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As I came out of
the supermarket that sunny day, pushing my cart of
groceries towards my car, I saw an old man with the hood
of his car up and a lady sitting inside the car, with the
door open.
The old man was looking at the
engine. I put my groceries away in my car, and continued
to watch the old gentleman from about twenty five feet
away.
I saw a young man in his early
twenties with a grocery bag in his arm walking towards the
old man. The old gentleman saw him coming too, and took a
few steps towards
him.
I saw the old gentleman point to
his open hood and say something. The young man put his
grocery bag into what looked like a brand new Cadillac
Escalade. He then turned back to the old man.
I heard him yell at the old gentleman
saying:
"You shouldn't even be allowed to
drive a car at your age."
And then with a wave of his hand,
he got in his car and peeled rubber out of the parking
lot.
I saw the old gentleman pull out
his handkerchief, and mop his brow as he went back to his
car and again looked at the engine.
He then went to his wife and spoke
with her; he appeared to tell her it would be okay. I had
seen enough, and I approached the old man. He saw me
coming and stood straight, and as I got near him I said,
'Looks like you're having a
problem.'
He smiled sheepishly, and quietly
nodded his head. I looked under the hood myself, and
knew that whatever the problem was, it was beyond
me. Looking around, I saw a gas station up the road,
and I told the old man that I would be right back. I
drove to the station and I went inside. I saw three
attendants working on cars. I approached one of
them, and related the problem the old man had with his
car. I offered to pay them if they could follow me
back down and help
him.
The old man had pushed the heavy
car under the shade of a tree and appeared to be
comforting his wife When he saw us he straightened up and
thanked me for my help. As the mechanics diagnosed
the problem (overheated engine), I spoke with the old
gentleman.
When I shook hands with him
earlier, he had noticed my Marine Corps ring and had
commented about it, telling me that he had been a Marine
too. I nodded and asked the usual question, 'What
outfit did you serve
with?'
He had mentioned that he served
with the first Marine Division at Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima
and Guadalcanal
....
He had hit all the big ones and
retired from the Corps after the war was over. As we
talked we heard the car engine come on and saw the
mechanics lower the hood. They came over to us as
the old man reached for his wallet, but was stopped by me.
I told him I would just put the bill on my AAA
card.
He still reached for the wallet and
handed me a card that I assumed had his name and address
on it and I stuck it in my pocket. We shook hands
all around again, and I said my goodbye's to his
wife.
I then told the two mechanics that
I would follow them back up to the station. Once at
the station, I told them that they had interrupted their
own jobs to come along with me and help the old man.
I said I wanted to pay for the help, but they refused to
charge me.
One of them pulled out a card from
his pocket, looking exactly like the card the old man had
given to me. Both of the men told me then that they
were Marine Corps Reserves. Once again we shook
hands all around and as I was leaving, one of them told me
I should look at the card the old man had given to me. I
said I would and drove
off.
For some reason I had gone about
two blocks, when I pulled over and took the card out of my
pocket and looked at it for a long, long time. The
name of the old gentleman was on the card in golden leaf
and under his name was written:
'Congressional Medal of Honor
Society.'
I sat there motionless, looking at
the card and reading it over and over. I looked up
from the card and smiled to no one but myself and marveled
that on this day, four Marines had all come together
because one of us needed help. He was an old man all
right, but it felt good to have stood next to greatness
and courage, and an honor to have been in his
presence. Remember,
OLD men
like him gave you
FREEDOM
for America. Thanks to those
who served and still serve, and to all of those who
supported them, and who continue to support
them.
America is
not
at war.
The U.S. Military is at
war. America is at the Mall. If
you don't stand behind our troops, PLEASE feel free to
stand in front of them!
Remember, Freedom
IS
NOT free. Thousands have paid the
price, so you can enjoy what you have
today.
LET'S DO THIS
GOD OUR FATHER, WALK
THROUGH MY HOUSE AND TAKE AWAY ALL MY WORRIES; AND PLEASE
WATCH OVER AND HEAL MY FAMILY; AND PLEASE PROTECT OUR
FREEDOMS, AND WATCH OVER OUR TROOPS, WHO ARE DEFENDING
THOSE FREEDOMS.
AMEN.
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