Yesterday, I ventured out on my lunch. It started out as an uneventful trip to grab a sandwich, and feel the brisk September air.
I called my wife to see how she was feeling. On my right, I passed Alta Mesa Memorial park in Palo Alto. I looked over at Alta Mesa and asked Nicole, "I wonder if Doug Franco is here?" To which she replied, " ...Probably, how many cemeteries could there be in Palo Alto?" So I grabbed the sandwich, and on my way back to work turned into Alta Mesa to ask the manager "Is my friend Doug Franco here?"
She pulled up the coordinates of his burial site, and showed me a picture of his headstone which reads:
"Doug Franco: sweet loving husband & father of 3 sons. 1948-2011"
I sat down and had lunch with Doug. My long-lost friend who shared my passion to protect helpless orphans. I met Doug after he answered the call of a desperate dentist on the outskirts of Kabul. The dentist used a Honda Prelude seat to recline his patients. The good folks at USF Medical Center identified an alumnus who promptly donated two dentist chairs! Dentist chairs, as it turns out, have a 500-pound lead base. My fearless leader Doug Franco stepped up to help load and deliver the chairs to the clinic on the outskirts of Kabul.