RIP Chris Kyle

Riley has long admired Chris Kyle. Riley has wanted to be a Navy SEAL for a long time, so Chris Kyle was one of his heroes. We were very saddened to learn about his death a few weeks ago. Today, the funeral procession was making its way from Midlothian to Austin for burial at the Texas State Cemetery. I took Riley out of school to come with me and stand on the highway and pay our respects. I think Riley appreciated being able to go and see the support that showed up. Every overpass, and along the highway for the entire 200 miles was packed with people waving flags and just showing their support to the family. It was a quite a sight to see. I haven't had a lot of "proud American" moments in a while, but being out there, with all those other people, seeing the miles-long line of Patriot Guard on motorcycles leading the procession, it was incredible, and very moving.

Riley and I were asked by KXAN news to speak about it, and what Chris Kyle meant to Riley. They thought it was neat that Riley was in Sea Cadets, and that he wasn't just sitting back talking about wanting to be in the Navy, but actually working towards the goal. It was a great interview, but sadly, the audio messed up and we didn't make the news. BUT, they want to meet up with us in Ft. Hood and do a story on Riley and the Sea Cadets, so we're very excited about that! Especially since budget cuts to the military lately have resulted in Sea Cadets losing quite a bit of their grant funding. Maybe some publicity will help.

After the news interview, Riley wanted lunch at Olive Garden where he ate his weight in salad. At least it was salad, and I think the waitress was surprised to see a teenage boy eat 3 huge bowls of salad!