Fruitcakes for Peace?



Y

Yeff

Guest
<http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/03/04/2003101088>

US fruitcakes take Afghanistan by storm, military says

SPARTANBURG , SOUTH CAROLINA Thursday, Mar 04, 2004,Page 6

Claxton fruitcakes have now contributed to world peace, or
at least they've made Lieutenant Colonel Glenn Bramhall of
Spartanburg a popular American in Afghanistan.

Bramhall is commander of a unit of 300 soldiers from all
branches of the military who are there to train and mentor
the 3rd Brigade of the Afghan National Army.

The Americans train the Afghans to use tanks and armored
fighting vehicles.

Bramhall left for Afghanistan before the height of fruitcake
season in the South. So his mother-in-law mailed two Claxton
fruitcakes to her son-in-law's compound outside of Kabul.

The US commander shared his "Southern delicacy" during
teatime with an Afghan general, who devoured it and demanded
to know which "secret" bakery in Kabul baked the cakes,
because his people had never had such a delicacy.

Bramhall gave him his second cake and promised more.

He called home and told his wife to please send more
fruitcakes.

It was January. Christmas was long gone. But his wife,
Faith, went from grocery store to grocery store in
search of more.

"There just were no more fruitcakes in this town," she said.

Then a Bi-Lo grocery store manager told her to check with
the Civitans, who traditionally stock stores with Claxton
fruitcakes to raise money for the service club. Faith
called Sandy Sanders, a longtime Civitan, and asked for
5kg of cakes.

Then Sanders called to say he had been to the warehouse and
could send at least 10kg.

"Later, he called and said, `What about 25kg?'"

He called again and upped it to 50kg.

In the end, Sanders and the Civitans mailed 70kg of
fruitcake -- or six cases -- to Bramhall in Afghanistan.

"The delivery caused riots, fights," because everyone wanted
some, Bramhall said.

Bramhall has since e-mailed Claxton to let them know that
their fruitcakes have been part of the "peace-keeping"
effort in Afghanistan.

Dale Parker, the vice president of Claxton Bakery Inc in
Claxton, Georgia, said he got the e-mail and was surprised
and pleased to see that the fruitcakes were contributing to
his country's effort.

"I bet he'd be a good fruitcake salesman. Maybe he could be
our Afghanistan representative," Parker joked.

-----

-Jeff B. yeff at erols dot com
 
>
>Bramhall gave him his second cake and promised more.
>
>He called home and told his wife to please send more
>fruitcakes.
>
Left over from the War Between the States, no doubt.. Rosie
 
"RMiller" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> >
> >
> >Bramhall gave him his second cake and promised more.
> >
> >He called home and told his wife to please send more
> >fruitcakes.
> >
> Left over from the War Between the States, no
> doubt.. Rosie

Question is, WHAT were they using the fruitcakes FOR?

Felice
 
In article <[email protected]>, Yeff <[email protected]> wrote:
><http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/03/04-
>/2003101088>
>
>US fruitcakes take Afghanistan by storm, military says
>
>SPARTANBURG , SOUTH CAROLINA Thursday, Mar 04, 2004,Page 6
>
>Claxton fruitcakes have now contributed to world peace, or
>at least they've made Lieutenant Colonel Glenn Bramhall of
>Spartanburg a popular American in Afghanistan.
>
And I figured, from the title of the post, that this would
be about an anti-war group from San Francisco.