JUST A THOUGHT

Last night my husband and I went to the Capitals Hockey game ... yes, they lost - AGAIN. On the way home, on the metro, we sat next to an elderly man who was holding a book on his lap.  Being the chatting (nosy?) man that he is, Steve asked the old gent about his book. It was a large (coffee table?) book about medal of honor recipients.  As soon as the guy started speaking there was something familiar about him.    He had been to the Navy Memorial to a reception/talk.  The Navy Memorial is my husband's all-time favorite stop on the "DC Tour" 

Here's my thought (S)
The man - 83 years old, 36 years in the Navy, enlisted in 1946, was commissioned in 1955, retired as a Navy Captain, served in Vietnam. I served 2 years, Steve served 21 years.

When we started chatting, Steve and I both assumed he was a WWII vet ... we must be getting older becaused the "old folks" are getting younger.

He told us about his friend, Thomas Kelly, a recipient of the medal. I had to help him find the right page in the book because he didn't have his glasses.

He mentioned that he was born and raised in a "Navy town" ... Newport, RI ... SO WAS I.  That's why he seemed so familiar - I recognized his accent.  He's been gone from RI for many many years and I could still hear it.  It sounded like HOME!

We spent no more than 30 mintues with this man and it was an incredible 30 minutes. We seemed to connect in so many ways.  I wish we could have spent more time listening to his stories.  After the old gent got off the metro (one stop before us), Steve said, "he reminded me of your Dad."

That sort of felt like home too.