“Here they come! They’re coming!’’ a “few” hundred kids yelled. Do you know who coming? It’s “Wreaths Across America”!!! They finally came to TPS. The first thing we saw was police cars with sirens that sounded like crying cats, followed by motorcycles that filled the air with the smell of gasoline. Then came the tractor trailers. You know, big highway trucks. Well we had twelve of those and two semi-trucks in our tiny parking lot. They were carrying all the wreaths that were going to Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. We finally moved on inside. Sitting down on the floor in the gym, we listened to four 8th graders sing the National Anthem and an hour of sad and good speeches. Seven children came up wearing camo army suits holding wreaths with big red bows. they came up to six families who lost their children in war. Each child gave a wreath to a family member. At the end we surprised the veterans by singing a song called “We are Proud of Our Veterans”. Then the whining police cars and smelly gas guzzling motorcycles and tractor trailers leave. We all shuffle back into TPS school, talking, cheering, laughing, as the day goes on.
