Friday was a pretty emotional day for me. The guy with the flag and his wife Pamela,who just happens to be a real estate agent in Massachusetts, came to Hampstead New
Hampshire to meet me. If you haven't read my story about when Hate came to Hampstead please take a few moments and read it so that this will make sense to you.
Our meeting was recorded by the Union Leader Newspaper which is the largest newspaper in NH. They also interviewed me last week about my original Hate post and I posted about that experience on my blog.
Over this last week I've had a lot of people e-mail me and comment on my post...all wanting to know who the guy holding the flag was so they could shake his hand and say Thank You. He remained a mystery...no one seemed to know who he was.
(Frank the Flag Guy & his wife Pamela)
This past Monday, he came to my office, Prudential Verani Realty in Hampstead but I was away teaching in Vermont. He left me a yellow rose but no contact information. The mystery deepened.
Finally he decided to come forward...the guy I called gruffy in my Hate post the guy who held the flag.
He is a member of the Patriot Guard Riders out of Massachusetts and came that day to pay tribute by showing respect for our fallen hometown hero being buried that day. Mr McGruffy (aka Frank Downs) arrived a little late and experienced for the first time this hateful group of uninvited guests (UG's) standing on our street corner.
I'm not sure how many Patriot Guard members were in town that day but I do know that the 7 Hampstead members were joined by many more from all across NH and New England. They provided a human shield preventing the family and mourners from seeing the hateful scene being played out down the road. For that I am so grateful. The thought, that the family might see these people polluting our town was just too much to bare. The Patriot Guard Riders were there making sure that would not happen.
Prior to this I really didn't even know they existed. My good friend and fellow NH blogger Ann Cummings had posted about them in her post called Wreaths Across America other than that I knew nothing. My education was about to begin! Guess what my next post will be about??? The PGR!
This post is about Frank Downs. He gave us something that day, a small act that seemed so big and for those of us on the corner that day he made a difference.
What he did by holding that flag and staring quietly at those hateful people gave us hope. little things can make a difference...ordinary people can make a difference. Thank you Frank and Thank you to all the Patriot Guard members across the nation... you all make a difference. (Patriot Guard Riders marching photo courtesy of Arline Grant)
Me and Mr McGruffy...Frank Downs
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