* 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 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 all 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 isn’t Free. Thousands have paid the price, so
that you can enjoy what you have today.
**LET’S DO THIS: JUST 19 WORDS: *
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
This prayer is so powerful. Pass this
prayer to 12 people, including
me.***
