Newbies and Backpacks

Three moves this morning. We may have done three in one day before, but these went as smooth as butter.

Oh, yes, and newbies galore. Newbies who got special mentions in post-move dispatches.

First, a new OTS Power Couple, Amy and Ryan Modlin; Lisa Feingursh, Fr. James Fangmeyer, (not that one, his son), and a host of Nalls extended family. Great seeing you all.

But you’ve heard from me on all of this in the past. This time let’s go to the mailbag:

Cathy Monge, who was on the 8 am move writes:

“Randy,

I wanted to provide an update on our very successful move this morning. We pulled out of the storage center at 8:09 and I was back in my car at 9:02.

The guys were phenomenal — Jack Gibala, James Fangmeyer, Jim Griffin, and Billy Dankos, all under the capable leadership of Chris Baliko. You would have been so proud of how organized and efficient they all were. As our newest mover, Ryan Modlin, fit in like he was a veteran.

On the softer side, the ladies, Sheila Jones, Amy Modlin and I had so much fun with those beautiful children. Amy asked me what she needed to do and I told her the advice that I was given when I first started. Lisa Johnson told me that I needed to make the beds like it was the Ritz Carlton. Amy delivered in Designer style and would’ve made Lisa so proud.

The children were so happy when they saw their bags of gifts and the nine-year-old girl squealed when she saw the pink backpack filled with school supplies (more on that later.)

Chris led us in prayer, and the mom was so VERY grateful.

Heartwarming experience this morning”

Group Captain, Baliko, added:

“Team One did great. The new kids on the block, Ryan and Amy got right to work and made the move go even smoother. Sheila’s son, Jason, got his second move under his belt. We hope to see him more often. The mother could not have been more lovely and appreciative. Good day for all.”

As usual, there were some no-shows, but Team 2 soldiered on, in part because Doug Free didn’t listen to me when I told him we didn’t need him and came anyway. We did a Preview of the moves yesterday and discovered a parking structure that allowed us to bring the trucks right up to the apartment floor. Jim Gleason, Doug Free, Bob Kane, Jim Perrault and Andre Jackson handled the heavy stuff, while Carolyn Cullen, Susie Dyer, Lisa Feingursh and Meg Kinneberg did the rest. Oh, we forgot a shower curtain. No problem. A quick trip to a nearby store and the problem was solved.

Team 3 had the longest haul. Above Gaithersburg, a mother and three girls needed us. It turned out to be a couples move as we had Eithne and Brendan Ellis, Pat and Marian Moriarity, and Jimmy and Kathy Nalls on that one. They were joined by Fr. James Fangmeyer. Joy Jacques, Phil Burroughs and a squad of Nalls to be named later.

Now, about that pink backpack…

I had an idea after last Saturday’s move. It being August and all, I thought we might, just for this month, see if we could put together back-to-school supplies for some of the children. I did what any sane person would do, I called Kathleen McGuan, who jumped on the assignment, called Rosemary Callahan, and God knows who else, and the next thing I knew, I had five backpacks delivered with age-appropriate supplies in each. Thanks, on that score to Kelly Costello and Jess Boynton (who actually are schoolteachers) and knew what we needed. Of course, in addition, every child got toys and books from Kristi Swarthout and Joei Dyer (drawing heavily on the Nancy Burgess Bunko haul for the three older girls) and the excitement was palpable.

We will do school supplies again for any moves in the next month, so if you want to help out on that score, let Kathleen know. (mcguankh@gmail.com). There’s a place for everyone under the OTS tent. This might be yours.

This OTS thing used to be like herding cats back when we were groping around trying to figure out what we should be doing. Now, it is a well-oiled machine that can turn around even the most complex move in under 90 minutes door-to-door.

You guys are the best.

Cover photo by The Design Lady on Unsplash.