Newspaper Page Text
Doing without
HE OTHER day I
ran into a friend in
the grocery store I
had not seen in quite some
time. She had just left the
salon and sported a new
“do.” I
almost
didn't rec
ognize her.
In fact,
at first I
walked
right past
her with
out even
speaking.
“Honestly,
how do I look?” she asked.
“My husband will prob
ably hate it, but it’s ok — it
was for a good cause.”
I marveled at how brave
she was. After all, she had
14 inches of her beautiful
locks cut away. Her new
“do” actually somehow
made her look more vibrant.
I have had long hair for
years. Over the past month,
I have had what I call a
lot of “bad hair days.” I’ve
blamed it on the weather-
humidity. I’ve even tried
several different hair
products and nothing has
seemed to help. I keep a
pair of scissors in my vanity
drawer in case I have a hair
or two that just won’t “do
right,” but over the course
of a few weeks, I have been
tempted to go drastic.
In fact, one day I called
three different recom
mended hairdressers finding
they were all booked solid.
My last hope was a salon
where a friend works. I
dropped in and begged her
to cut my hair within 24
hours. She agreed to work
me in the next day, know
ing that if I cut it myself,
she might have an even
bigger mess to doctor!
Of course on the day of
the scheduled event, my
hair looked its very best —
no frizz and perfect curls.
I even had doubts about
getting it “done.” After a
wonderful scalp treatment
and a little pampering, I
had a new “do” and felt
like a much better person.
That was until the phone
rang. It was a dear friend
calling to let me know that
her young daughter would
be admitted back into the
hospital in order to try and
remove newly found cancer.
I cried as I thought about
how selfish I had been,
complaining about my
own hair when she as a
teenager didn’t have a hair
on her head due to chemo
therapy. At a time in her
life when looks seem to be
so important, she hasn’t let
it bother her. Her amazing
smile and positive atti
tude make her radiant and
beautiful inside and out.
Just yesterday I ran across
the friend with the new
“do” again in the grocery
store. She commented on
my fancy new cut. As we
talked I told her about my
friend’s daughter and her
bout with cancer. She then
proceeded to tell me that
it was the reason she had
her long hair cut off. Her
locks were donated to an
organization that makes
wigs for cancer patients.
As the light was shed
on the issue, I saw things
from a different perspec
tive, another life lesson
was learned. Making such a
to-do over my hairdo should
not be a priority when there
are so many precious can
cer patients doing without.
Sherri Stephens is a
South Jackson resident.
sherri
Stephens
Inside: Child i.d. program topic for Legion — page 5C
June 17,
2009
0 The Jackson Herald
Jana Adams Mitcham,
Features Editor 706-367-8760
jana@mainstreetnews. com
Section C
Father and son: The following are Facebook messages exchanged between Mark and Devin
Hamrick, Jefferson, a father and son who were working to be reunited in Afghanistan.
MARK
May 19 at 9:28pm
Hey Devin. We are
[heading out around]
0900 from [up here].
Then we have to make 1
stop in Kabul before I can
get over there...be patient
with me....I will be there
though. I Love You!
MARK
May 20 at 9:35am
Hey Bud. Just FYI,
in case we are a little
late, I will wait for you
near the flagpoles for
you for whenever you
can be there. Don’t give
up on me, ok? I love
you!!!
DEVIN
May 20 at 11:04am
okay that is fine do you
have an estimated time so
i can [request leave from]
class around that time??
MARK
May 20 at 11:28am
hey bud, not really sure,
we are leaving here at 0900,
but we have to take a dif
ferent route. If you can, call
my sat phone if I am not there when
you are, and I will have a better time
then. I will be there though, and if I
am late, I will wait for you. Please tell
your Platoon Sgt the circumstances
and see if he can work with you. I
Love You, Son!!
Jefferson father, son meet for two hours in Afghanistan
Family
reunion
By Jana A. Mitcham
N THE PAST, correspondence
between soldiers stationed
overseas and their family mem
bers could take weeks, even months,
as handwritten letters left battlefields,
crossed oceans and finally arrived, much
awaited, in a mailbox.
These days, while the separation
remains difficult, soldiers and their fami
lies can email, can connect on Facebook
and, in the case of Mark and Devin
Hamrick of Jefferson, can even sched
ule a family reunion thousands of miles
from home in another land.
It was never a “sure thing,” accord
ing to Jana Hamrick, wife and mother,
but with technology at hand, the two
Hamrick men were able to coordinate
a meeting and spend two hours together
in Afghanistan.
