And he didn’t even realize it.

So, I bet you’re wondering how this happened and why it happened.

My dad and I went to a dedication ceremony after church on Sunday. The dedication ceremony was for a fallen soldier and the son of two family friends whose name was Ryane. My dad had made an announcement in church about it, but I wasn’t feeling so good yesterday and didn’t intend to go (it was 84 degrees F outside… that’s hot for September in Minnesota).

After we got home from church, my sister was going to go down the street and get food for herself and my mom at a local bar/restaurant. She didn’t want to go alone, though, so I tagged along. We sat down to wait for our to-go bags when an older gentleman and his friend walked in. They were wearing biker vests, and as they passed, I happened to see that their vests were embroidered with the words “Patriot Guard Riders” and the American eagle symbol (no, not the clothing brand, the actual eagle).

“Patriot Guard” rang a bell. I remembered they were a group of riders who would encircle the families of fallen soldiers to provide a barrier of protection against anti-war/anti-soldier protesters, including groups like the Westboro Baptist Church. There were protesters at Ryane’s funeral, and the Patriot Guard kept them a safe distance from the family while revving their motorcycles to drown out protest cries.

I deeply believe that a family shouldn’t have to deal with protesters during a funeral for their child (or anyone else), and I hold a deep respect for the Patriot Guard. They’re not the tough, rough bikers you see in movies that beat up other people just to entertain themselves. This group is a nice bunch of people who love God and country, and they peacefully encircle families while holding American flags, keeping those who want to disrupt the service out of there.

I went over to the group of riders hanging out at one of the tables and tapped the shoulder of the man I saw come in. He jumped like he’d been shocked, and I thought I had just startled him because he didn’t hear me approach. I asked him and the other people at the table whether he knew Ryane and if he had been at the funeral. He said yes, and I explained who I was and my relationship with his family and that my dad had been his pastor.

It turns out that he and the others had been at the funeral, and he asked if I was going to the dedication ceremony that afternoon. I told him “sure” and continued to talk with him and the others for awhile.

Later that afternoon, my dad and I went over to the dedication ceremony. We couldn’t stay too long because my dad’s on chemotherapy, and it was very sunny out, so we stayed until the ribbon was cut and were headed home. We saw Ryane’s parents (who are close family friends) over by the cut ribbon in the parking lot, and I noticed they were doing an interview for a well-known Twin Cities news station. I kept walking on by, not wanting to interrupt them.

Apparently, the huge camera with a cameraman attached to it and the bright blue shirt and microphone of the reporter wasn’t obvious enough to catch my dad’s attention.

Me: “Dad…”

Dad: *goes over to shake Rick’s hand* *camera guy quickly moves camera to get him out of the shot* *reporter carries on*

Me: “Daaaad…” *subtle arm flail*

Dad: *starts talking to Rick and then turns to Tracy* *camera guy moves the camera again* *reporter looks befuddled but carries on*

Me: “Daaaaaaaaaaddd….. *aggressive penguin-like flapping of the arms*

Dad: *turns to Rick to say goodbye* *camera guy moves the camera AGAIN* *reporter keeps composure but is obviously frustrated*

Me: *gives up*

Dad: *turns to Tracy and says goodbye* *camera guy stays where he is* *reporter is 100% not caring at this point*

Yeah. This actually happened.

My dad was oblivious the whole time. It was only when he was saying goodbye to Tracy that I finally tapped him on the shoulder and whispered, “They’re doing an interview!!!” and he’s like “Oh!” and we walk away.

Needless to say, the whole family thoroughly enjoyed the story, and we watched the evening news to see if he was spotted during the interview. They somehow managed to edit him out by using tight shots, but I was almost hoping they would have had him in there.

He was totally unaware the whole time. It’s not surprising, really. This is the man who backed into my car in the driveway when it was parked directly behind him. My car is bright red and very obvious, as it is a car.

I did end up seeing my Patriot Guard acquaintance at the ceremony. I startled him again when I tapped his shoulder; I joked that he has the same exaggerated startle response as me (I am extremely jumpy and easily scared). He replied, “Oh, that’s just a little PTSD!”

I have put my foot in my mouth before, but never when it came to an American veteran. I apologized profusely, but he insisted there was no harm done. He was chuckling and smiling and was very good-natured about the whole thing, bless him.

So, that was my weekend. I’m going to awkwardly end this blog post here. Kitten arrives tomorrow. Still super excited.

Ciao for now.

Feature image (c) Gigi. Altered.