Dec 29, 2010: Oo Rah

[xoxoxoBruce]

1st Lt. Neil Bucken, USMC, is spending the holidays in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile his Mom, who lives in Hawaii, was gathering with the rest of the family in Staten Island, NY.
Now Marines aren't just tough, they're resourceful, so Neil sent a seven foot ice statue of himself to the family gathering.

Complete with a red rose.

While trying to figure out how to have a presence at home for Sullivan's(sister) birthday, as well as for Christmas, Bucken shifted from his initial idea of sending a statue to having an ice sculpture made. The finishing touch was having a photo of him and his sister, both smiling in Honolulu, incased in the base of the giant sculpture.

The statue shows Bucken in his dress blues, with medals and stripes visible in fine detail. It weighs more than 800 pounds. While it would normally retail for about $1,000, Vincent Nuzzolese, owner of the Nuzzolese Brothers Ice Corp. in Hicksville, LI, said he waived all charges as soon as he heard the story behind the unusual request.

link

via