A Hot Car and Cool Music Inspire Warm Feelings

A neighbor of mine just fulfilled every baby boomer guy's fantasy. No, not that one! He restored the hot rod of his youth. Actually, the inmates at the Moberly Correctional Center restored his 1966 Chevelle SS 396 to like-new condition. The car did 20 months behind bars and came out completely rehabilitated. On Sunday afternoon Keith Fletcher threw a party at Apple Creek Farm west of Jefferson City to show off his "baby" to all his friends and neighbors.

Keith Fletcher's Newly-restored 1966 Chevelle SS 396

Keith has owned the car for over 40 years but he was never prouder of it than he was this past Sunday as friends and neighbors "ooh'ed" and "ah'ed" over it.

When Keith originally got the car the Vietnam war - the Baby Boom generation's war - was going strong. At the open house Sunday I met a veteran of the latest U.S. conflict, Tyler Huffman. While serving with the Marines in Afghanistan, Tyler was wounded and lost the use of his legs. Operation Tyler,  currently underway, is an effort by citizens appreciative of Tyler's sacrifice to raise funds to help build him and his family a home.

On Friday, July 27, at 7 pm, Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band will perform at Apple Creek Farm to raise funds for Operation Tyler.   On the Lt. Dan Band website - http://www.ltdanband.com/pages/concerts.htm  - it says the concert will be in "Colombia". Not so. It will be right across the road from our house. Lt. Dan will be in our 'hood!

Gary Sinise came to fame portraying "Lt. Dan"  in the movie Forrest Gump, released July 6, 1994.    Much like every guy who has ever served in the military, Forrest intially had some reservations about the military, as evidenced by the following scene:


Forrest Gump: Hello. I'm Forrest. Forrest Gump

Army Bus Driver: Nobody gives a horse's shit who you are, fuzzballl! You're not even a low-life, scum-sucking maggot! Get your maggoty ass on the bus! You're in the army now!

Forrest Gump: voice over] At first it seemed like I made a mistake seeing how it was only my induction day, and I was getting yelled at.

As it turned out, Forrest adjusted quite nicely to military life:

Drill Sergeant: Gump! What's your sole purpose in this army?

Forrest Gump: To do whatever you tell me, drill sergeant!

Drill Sergeant: Damn it, Gump! You're a damn genius! This is the most outstanding answer I have ever heard. You must have an I.Q. of 160. You are gifted, Private Gump. 

Forrest Gump: [narrates] Now for some reason I fit in the army like one of them round pegs. It's not really hard. You just make your bed real neat and remember to stand up straight and always answer every question with "Yes, drill sergeant."

After being sent to Viet Nam, Forrest was assigned to Lt. Dan's platoon.   Lt. Dan had the following orders for Forrest and his best good friend, Bubba:

Lt. Dan Taylor: Two standing orders in this platoon. One, take good care of your feet. Two, try not to do anything stupid, like getting yourself killed.

Lt. Dan, Forrest & Bubba

[Bubba and Forrest look at each other]

Forrest Gump: I sure hope I don't let him down.

These days, Gary Sinise  uses the fame he earned portraying a soldier who lost his legs in Vietnam to help real soldiers like Marine Tyler Huffman who lost the use of his legs after being wounded in Afghanistan. 

Like Forrest Gump said, "My Mama always told me that miracles happen every day. Some people don't think so, but they do."

Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band