We always enjoy our adventures to the Wellesley Recycling and Disposal Facility (RDF) because we never know what we might find. During a recent foray we noticed something unusual not at the treasure trove that is the Reusables Area, but over at the construction debris pile. There, standing at attention, was a 3-ft. tall statue of a U.S. soldier in combat uniform. The base of the statue reads, “Honor and Bravery.”
The polyresin-constructed military man was much the worse for the wear, and it seemed obvious that the RDF was his last stop. A online search showed that such statues are easily available in the $100 – $150 range. We imagine this soldier stood proudly out in the elements for a long time before he finally got to the RDF.
At ease, soldier, and thank you for your service.
Although the next pic isn’t a dump find, in keeping with the military theme of this post, I’ll share that below are the spent shells from dad’s military funeral seven years ago. A standard part of any military funeral is the ceremonial shooting of three volleys in honor of the deceased. The spent shell casings are then presented to the family.
One year on dad’s birthday Mr. Swellesley and I went out to dinner, and my fortune cookie said, “Courage comes through suffering.” I don’t typically believe in messages from beyond, but this fortune was so accurate that there was no tossing it out with the leftover lo mein. There was only one place for these words—on display with our family’s final reminders that service to country can bring lifelong challenges.
