By BERNADETTE LAURTIZEN

The news isn’t so great recently, but wouldn’t it be great if we could perform a small act that would boost spirits at a tragic time?

Master Sgt. Nicole Amor was assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command in Des Moines, Iowa. She was one of six soldiers killed in a drone strike in Kuwait in the early days of the war. Amor was within days of coming home.

When Nicole’s husband Joey was in high school, he was friends with Angela Grooms. Grooms asked Joey for permission to collect cards from their own high school classmates for his son. You see, Owen is a senior in high school and will be graduating this June.

Grooms started the small gesture, and the story was picked up by KCCI Channel 8 news in Des Moines. Now, they have offered the nation the opportunity to make a day marred by tragedy into a milestone accomplishment marked with respect for his mother while serving her country.

Grooms will be accepting the cards at her place of employment Buckler Callihan Law 531 6th Street Portsmouth, Ohio 45662. The generosity of Buckler Callihan is that it doesn’t put the family address into the public eye during such a time of heavy grief.

Why a story about a small town in Iowa making the newspaper in the small town of Los Alamos? The Champions of Youth Ambitions (C’YA) motto is, “Take A Second, Make A Difference.” How can we not do something small that could make an enormous difference? As we prepare to celebrate the 250th birthday of our nation, what a heart-warming project lies before us? What if he received 250 cards or 2,500 cards?

So, I ask that you do something for your country and one member of it that gave the ultimate sacrifice? One son of that member that will know that his mother’s life made a difference. A small act of compassion and kindness that no one may ever know about, but you may get to know how that one metaphorical “stone you tossed in the pond,” rippled in such a profound way.

You can feel free to verify my research at www.kcci.com.