Grandparents Pay Their Respects

Iowa City - An elderly man and woman were looking through the boots, and I showed them where the Iowa boots were placed. They found what they were looking for -- their grandson’s name. They stood quietly then brought a flower to place alongside one already in there.
They took pictures from many angles. They made eye contact with me, inviting me over.

“These boots aren’t the real boots are they? These would never fit on his big feet.” The grin suggested Seth’s feet may have been a bit of a family joke. It was OK with them that they weren’t the real boots but were only representing their grandson. They asked me if I had anyone represented here and seemed relieved when I said I did not. When I said I have a grandson currently in the Air Guard and currently in Iraq – they embraced me.

They left – only to return later with computer print outs of all the Iowa men and women killed in Iraq. Each print out had a picture and story—they thought I might want to place it with the respective boots. They thanked me and left.