Ted

Take time to listen.....you'll be glad you did.
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I saw my truck go by, so I stood up. When I did, he asked, "Is something wrong."

No I answered, I just saw my truck go into the bay that I had previously driven it into and was wondering, was it ready or were they just starting on it?

He moved over to sit beside me, so I sat back down.

One of my favorite lines from one of my favorite songs is, "all you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be" so I'm really into life experiences.

He had already told me that his wife got a pacemaker in January, she had been ill in February so their son had come and insisted that she go to the emergency room. So she did, she had what they called "hospital pnneumonia". That 68 years skidded to a halt in 11 days. Damn, tough Thanksgiving.

But then, a few months earlier, his grandson....... He said that they propped him up with boards in the coffin. The only thing that didn't get crushed was his head.

Their daughter had moved in...to help. Was doing a great job, but.....she wasn't......her.

I stood up and took his hand, had it in my head to leave. They had said, "Mr. Manning, your truck is ready."

I wasn't going anywhere, Ted wanted to say something and I was going to be there for him.

Neither one of us knows anything about the word "committment". For different reasons.

He told me, "We lost more men at Omaha Beach in one day than we have during the Iraq Compaign." He teared up. We both wondered if there were enough in this country to load up those boats, knowing that the ones in the front were dead before the landing. He said they knew they were dead. Willing to sacrifice for their commrades in arms. We agreed that the soldiers we have now, no problem. But these were draftees, forced to be in that uniform. How many today would answer that call? How many would push their way to the front. To knowingly die without ever having a clue about the outcome.

He ended up as a tailgunner. Not an enviable position, laying on his belly in the rear of a B-17. His first stop after crawling in that gunner position was....Berlin. He said that the inside of that plane was well under zero F. The doors open for the other gunners. Not that there was heat, but the best place to be in that bird was in the cockpit, only because it was enclosed. They did what they had to do.

I apologized to the lady when I paid. I told her, anyone who doesn't have time to listen to a WWII vet, well.......I did and was glad I did. Fell in love with the man and I think he knew it, hope so.

Please, please, in all your doings this blessed holiday season...should you be priveledged and honored enough to have some old man have a word for you, I beg you to take a breath, look in to those knowing eyes and listen with all your heart. These people are responsible for me having the freedom to live the foolhardy life I have lived. He made it possible for me to have the kind of freedom that millions and millions of others would do anything to have. And all I did was to be lucky enough to be born here.

Thanks Ted, you are sooo much stronger than you can imagine. He thinks he is a broken man. There is nothing from Hell that could break you and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.