BLYTHEWOOD – “We only know the mom’s and the little girl’s first names, and we have no phone number,” said Blythewood’s Xuan Thi Nguyen.
For the past 114 consecutive weeks, Nguyen and her friends have stood at the edge of the Blythewood Road bridge over I-77, waving large American flags on Fridays, during the noontime hour. Nguyen said that, during that time, over 400,000 people have seen and acknowledged the flags in some way – with honks, waves and smiles. They pass under the bridge, she said, and go on.
“Then, one day,” Nguyen told The Voice recently, “a woman and her little girl actually walked up on the bridge to talk to us. Conversation was very difficult, Nguyen said, because the traffic noise was almost deafening from the wind, the tire sounds, the truck engines, and the blowing horns.”
The little girl was carrying an oil painting. She said her name is Lizzie and that her mom’s name is Courtney.
“The mother, Courtney, said that she and Lizzie see us on a regular basis up on the bridge flying the flag. She said Lizzie was curious about us and asked if she could paint a picture of us.
“Lizzie handed me the painting. It was beautiful, an undeserved reward for all the very hot, very cold, very windy and noisy hours we have waved the flags over the past two years,” Nguyen said.
And then, Courtney and Lizzy left.
“It was difficult to hear and make ourselves heard while they were up on the bridge talking to us, so, unfortunately, we didn’t get their last names or phone number,” Nguyen said. “But we have this lovely painting that a very young, very patriotic girl, created for us.
“We want to thank her for the painting, and we want to thank her mother for bringing her here to talk with us,” Nguyen said. “It is a beautiful painting and a beautiful acknowledgement for what we are doing up here every Friday.
“Thank you Lizzie and Courtney.”
