Today we read a book titled Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot, by Margot Theis Raven. It is the story of an American Air Force pilot stationed in Germany after WWII who took part in the Berlin Airlift making daily runs into Berlin to drop rations and supplies to the people. This true story tells of how Lt. Halverson began dropping more than just flour and coal during his flights, but also thousands of parachutes filled with candy to the children of Berlin. What started as a small gesture turned into a national effort to bring a little joy into the lives of these children of war. By the time Operation Little Vittles came to an end, more than twenty tons of chocolate and gum had been dropped and Lt. Halverson had made little friends all over West Berlin. It was a precious story and it gave my kids an opportunity to make fun of me yet again for not being able to make it through without getting choked up.
Little did they know, I had been mentally weighing the pros and cons of staging our own candy drop in honor of the story but before I could be the hero and announce the awesome "learning activity" that I'd thought of they stole my thunder and asked for a candy drop. I couldn't say no so, armed with a baggie of mini-marshmallows and chocolate chips, I played the role of Chocolate Pilot and dropped sweets down to my sweets.
I'm not sure they were quite as grateful as those little Berlin children were 60 years ago, but they definitely thought it was a pretty great school assignment.