The person after me in the print shop area was a man who introduced himself to the clerk by saying he was ninety-four years old, and then described what he was looking for.
I pay attention when I hear someone who gives an elder’s age. That person has lived a long time, and I know there is wisdom there. He was by himself, and was active and engaged in his business.
After I finished getting my printing done, he walked past me out to his car, which was a mini-van.
I thanked him for being here and he came over and shared some of his story after saying he was one “of those World War Two guys”.
I loved learning that he had gone to Washington D.C. when he was eighteen and worked as a messenger for the FBI before being transferred to the fingerprint analysis department. After watching airplanes fly overhead for several months, he decided “he had to have some of that”!
He flew B-17’s from Great Britain to Berlin and other places all over Europe. He has a signed document by J. Edgar Hoover acknowledging his work for the FBI.
His wife of 67 years died in 2012. He was married five years before I was born. He says, if you live a good life, you can expect good in your life.
He was parked a little close to my car and he backed up to let me out.
I don’t know his name, but he is part of my community.
Now, he is part of your community, too.
I am so grateful to meet interesting people who have simply lived their lives. They have done all the little things that you and I do, and this man showed how he contributed to our world in many ways.
I am making my way through this same world, and I hope I can speak of it with as much peace and quiet conviction as this ninety-four year old man did.
© 2017 Kathryn Hardage
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