"Bert's Big Thank You"... High School style

Since I won the 5:30 club on my morning radio show, the Bert Show (I recommend it to all!), I have felt especially indebted to my morning show friends for making the 30 minute drive at 5:45 less than miserable (not to mention my $100 gift card to a Buckhead restaurant!). So, when I heard they were trying to collect 375,000 letters to send to the troops before Thanksgiving I knew I wanted to help. Since I see 120something students every day, and they have to do what I tell them (theoretically), I had the bright idea of having them each write a letter of encouragement and thanks to a soldier. I have to admit, I had my concerns that they'd give me the usual "this is dumb," "can we do something fun?!" and "do i have to's"... but I must say most everyone was willing and sincere. As students were turning their letters in to me, I read through them briefly and there were many times that I had to take a deep breath and remind myself it would be VERY uncool to cry in front of my students! Much of what they wrote was so heartfelt and thoughtful, which was so encouraging to me as their teacher to watch them think of someone other than themselves and their own high school dramas. I thought I'd share a few of my favorite lines: **I tried to be true to the original spelling....sorry

"I'm a high school student and especially these days I try to be involved with God. I think the best advice I can give you is to pray"
"Thanx 4 goin across the world to defeat the bad guys. Bust a cap 4 me!"
"I'm a h.s. student writing a paper because I love to write... cough... But it's ok because I get to write to a soldier so it's a good use of time. It must suck in the desert with all the sand everywhere." (Gotta love em...)
"I wish I could help you more. God bless you guys. Or may the force be with you or whatever you beleave in."
"We love you back home and can't wait for you to return! Mr. Soldier, please stay safe."
"I honestly don't know how you do it. You change the world and what you're doing is just great and truly amazing.... Did you know that EVERY night before I go to sleep I think about my day and then I think about the future and the whole world and how the world is and it all leads to you. :) You make a difference in everything."
"Dear Soldier, You are one of the coolest people out there. I think you are way cooler than celebrities, singers, and sports athletes."
"I know keeping your head up night and day may not be easy in the environments you're in right now but I ask that you just think about the lives you are saving and have the strength to continue to fight for your/our country."
"p.s. kick their a**es and come home safe"
"A lot of people have bad things to say about the war in Iraq. I don't think they realize that the only reason that they are allowed to say that is because of the people who fight for our freedom."
"Because you are fighting so hard somewhere around the world, we can stand straight, look up at the sky, and smile. Thank you, Thank you."
"Have fun killing the bad guys, because I know I would."
"Hello fellow soldier, thank you very much for defending usa and kiling those bad people that can't play nice...p.s. if you get a chance if you can put on one of the buildings saying jacob owns this..."
"It takes an unbelievably brave man to do that. Your tombstone should be made of gold."