Dear Gay, I could write a book about the many memories you and I shared together, the places we traveled, and the things we experienced. A few of my favorite memories include: our visit to the National VFW Children’s Home in Eaton Rapids, Michigan; the many meetings we attended at the Auxiliary District, State, and National levels; raising thousands of dollars for the Veteran’s Scholarship program; marching in the VFW National Parade in Baltimore, Maryland; serving the Veterans at the VA Hospital in Richmond; ringing the Salvation Army bell together every December; the many poppies we delivered for our Veterans on Memorial Day; the many fundraisers we did together such as yard sales, bake sales, and dinners; working together on the annual Veteran’s Day programs; picking up litter along the highways; attending the Keep America Beautiful program with Clint Eastwood and Lou Gossett Jr; the excitement we had at the White House when we saw President George Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush and Lee Greenwood sang “God Bless the USA”; the fun we had designing the Veteran’s monument in Warsaw in honor of our Veterans; traveling to Niagara Falls; the many times we rode on the floats in Warsaw especially the time you dressed as the Statue of Liberty and I laid the wreath at the base of the statue (we won first place); meeting and dancing with Wayne Newton at the Pocahontas dedication; the rewarding experience of working together for Brian’s Heart Fund to collect over 10,000 baseball cards and raise $8,500 for his heart transplant (a successful operation and now Brian is a registered nurse today); raising donations for Leona’s Lung Fund; meeting Jimmy Dean and Linda Evans in Washington, DC; the many years we attended the Statler Brothers concert on the 4th of July; and the time we attended a Methodist Church service and a Baptist Church service the same day in Lansing, Michigan. Since both of the services had receptions, we were stuffed afterwards. In talking with the Baptist preacher, we joked that we traveled all the way from Virginia to hear him preach. He asked us if we knew of Warsaw, Virginia, because his wife’s best friend lived there on a farm and coincidentally, you knew the family! There is no one on this earth who has brought me more fun and laughter than you throughout the years. These are just a small portion of the many beautiful times we have shared during our wonderful friendship and I will carry these in my heart forever. I love you and I will see you again when my room is ready next to yours. Love, Ruth Brown