Hamburger Saint Project Gift Raffle (Pay It Forward)

What is The Hamburger Saint Project?

It is a Pay It Forward movement started by @lexikon082 to honor the life of his dear friend and lost serviceman Sgt. Michael Barkey who was killed in action on July 7, 2004 in AR, Ramadi, Iraq.

For more information, please refer to the @hamburger-saint account’s homepage.

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My Involvement

In June, I read the original Hamburger Saint Project post and volunteered to join a random name drawing.

At that time, @lexikon082 had prepared and wrapped two gifts that he intended to mail to two Steemians anywhere in the world. The Steemians to whom he mailed the gifts were chosen at random from a small group of participants who had expressed an interest in joining and perpetuating this project. By chance, I was one of the lucky Steemians to have their names drawn from a hat and receive the first gifts of this project.

It has taken me more time than I had intended to begin carrying out my role in this project, the role of preparing two gifts, making a post, collecting the account names of willing participants, conducting a random drawing of names, and sending out two gifts of my own, but sometimes the little things in life get in the way of our best intentions and that is what has happened to me.

To all involved, I apologize for the delay.

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Gift Reveal

Some time at the end of June, I forget which date exactly, I received a package from @lexikon082. It had traveled a long way to get to me, literally half way around the world, from America to Japan.

Here is what I found inside, a framed and notarized American flag patch that had been removed from @lexicon082's service uniform, two Native American arrowheads, a heartfelt letter, and a bag of Cheetos, which were happily and quickly eaten by my wife before I had the chance to photograph them.

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Pay It Forward:

Now, it is my turn to send two gifts out into the world. While I haven’t purchased or wrapped any presents yet, I do know what I would like to pass along and I will tell you that they are Japanese cultural items which play a subtle but prominent role in the everyday life of many people here.

If you are interested in participating, please express your interest in the comments of this post below. In one week, after this post has gone to payout, I will do a random drawing of the user names that have been written in the comments and two Steemians will become the recipients of my gifts and the torchbearers of this project.

If your name is chosen, I will contact you and we can set up arrangements to chat privately and share mailing instructions. As @lexicon082 has stated in his original post, you do not have to share your home address if you are uncomfortable doing so. Other arrangements can be made. In addition, gifts do not have to be new, store bought items. They can be cherished items, re-gifted presents, drawings and crafts that you have made or whatever else you feel like sending out into the world.

By all accounts, Sgt. Michael Barkey was a warm, fun-loving person who liked to laugh and joke. This project seeks to not only carry on his memory, but also to spread his warmth and laughter around the world.

Note: All SBD payouts from this post will be transferred to the @hamburger-saint account where they will either be put into an account to help future Steemians cover the mailing costs of this project or be donated to American Gold Star Mothers.

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In Memory Of

With permission from @lexicon082, I would like to dedicate my contribution to this project to a friend who passed away on January 12, 2017 of colon cancer.

Amanda Bensen Fiegl was an incredibly talented writer and a very kind and loving person whose passion for words, traveling, adventures, nature, and experiencing life firsthand were unparalleled. She left this world way too soon and will forever be missed.

To read about her experiences battling cancer while trying to carry on with her everyday life and the roles she played of mother and wife in her own words, please refer to her blog LIFE UPSTAGED: Adventures of a Young Mom with Metastatic Cancer.

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Become a participant in The Hamburger Saint Project by upvoting this post and writing about your desire to participate in this project in the comments below.