Honoring Rachel Granger and Kyle Baker
HONORING RACHEL GRANGER AND KYLE BAKER -- (House of Representatives - July 08, 2004)
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Bradley) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. BRADLEY of New Hampshire. Madam Speaker, I rise this evening to pay tribute to two New Hampshire residents. First, I pay tribute to a New Hampshire resident who recently passed away after fighting a long battle against a tough and debilitating illness. Rachel Granger died on Saturday, June 5, after a brave fight with Lou Gehrig's disease, or ALS. ALS is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that leaves its victims paralyzed, but still mentally alert.
On average, a person who has been diagnosed with ALS will die within 2 to 5 years of diagnosis, and 50 percent of patients die within 18 months. ALS is truly one of the most debilitating diseases to affect patients and their families.
In the last few months of her life, Rachel was unable to speak and to enjoy many of the activities she once loved, such as needlepoint and boating on Lake Winnipesaukee.
Rachel showed tremendous courage in attending a town meeting I hosted in Wolfeboro last year. Though she was afflicted with ALS and had many difficulties with mobility, she wanted to attend the meeting in order to shed light on a problem that affects thousands of other terminally ill patients. Rachel was having trouble getting her Social Security disability claim processed in enough time to actually receive any benefits before she passed away.
Her courage to bring this problem to my attention has encouraged me to work with my colleagues and the Social Security Administration to address this situation for all terminally ill patients. Rachel's determination to help others who face the same situation is commendable and inspiring. Rachel's friends remember her as someone who was full of life and always made others laugh, despite her physical handicap.
I am fortunate to have met Rachel during her lifetime and have been able to share in some of her triumphs and tragedies. Her courage and determination should not, and will not, be forgotten.
Madam Speaker, the second New Hampshire resident I rise tonight to honor is Kyle Baker of Milton. Mr. Baker is the national winner in the 2004 Veterans of Foreign Wars' Voice of Democracy Scholarship contest. This contest is held each year to give high school students the opportunity to voice their opinion on their responsibility to our country. The following is Mr. Baker's essay:
"It is a bright summer day, and a soft breeze gently whispers through the maple leaves. A little boy is playing alone in the driveway at his grandmother's house. Above him the American flag billows and waves, trying to remove itself from its anchor at the top of the flagpole and drift down in front of him to make its presence known. The boy plays on, not realizing what it took to keep that flag flying high.
"A few years later, on the 11th of September, 2001, the same boy, now a bit older, stares at the television in shock and disbelief. He watches as the towers collapse, ending so many lives and bringing anguish to so many families. The boy's classmates sitting all around him reflect in their eyes the desperation, sorrow and helplessness the boy himself feels. He realizes at that moment how precious the freedoms are that he sometimes takes for granted. He realizes what a privilege it is to live in America, and that the future of his country is now changed forever. He goes home that night wondering what he can do for his country at such a time of loss, what commitment can he possibly make to the future of America after such a tragedy:
"Now it is July of 2003, and the boy stands in front of the Vietnam Memorial seeing 'The Wall' for the very first time. He is overcome by how many names there are. He walks solemnly and slowly, passing by the countless flowers, letters, photographs, even teddy bears left at the wall by the families of the fallen. He wonders if some of the people walking near him are searching for one of the names, an uncle maybe, or even a father. He can picture a young man only a few years older than himself, crouching, frightened in the thick jungle brush, wondering if he will ever come home. He can picture this young man removing a photograph wrapped in plastic from his pocket. It is a photograph of the young man's high school girlfriend, the same girl this man had decided he would ask to marry as soon as he came home from the war. 'Be mine forever,' he would have undoubtedly said as he kissed her good-bye. 'Was it their last good-bye,' the boy wonders? 'Was this young man's name engraved here on the wall somewhere?'
"The boy walks on, gazing at panel after panel, feeling sadness, but also an immense gratitude with the passing of each and every name. He reads the names, trying to imagine what each man might have looked like. He wonders how many children they might have had or whether or not they, like the other young men he pictured, left a sweetheart behind when they went to fight for their country. So many names. So many faceless reminders of the highest commitment one can fulfill.
"The boy keeps moving slowly, when something at the foot of the wall catches his eye. He bends down to look, and there sits a small American flag, resting amongst a bouquet of flowers. Tears well up inside of him for a moment, and the boy can think of only one thing that he can do to show his appreciation for those lives reflected in the marble. He places one hand on a panel, closes his eye, and whispers 'thank you.'
It is October 22, 2003, and that same little boy who used to play in the driveway at his Grandma's house underneath a billowing American flag sits in a classroom, wondering how he can write about his commitment to America's future. He wonders whether or not he should promise to do great things with his life, or whether or not he should tell the story of someone else who had. Yes. That little boy is me.
Upon preparing for this essay I realized that it would not do to recite the words of our country's great leaders or prominent citizens, regardless of how moving and profound those words may be. I realized that this essay was not about how much research I had done, or how much I knew about the political structure of our nation. No. I realized that this time I needed to convey what I considered to be my commitment to America's future, using my own words, and expressing my own feelings. Well, here is what my commitment to America's future is. My commitment to America's future is simply to remember America's past.
I will remember our fallen heroes, those brave souls who paid the ultimate price to ensure the safety of future generations. I will remember those that live on, continuing with the task bestowed upon them by the voices of days gone by. I will never lose sight of all that it took to provide me with the freedoms that I once took for granted, and I do not, and should not, stand alone with my commitment. When I see the flag in Grandma's driveway billowing proud and tall in the same soft breeze, I am reminded of why that flag is still flying. This is my commitment to America's future, and it is something that not only I, but all of us, as Americans, must never forget.