Making a difference, one lollipop at a time

"He said, 'I'm going back over there; I don't know if I'll ever return, and I don't think anyone would ever care.' And it just tore me apart," Blashek says in a phone interview. "That moment made me realize that troops going into harm's way need to believe that someone at home loves them, and someone needs them to come home - so that they have the strength and the courage to face what they're facing."

In past wars, people could address letters and care packages generically "to any soldier," she says. But because of post-Sept. 11 security, they now need specific names. She decided to be the middle person - collecting names of troops abroad and gathering donations and letters from people like her - Americans who want to show their gratitude but don't have family or friends of their own in the military.

Operation Gratitude was born. From her home in Encino, Calif., she sent out about 650 packages in the first six months - sometimes including personal requests. Blashek recalls digging through donations to find Old Spice products for one soldier.

Earlier this month, she paired up with the local National Guard and volunteers to send 4,000 holiday packages - snacks, disposable cameras, phone cards, DVDs, and blank greeting cards so the soldiers could write home. Most important, she included in each box two pages of encouraging messages from people who had contacted her through Operation Gratitude's website (www.opgratitude.com).

Even though she rises by 6 a.m. and typically works on the project till 10:00 at night, Blashek doesn't take personal credit. "These men and women have taken an oath to lay down their life for me. They don't know me ... [but] they have made huge sacrifices so that I and my kids can continue to live our lives. There's no way I can show enough appreciation for that."

"The first thing you should know about me," said 8-year-old Brian Cowe when meeting his Big Brother, Gary Roma, "is I have a big imagination."

Mr. Roma makes documentaries for a living, and for the past four years he's spent weekends helping Brian create video spoofs of everything from "The Twilight Zone" to "Star Wars."

Next year, they plan to use their filmmaking talents to give a little back to Big Brothers. When Roma finishes his documentary on creative uses of dental floss - think prison breaks and a world record for 300 people flossing with one long strand - he hopes to premier it along with some of Brian's short films. Part of the proceeds would go to the group that brought the pair together.

"I think they've got a lifelong friendship," said Brian's mom, Meg, on a recent Sunday afternoon as she made costumes for a school play. "Big Brothers really found a good match, because Brian doesn't like sports or other things that are typically in the ads for Big Brothers."

Brian, now 13, has four brothers in the family who often collaborate on the parodies. But what Roma has taught them about filmmaking is not what's most important. "When I was a teenager, those were difficult years, so I would just like to be supportive," Roma says.

That support often comes disguised as silliness. Asked what they have given each other, Roma answers: "A hard time," with a smirk in Brian's direction. Brian answers seriously at first - "Friendship. Support," but then he, too, gets in a dig: "Pain."

Brian and his 10-year-old brother, Dalton, demonstrate a slow- motion fight scene. (Every movie has to have one, they insist.) They throw themselves onto the carpet, legs splayed above their heads, with the accompanying warped sound effects. But in a more serious moment, Brian says of his mentor: "He's given me a lot to think about."

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