•10:20 PM
On Wednesday, I went to the polls. It was at our local library, where I first entered with my children to pick out new books. Then I went outside with the children to wait on a line for about a half hour, with the hopes that the new books would keep the children busy during that time.
An older couple immediately behind us caught my eye. Although the gentleman didn't indicate who he was voting for, he obliquely replied to a comment about candidate- of- choice with this comment: "Are you kidding? We were in the same hotel together. The H*noi H*lton!"
At first, I wasn't sure who he was talking about, because I didn't catch the entire conversation. I heard his wife comment "This is my walking miracle here", as she clapped him on the back. At that moment, it dawned on my what they were talking about. So I smiled broadly and said: "Are you talking about yourself?" and he replied "Yeah."
Wow! Goosebumps. So he proceeded to tell me the story of how his plane got shot down over Viet N*m and he ended up as a POW in the H*noi H*lton two months before J*hn McCain had. "Five years and 7 months, I was in there". His wife showed me his uneven shoulders, from having been shot in one shoulder, and as for the other shoulder, he commented "Ejecting out of a plane going 800 miles an hour really tore me up". Yes, he knew J*hn McCain at the time, and knew him well before his imprisonment as well. He is two years older than Sen. McCain.
I shared with him the joy I felt when we returned from Viet Nam with Little Son, how our plane went over New York City and I could see the Statue of Liberty out the plane window. I pointed it out to Little Son, then 7 months of age, with a huge lump in my throat. This gentleman explained the best feeling he had was when he got out of the POW prison and was flown to the Philippines, where a crowd of 10,000 was there to greet and cheer him. He said it was a wonderful feeling for him, kind of like how I felt in the airplane that day.
Just talking to this couple made me all teary eyed. "You have my utmost respect and admiration", I said to him.
He chatted with Little Son about airplanes a bit, letting him know that he could still fly "in the back" some day, even if he didn't have 20/20 vision.
It was an uplifting and encouraging experience for me.
An older couple immediately behind us caught my eye. Although the gentleman didn't indicate who he was voting for, he obliquely replied to a comment about candidate- of- choice with this comment: "Are you kidding? We were in the same hotel together. The H*noi H*lton!"
At first, I wasn't sure who he was talking about, because I didn't catch the entire conversation. I heard his wife comment "This is my walking miracle here", as she clapped him on the back. At that moment, it dawned on my what they were talking about. So I smiled broadly and said: "Are you talking about yourself?" and he replied "Yeah."
Wow! Goosebumps. So he proceeded to tell me the story of how his plane got shot down over Viet N*m and he ended up as a POW in the H*noi H*lton two months before J*hn McCain had. "Five years and 7 months, I was in there". His wife showed me his uneven shoulders, from having been shot in one shoulder, and as for the other shoulder, he commented "Ejecting out of a plane going 800 miles an hour really tore me up". Yes, he knew J*hn McCain at the time, and knew him well before his imprisonment as well. He is two years older than Sen. McCain.
I shared with him the joy I felt when we returned from Viet Nam with Little Son, how our plane went over New York City and I could see the Statue of Liberty out the plane window. I pointed it out to Little Son, then 7 months of age, with a huge lump in my throat. This gentleman explained the best feeling he had was when he got out of the POW prison and was flown to the Philippines, where a crowd of 10,000 was there to greet and cheer him. He said it was a wonderful feeling for him, kind of like how I felt in the airplane that day.
Just talking to this couple made me all teary eyed. "You have my utmost respect and admiration", I said to him.
He chatted with Little Son about airplanes a bit, letting him know that he could still fly "in the back" some day, even if he didn't have 20/20 vision.
It was an uplifting and encouraging experience for me.
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3 comments:
This is a beautiful story. What a blessing for you and Little Son to be able to meet and talk with a true hero. What a blessing for the Hero to know that people are still interested in his story, still appreciate his sacrifice, and are still cheering for him.
Wow, what a neat experience! Does Little Son want to fly? I guess that's a common dream, but maybe by the time he's old enough eyesight won't matter. They're already allowing laser correction for some military pilots.
I saw the news about Florida's marriage amendment. I was quite impressed that you were able to get the 60% majority needed for a constitutional amendment. Arizona's passed as well. I think the American people have spoken loud and clear about what marriage is.