Troops’ crucial work continues in Iraq

Published 10:15 pm Thursday, April 30, 2009

To those with loved ones in Iraq, it might seem like war stories have moved to the media’s back burner.

“I think Iraq has somewhat fallen from the front page, mainly because we are fighting our own battle here at home with the economy,” Jennifer Nystrom says. “It’s not necessarily right or wrong that it’s no longer the leading story. What could be considered wrong is the fact that all the good that is being done over there is not recognized very much, nor has it been.”

Her son, Erik Nystrom of Marysville, is serving our country in Iraq. His grandmother, Nellie Harris, lives in Everett.

Jennifer Nystrom says she wishes protesters would wear T-shirts reading, “If you are able to protest, thank a soldier.”

The very people who protest the war, she said, need to be thanking the young men and women who are on the front lines because it’s the soldiers’ sacrifice that gives them the freedom to protest.

We can’t give up on Iraq, she said.

“If only people heard the good stories. We need to finish the job properly so that all that we have fought for is not lost.”

But she is the first to say she would like to bring home the troops — and her son.

“But I don’t want them to come home at the sacrifice of the mission and the sacrifice of the people they went over to help,” Nystrom says. “Freedom is far too precious to give up on. And it could ultimately end ours.”

Erik Nystrom is in the Army, working intelligence, and is stationed with his wife, Autumn, at Fort Hood, Texas. They will celebrate their first anniversary this month — apart.

Despite Nystrom’s busy mission, he makes time to hand out food and Gatorade in Iraq.

“The parents always send the children out to get it,” Autumn Nystrom says. “He finds it interesting that the simplest things make them happy, like high fiving or throwing a baseball around.”

All that sweet stuff that doesn’t make the news.

Tour the Arlington Community Garden on Saturday. Perhaps gardeners will mention their major drama about five years ago.

Master gardener Bea Randall says that a woman and her five children, having found out that vandals had torn up the garden, replanted the strewn seedlings, and watered the garden. They did it all in one morning. But they didn’t know what went where.

It took weeks for other gardeners to learn about the bountiful deed.

“Everything was planted in a new place,” Randall says. “Every single vegetable plant made it, but it took all of the rest of us gardeners two weeks to figure out what had happened.”

A lady who was growing her family heirloom onions found she now had tomatoes and carrots. Another had onions, but her zucchini and cucumber plants were missing.

They called a meeting, discussed the big switch, and agreed that everyone would simply enjoy what was in their plot.

“That year turned out to be the most fun year of all. Everyone got to know everyone, and we shared vegetables, and it was truly a community garden.”

Start at the Arlington Community Garden at 2 p.m. Saturday at the corner of Second Street and Washington Avenue. Tour the garden, then head over to Randall’s house to learn about composting, watering systems, transplanting, mulching and organic gardening.

The Women’s Group of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Arlington offers its annual plant sale from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Arlington City Hall, 110 E. Third St. Proceeds benefit scholarships, food banks, pregnancy centers, school supplies and a sister parish in Bungoma, Africa.

Many of the plants are grown by church members, Nadine Kapoun says.

“We have green thumbs in our parish of Biblical proportions,” Kapoun says. “We don’t say that living in Arlington is like a piece of heaven for nothing — our little Garden of Eden.”

Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451, oharran@heraldnet.com.