Cindy: Some Stories Harder To Write

His face stared out me from the photo album. Dark hair with straight bangs falling across huge green eyes. A goofy grin and a Nintendo controller clutched in his hands. Taking a sharp breath, I blinked rapidly as my eyes filled with tears. He looked so much like my son Alex they could have been twins. Not all stories can be told in 1,000 words or less. Sometimes the nuances don’t match allowable column inches. Every once in awhile, the rest of the story stays with me – an unwritten, but ever-present ghost. Today’s story about Matt Stiltz, for example. When a local credit union decided to name one of its scholarships after the Shadle Park grad who was killed while serving in Afghanistan, I called his parents, Mark and Terri Stiltz, to see if they’d be willing to be interviewed. They agreed, but during the course of our conversation I learned that it wasn’t an easy decision for them/ Cindy Hval , SR Front Porch. More here . (SR photo by Tyler Tjomsland: Mark and Terri Stiltz pose for a photo on their deck on March 27, with the flag they fly to honor their son Matt Stiltz)

• Also: Credit Union scholarship honors staff Sgt. Matthew Stiltz /Cindy Hval, SR

Question: What do you do to remember those who have fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan?