http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030402-012357-8526r
When you gotta go …
By Marcella S. Kreiter
UPI Regional Editor
From the National Desk
Published 4/2/2003 1:44 PM
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Like any other father, Mike Flynn wants his son, Ryan, to be as safe and comfortable as possible when he joins the troops already in the Persian Gulf.
So the sales manager at the Unisource Worldwide Inc. facility in Lansing, Mich., and about two dozen co-workers, have pulled out the stops to get a pallet of toilet paper to the troops in Iraq. It seems the daily ration of tissue included in the meals-ready-to-eat packets is less than adequate for troop movements.
“This all started — my wife works for the state of Michigan and one of her friends in the office has two sons already over there,” Flynn told United Press International in a telephone interview Wednesday. “They’ve written letters saying, ‘We’re out of toilet paper. We’re out of hand wipes. We’ve run out of the day-to-day stuff.'”
So Flynn and his staff went to work and enlisted co-workers in one of the company’s Rochester Hills, Mich., offices to put together about 2,400 rolls of toilet paper and “care packages” for the troops in Iraq.
Just one problem, though — shipping.
“We called a number of different places — the Army National Guard, the Red Cross — to see if they could help us get it there. Everybody’s on hold at the moment,” Flynn said.
Flynn estimates the pallet weighs about a ton. He estimated shipping costs to Kuwait at about $1,500.
“We called FedEx and they wanted to charge $2,700,” Flynn said. “I think we called UPS (United Parcel Service) and first they said they didn’t think they could help us but they called us earlier this morning. The fact they’re willing to pitch in is a huge benefit.”
Flynn said the toilet paper was donated by Cascade Paper Co. He added he’s trying to get the Army to tell him whether he can send snacks as well.
Flynn’s son, Ryan, 21, is a private in the 3rd Calvary stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado. He expects to be deployed next week.
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