Mr. Waite Goes To Washington!

My own personal "Peace Corps Poster Boy" (AKA St. John) will be marching with the Peace Corps contingent in the Inaugural Parade! How cool is that? It's actually cooler than even he knows. Oh, he's excited . . . kind of. Well, as excited as probably anyone would be knowing that he has to be ON HIS FEET absolutely all day carrying a five-pound flag the whole day, in a huge mob of people and he has to be there - rain, shine, sleet, hail, snow, whatever. Okay, so he's not so excited really.

Oh, but I am. I'm thrilled! And yes, I'm the one who entered him in the lottery to begin with. It was open to all RPCVs (that's Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) - and I could have entered myself. But really, me stand in the cold/wet/ice/snow all day, no place to sit down, hoisting a five-pound flag, in a crowd? Not likely. But John can handle it. Hell, that boy can handle anything. Listen he chooses to sleep on top of mountains in the snow in -20 degree weather! This should be no problem.

And I KNOW John getting picked was pure luck. But I can't think of anything more fitting than my husband - Super (3-year) volunteer, recruiter, trainer, Associate Director - carrying a Peace Corps flag in this parade on a day when history is being made. Not only because Barack Obama is our first black President. But because he truly has a world view. He's a citizen of the world. As I like to say, "He's from OUR neighborhood!" I also think that maybe Barrack Obama understands that you can actually serve your country - and the planet - by working to bring peace to it. And isn't that what Peace Corps Volunteers have been doing for nearly 50 years?

I'm not sure how John is going to feel on Inauguration Day. Cold? Tired? Mobbed? Excited? But here's something I know: One day, he'll tell OUR grandchildren about it!