Eat well, support troops at Mimi’s in PTC

“Morning, Vern!” is heard over and over at Mimi’s Restaurant on Ga. Highway 54 in Peachtree City, as regulars roll in one at a time with the day just starting and chat with Suzy, Stephanie, Mimi and Vern when he takes a moment to turn away from the grill. But something more important than eggs and burgers is being cooked up at Mimi’s in November.

While too many Americans focus on themselves and pay little heed to the sacrifice of our U.S. service members, Vern Lynch and owner Mimi Gentilini are undertaking a project to send packages to our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, part of a Georgia-based effort called Operation Sandbox.

Vern says the least we can do while our troops are deployed to a war zone, separated from their family again and again, is send them a few of the small things they miss, and let them know at the same time we care about them.

I’d say Vern and Mimi have their priorities in order, and I’d like to tell you how to help them get the job done right.

Donations are appreciated, and if you’d like to purchase the items yourself to donate, requested items are beef jerky, beanie weenies, gum, hard candy, peanuts, sunflower seeds, coffee, canned tuna, trail mix, baby wipes, drink mixes, razors, shaving gel, deodorant, snacks and food items that don’t melt or spoil – just a few small things we take for granted but are in short supply for our deployed men and women.

Vern has recruited other local businesses as collection points to make it convenient to drop off these items. In Peachtree City there is Gilroy’s Hardware on Ga. Highway 74 South, Ace Hardware on Hwy. 54 East, Peachtree Tan & Salon on Georgian Parkway and Discount Golf Shop on Crosstown Drive.

In Fayetteville, you may donate at Village Paint Store on Hwy. 54 East at Governor’s Square and Big Daddy’s bike shop on Hwy. 85 south of town. The Scooter Superstore on Hwy. 74 North in Fairburn is participating, as is Great South Harley Davidson on Hwy. 16 and Cycle City Power Sports on Millard Farmer Industrial Boulevard in Newnan.

You can help make life just a little easier for someone serving our country under trying conditions, and Vern has made it so convenient there is no excuse. You can even stop by Mimi’s to donate and as a bonus give some good-natured harassment to Vern and Mimi over breakfast or lunch.

Last week while reading my morning paper with coffee, I said to Vern, “Please cook my eggs a little more like you did yesterday!” It’s nice to eat at a place that feels like a friend’s house, where they care about the one-half of 1 percent of Americans carrying the burden in our wars, and have cared enough to do something about it through Operation Sandbox for several years.

Operation Sandbox started in 2004 as an effort by a Georgia church group and has ballooned into a tax-exempt 501c(3) non-profit as many ordinary people like you and me decided it was a good idea. They send packages to troops year round and so far have reached over 80,000 troops with small packages.

They are also sending microwaves, small refrigerators, coffee pots, toasters and 5-gallon containers to make it easier to wash clothes when resources are thin.

The Georgia legislature and U.S. Senators Isakson and Chambliss, and ordinary people I trust far more than politicians, have commended Operation Sandbox.

I appreciate people like Mimi and Vern, and also Cathy McMullen of Peachtree City, who works to support the kids of deployed troops through a group called Embracing Military Families.

The rest of us don’t do enough. I have long been troubled that most young Americans are living their entire youth with no requirement to serve their country, frequently developing an attitude that serving our country is the job of “someone else.”

It shouldn’t be that way. If it were up to me, every young man and woman would serve in some way. If it were up to me, fighting a war would involve the commitment of every American for the duration, and if they are not committed, we bring our troops home.

But it isn’t up to me, and the few serving in our military risk their lives doing America’s dirty work while we focus on daily trials like slow traffic in our commute.

We should do more. It takes so little from us to gather some of these items and deliver to Mimi and Vern, or to simply open our wallet. Do whatever you believe is the right thing to do, and don’t be bashful about telling Vern how you like your eggs.

[Terry Garlock lives in Peachtree City. His email is tgarlock@mindspring.com.]