Faded Yellow Ribbons

A dusty, faded yellow ribbon is still above my front door. Nov. 30 was the day I said goodby to my son-in-law, Lance Cpl. Ivan Shoemaker. He left the following day for the Persian Gulf. The war may be over and the welcome home parades have passed, but not all of our young men and women are home from the Gulf. I will have that yellow ribbon up and waiting for Ivan to take down personally.

He participated in the liberation of Kuwait, the relief effort in Ethiopia and the peacekeeping force remaining in the Gulf. His ship will finally arrive home late this summer. That is when our family and friends will pop the cork on the champagne as Ivan takes down his dusty 9-month-old yellow ribbon. Operation Desert Storm won’t be over until all the ribbons are taken down and all our soldiers who participated in the Gulf War are home.

SUSAN LOVE-DIVINE

Hemet