“Two hours may not seem like much
to us over here, but for my husband it
was the best early Father’s Day gift he
could have ever received; for our son,
it was the renewal of courage and com
mitment that he needed,” Mrs. Hamrick
said. “And luckily for us back here pray
ing that they’d get to meet up, we have
pictures to see the two together. And
for me, my husband gave me the best
Mother’s Day gift by calling me at 4:30
a.m. and putting Devin on the phone. I
don’t think I’ve ever had a more incred
ible gift than my two boys able to meet
up over there like that - and then talking
to them both at the same time.”
Mark Hamrick left in December for
Afghanistan, where he works with a
company contracted by the department
of defense to help local heads of police
departments operate in a more demo
cratic and efficient manner. He will
remain in Afghanistan at least to the
middle of December 2009, and is sta
tioned at Bagram Air Field, with an
actual district of Tag Ab, northeast of
Kabul.
Devin, a 2008 graduate of Jackson
County Comprehensive High School
and a JROTC member there under
Col. Tom Taylor (although he finished
his coursework in December 2007),
deployed from Winder March 30 for
training in Mississippi and arrived in
Afghanistan in May. He is stationed
southeast of Kabul. At 18 — he will
mark his 19th birthday in July — he is
one of the youngest in his company.
A CALL TO JEFFERSON
Devin Hamrick makes a call
to speak with his mother
Jana Hamrick during the time
he and his father, Mark, were
united in Afghanistan.
“It was amazing to me
to think that a father
and son were able to
meet up in a country
that’s the size of Texas
halfway around the
world! Not too many
people get that chance
to experience that and
in such conditions.”
— Mark Hamrick, Jefferson
Knowing that his son would
be deployed in the near future, Mr.
Hamrick planned to come home for
a visit. Unfortunately, he arrived four
days too late and Devin’s company had
already shipped out.
Still, the two worked to make a
reunion happen.
“Devin worked to be sent out on the
earlier deployment in late May, leav
ing before the rest of the company
headed over,” Mrs. Hamrick said. “He
kept in touch with Mark via Facebook
messages privately and through instant
messaging when on at the same time.
Using approximates dates and locations
AT WORK IN AFGHANISTAN
Mark Hamrick works with a company consulting with the
department of defense to offer police mentor training to local
law enforcement in Afghanistan.
FATHER AND SON
Father and son Mark (R) and Devin Hamrick are pictured together
while the two had a two-hour reunion in Afghanistan.
IN TRAINING
Devin Hamrick is shown in training with the mortar unit
in Afghanistan. A member of the National Guard, he
deployed from Winder to Mississippi to Afghanistan,
arriving in Afghanistan in May.
was all they had to go on due to security
reasons, so Mark set to work on getting
approval to be dropped off during a con
voy to Kabul at the camp where Devin
was supposed to be for in-processing.
Nothing was set in stone, but Mark did at
least get approval for the diverted route
from his commander. Devin mentioned
it to his sergeant who gave approval for
Devin to slip out of a meeting should
their timings work out correctly.”
‘HAMRICK LAW’ THWARTED
The Hamricks often jokingly refer
to their “Murphy’s Law” moments as
“Hamrick Law” — the things that are
supposed to be simple become difficult,
the 20-minute project turns into two
hours, for example.
In this case, they were praying that
“Hamrick Law” wouldn’t come into
play. Unfortunately, it began to seem
as if it would “rear its ugly head,” Mrs.
Hamrick said. An hour-long convoy
turned into three hours and the “window
of opportunity” was closing.
“Upon arriving at the camp, Mark
waited for Devin in their agreed upon
meeting place,” she said. “Mark wasn’t
sure that he’d made it in time — you
see, Devin’s company was set to be
heading out of the camp at any time to
move out to the assigned FOB (Forward
Operating Base) that he’d be stationed
at. The time to move out wasn’t being
given to the soldiers, as operational
plans and such have to be confirmed
and approved before any movements
are made. So Mark waited. He told me
that he saw someone walking towards
him from a distance away and instantly
knew that it was Devin. He knew just
from how he walked, and he was thrilled
that ‘Hamrick Law’ hadn’t won that day.
Devin’s sergeant made an appearance,
introducing himself and letting Mark
know that they had some time, then left
to give them time to talk. At some point,
even one of Devin’s lieutenants came
up to introduce himself and allowed for
a little more time, knowing that this was
a special moment.”
At 4:30 a.m., Mrs. Hamrick got a call
in Jefferson.
“I knew that they were supposed
to meet up sometime that morning
(Afghanistan time), but I knew it wasn’t
confirmed,” she said. “When the phone
rang, I was a bit worried, as I didn’t
continued on page 2C
“I loved being with him, yet the hardest part
was hugging him, knowing he was going his
way and I was going mine and never know
ing when or if we would see each other
again. It was one of the best days of my
life, though, and I will never forget it. ”
— Devin Hamrick, Jefferson