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thedrifter
03-17-07, 04:22 PM
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Local coffee shop and its patrons receive flag, plaque after giving to Marines in Iraq

Kenn Rodriguez News-Bulletin Staff Writer; krodriguez@news-bulletin.com

Los Lunas Sam Houston and Rachel Doran don't like attention.

Doran, who grew up in Belen before graduation from Hot Springs High School in Truth or Consequences, was the guest of honor at the gathering Wednesday at The Branch Books, Gifts and Espresso.

When Doran arranged to have certificates of appreciation as well as a flag that flew above the headquarters of her 2nd Radio Battalion in Iraq given to the Branch, it was Houston — an artisan who makes Southwestern furniture and does stained glass as a hobby — who put together the lacquered pine boxes that are decorated with red, white and blue stained glass.

"I'd never done anything like this — it was my first presentation box," said Houston in his low, resonant voice. "But you can leave me out of the equation. Several people had committed to do that, but nobody came through, so they asked me 'Can you have this done by the time she gets here?' I did it because they were in a bind and they needed it by Tuesday. You can just give me a byline. If you can cut me out of the picture, fine. I don't need to be there."

The presentation box and its contents were sent by Doran's battalion as a second thanks for sending the Marines care packages in the last few years. The first thank you came after a donation of money was collected by the group of patrons from The Branch raised during a breakfast fundraiser this past Christmas.

The group, which meets almost daily at the coffee shop on Los Lunas' eastside, also donated money and toys to the local Toys for Tots program. The money they raised for the Marines came back for kids' toys, but the care packages were taken with relish, Doran said.

Early Wednesday morning, Doran shared Houston's reluctance for the spotlight, trying to get out of taking a picture next to the presentation box that has her patch in it.

One the main jobs in Iraq for Doran, the religious programming specialist for her Marine unit, is getting care packages out to soldiers. One group in particular caught her attention because they were so isolated, she said.

"We had a small team that had gone out to Rawah - it's way, way, way out in Iraq,' she related. "They basically were eating MRE's the majority of the time. So I asked them if they needed anything, like care packages. They said they got a few. So I talked to my parents and asked 'Can you see about getting this stuff together to send out to these guys?'"

Doran's parents, Leroy and Coletta of Los Lunas, are both regulars at The Branch and took the project to the group. The result was the care packages and the benefit breakfast.

It's not the first project to come out of the early morning gatherings at The Branch, said Barry Wood, who along with wife, Lori, has run the coffee shop and bookstore for "going on 10 years" as he put it.

"All we are is a coffee shop," he said with a slight smile. "We provide the place, and these guys here do the rest. We gave them some coffee to send over (to Iraq) and some toys. Mainly it's just the group of people. A lot of small business owners come in here, and we put our heads together and do things. It's just a group effort.

"When nobody's doing anything, they need to have a project. So they all get together and decide what they want to do and then they go for it," he said.

Steve Otero, the director of projects for the Los Lunas Schools — who Wood calls "the main organizer around here" — said: "It's a group that just hangs out and talk about whatever comes across — different business people we have here and retired people, guys who own motorcycle shops. We hang out every day. This is where we start our day, and this is where we create our ideas to help other people in the community. I think (the benefit breakfast and Toys for Tots collection) was one of our memorable little fund-raisers we had."

Doran, who was visiting her parents on leave from Camp Lejeune in North Carolina and will likely re-enlist into the Marines in May, said coffee she's received from The Branch is among the favorite things for the Marines she serves with.

"You can never have enough coffee over there," she chuckled. "My parents used to send coffee from The Branch, and they always knew I was making coffee because of the coffee I used over there and the pot was always going." Doran said soldiers really appreciate it when they get care packages - something that is not as common as some might think, she said. The soldiers really appreciate the support.

"We get letters all the time," she said. "We get banners. And the guys feel bad because they can't write everybody back. They have the intention, but things come up and they can't get to it."

If soldiers don't write back right away — or at all — Doran said the letter writers "shouldn't take offense."

"Missions come first sometimes," she said.

Ellie