving near Denver when he saw a man on an overpass waving an American flag. The gesture inspired him. So he and Tonie took the $10,000 they were saving for a blowout European vacation to celebrate their 10th anniversary and went across the country instead.

It’s not a publicity stunt, though they attract public and media attention. America’s Truck isn’t a charity, and accepts no donations to offset the expense of the trips and gifts. Ed won’t even plug the name of their company.

“We feel very blessed to be in this country,” he said. “We don’t have children, so it’s not like we need a lot of money for anything.”

The couple has visited about 30 bases, posts and stations all over the country, including the Pentagon, saying thanks and giving away tokens of appreciation.

They stopped by Fort Campbell, Ky., in January and left behind a truck decked out with images of the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq.

The idea was to allow the command to select soldiers to drive the truck around town as a weekly loaner, an idea that scared some commanders there. No one wanted to see the inspiring Suburban parked at, say, the Cat West Showbar on amateur night.

“That hasn’t happened,” said Master Sgt. Kelly Tyler, a Fort Campbell spokeswoman and official keymaster for the truck, which the Negrins are scheduled to pick up in March. “You have to give the American soldier credit for knowing when to use common sense. The soldiers have all treated it with the utmost respect.”

The truck made it out to nearly all of the parties for 101st soldiers returning from Iraq, drawing attention at every turn.

“If you don’t want people to know where you are, it’s not the truck to drive,” Tyler said. “Because everybody sees it.”

If you haven’t seen the Negrins, never fear, they’ve got a long list of places they want to visit. Or you can log on to their Web site, www.americastruck.net, where you can download patriotic songs and pictures of the trucks, or simply request a free gift. They’ll send it out at no cost.

Such remarkable gestures of good will seem all too infrequent these days, but Ed Negrin doesn’t feel special for doing it. He says people volunteer behind the scenes all over the country to make the world a better place.

“They’re just not people that you hear about,” he said, smiling. “They’re in rural areas, or they don’t scream for attention. It’s not about personal attention. It’s about giving something back.”

C. Mark Brinkley is a senior writer for Lifelines. He can be reached at (910) 455-8354 or via e-mail at cmark@atpco.com.

(Thanks, Beth)