MANSFIELD — With the sounds of splashing and squealing kids in his ears, Christopher Weatherford tugged eagerly at his olive-green T-shirt as he awaited his mom’s permission to fling himself into the Hawaiian Falls wave pool.
Christopher, 9, of Corinth, knew that his visit to the Mansfield water park Tuesday was special. His family and about 20 others were part of a “snowflake” event organized by the Snowball Express, a charity that creates fun for military families who have lost a loved one.
His father, William Weatherford, was among five Navy crewmen killed in a training accident outside Fallon, Nev., on May 7, 2007. Christopher was 4 then and still has trouble talking about it, preferring to list his favorite water park features.
“It’s good and it’s bad,” Christopher said of these occasional get-togethers. “It’s bad because my Dad died. And it’s good because we get to do fun stuff.”
Every kid in the group has a similar story about a very dark place in their lives. Snowball Express, teaming with the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation for the Hawaiian Falls visits since 2008, uses the events to distract the children and help build relationships. Continue reading