A CHANCE MEETING

A CHANCE MEETING

I was shopping in a local supermarket recntly when I spotted an elderly gentleman pushing a cart down the various aisles carefully going over his shopping list as he picked items off the shelf.  I had no idea how old he was but I knew he was older than I.  Once as we passed, I said, “I bet you enjoy this as much as I do.  Right?”  He smiled and said, “Oh, it’s not so bad.”  We went on our way but a few minutes later I spotted him again and simply had to ask, “Are you a World War II veteran?”  Although he had been stooped over his cart, he straightened up and said, “Yes, I am.”  My heart lit up since I love to talk to this generation of veterans who are fast disappearing.  I asked him what he did during the war and he told me he had been a Radioman in the Navy.  He said he had spent most of his six years in the Navy on destroyers; those grey wolves of the sea.  He also told me he had been in the invasion of Okinawa and that his ship had been hit by a kamikaze plane and had to be abandoned.  I told him that I had been in the Navy also but never had the privilege of serving in a ship but that I had spent most of my time with the Marines.  He laughed and noted that I must have been a Corpsman.  I said I had been but later on became an officer.  We chatted for a few more minutes and I asked him if he had stayed in the Navy.  He said that he hadn’t because he met his wife in 1946 and after three dates he asked her to marry him.  She accepted and they were married on September 21, 1946—64 years ago.  Between the two of them, they decided that the Navy was not for them.  Somewhere along the way he mentioned that he was 90 years old and that his wife was 88.  But he then told me that she was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and he was losing her day-by-day. 

I have to tell you that as our conversation progressed, I could not help the tears that began to flow down my cheeks.  As we parted, I told him how much I appreciated his service and the service of all of those folks of his generation.  I told him that if it hadn’t been for their sacrifices, he and I would not be standing there doing what we were doing.  He simply smiled and went on his way. 

God bless this disappearing generation and God bless them for what they did for this nation and the world. 

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This elderly gentleman's comment about losing his wife day-by-day reminds me of a piece I read a few days ago.

An elderly man went to a physician's office to have some stitches removed from a finger that he had cut earlier.  As he spoke with the nurse at the desk, he kept looking at his watch.  This prompted the nurse to ask if he had another appointment and he told her, "Yes, I have to be at the nursing home at 9:00 to have breakfast with my wife."  The nurse knew it would be well past 9:00 before he would be seen so she checked his wound, saw that it was well healed and then went to ask if she could removed the stitches and send him on his way.  She got permission and as she was removing the stictches, she askek the man how his wife was doing.  He told her that she was not doing well because she had Alzheimer's Disease and had been in the nursing home for five years.  He told her that his wife no long knew who he was.  At this point the nurse asked, "Then why do you still go?".  He told her, "Well she doesn't know me anymore but I still know who she is."