Eichorns Receive Warm Christmas Surprise
By Kevin Gray
Donna Eichorn did not know what to make of the call from the Osawatomie police Wednesday evening, when she was told there had been a slight disturbance but nothing serious at her house. Eichorn, who was busy filling orders in her shop, Donna and Viola’s Shirts, said she was told that police officers were at the house and wanted to talk to both her and her husband Steve.
By the time she arrived home, there were no police cars. Only her daughter Abby’s car in the driveway. “Abby was still supposed to be at Central Missouri State in Warrensburg, where she’s going to school, but there was her car,” Eichorn said.
Abby greeted her mother at the door and told her they needed to film everybody opening presents, so they could be assured of making sure Donna and Steve’s son, Justin, stationed with the Army in Africa would be able to see his parents opening their gifts from him. “Justin wants to see you opening your presents,” Donna said about what Abby told her.
This included, an oversized, refrigerator sized box that had been wrapped and placed in their living room a short time before. “The box had been wrapped and a cinder block or blocks had been placed inside, I supposed to confuse me,” Eichorn said.
As for the police call, Eichorn said she has been working nonstop in the store to fill orders and had no plans of going home until late. “Abby told me that they had decided on the police because this would be the only way to get me home. They were right. I won’t leave the store,” Eichorn said.
After Eichorn had unwrapped a few presents, she said, and smiled for the camera and told Justin, “Thank you,” she got to the big present. “After untying the ribbon and going to lift the lid, up jumped Justin. What a surprise. He got me alright! I thought he was going to Ireland for leave but not coming home.
The surprise had been in the planning stages for seven months, Justin, an Osawatomie High School 2009 graduate, said. “I thought to have a big box, wrapped, weighted down, and placed in the living room a week ahead of time. This way, I could throw them off, so my coming home would have a better chance of remaining a surprise,” Justin said.
Justin, who is stationed at Camp Lemonier in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa, was hesitant about revealing much about his job there or his travel plans, due to security concerns. He was able to reveal that his stay at home would be about two weeks. He is deployed with the U.S. Army Reserves with a unit from Belton, Mo.
Time has been spent with his family and with Jeremy Johnson his friend and the youth pastor at the Victory Baptist Church. “I have played at least 16-collective hours of Killer Bunnies, a game, and introduced it to Jeremy. It’s really spreading at church,” Justin said. “I’m also available if my dad needs help on his computer.”
Although he could not talk about what he does in Djibouti, he did talk about killing a Red Carpet Viper. “I almost stepped on a Red Carpet Viper hidden in the gravel. Red Carpet Vipers cause the highest fatality rate, even though there are more deadly snakes. You may have a couple of days to live if bitten by one, compared to the Black Mamba, which gives you about two to five minutes of life,” Justin said.
Snakes come out at night, he said, when it’s cooler. “The temperatures during the summer rise to 120 to 130 degrees daytime. And this snake, which was only about 10 inches long, was hard to see. We would not have seen it, if it had not coiled back,” Justin said.
Instead of taking time to write up a report, Justin and his team sergeant took matters into their own hands. “We got a big rock and that’s all it took,” he said.
When Justin returns from Africa, plans include Pittsburg State University, where he already has bought a house and will double major in Information Assurance and System Design. “The house is almost paid off, and, this way, I can set up as a security analyst,” he said.
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Posted by admin
on Jan 5 2011. Filed under News and Updates.
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