Posted by James Howell on September 17, 2009 at 13:57:49 from (144.162.41.170):
You just never know who you will meet that will bless your day.
Decided to take some time off today and go visit my doctor for an annual physical checkup.
The waiting room was crowded with sick children with the flu.
Anyway there was only one empty chair available next to an elderly gentleman wearing a WWII Veteran baseball cap.
I asked if I could sit with him and he said "Yes".
Before sitting down, I shook hands with him and thanked him for his service.
He smiled, paused, and said "It was my duty".
Asked him what branch of the military and he smiled once again and said "Navy".
He was quiet for a moment, then he began telling me about his experience during WWII in the Pacific.
Years ago one of my students made a statement in class which was "The good lord put us on this earth with one mouth and two ears; he intended for us to use them in that proportion."
This morning I was all ears.
The 3 1/2 hour wait before seeing the doctor seemed like only 15 minutes listening to the stories of this 87 year old veteran.
I am not ashamed to admit that at times I teared up and at times I laughed until I cried.
One of the most interesting stories he told me was about a very young Navy pilot.
He started by saying "There were three of us on board the carrier that had the last name Bush. One was killed in combat, one got shot down, and I survived unharmed."
"The young Navy pilot flew his first mission as a recon mission to determine which areas of an island were to get bombed."
"On his second mission to bomb the island the young Navy pilot was shot down."
"Found out later the young Navy pilot was George Bush."
"He was rescued just before the Japanese could get to him. Rumor was that since the island was cutoff from supplies, the Japanese had resorted to cannibalism and were killing and eating captives."
Eventually the discussion came around to farming and tractors.
He talked about growing alfalfa and putting it up in a barn using a horse, rope, and pulley to lift the bales.
He talked about growing up in Rockdale, Illinois close to Moline and all the JD tractors all over that part of the country.
One comment that he made somewhat surprised me; "I grew up during the best time this country has ever seen."
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]
Today's Featured Article - Restoring a John Deere 2010 Diesel Tractor - by Jim Nielsen. Following seven years working in California's Silicon Valley, my wife, baby son and I moved back to Australia to retire. We bought a small 'farm' of about 50 acres near Bendigo, in the state of Victoria. I soon found that it would be very useful to have a tractor around the place for things such as grading our long drive and brush-hogging the fields. I was also embarking on planting 1000 eucalyptus trees, and hence I would need a ripper, small disk plow, sprayer etc. to get these things accompli
... [Read Article]
Latest Ad:
1945 Farmall wide body gas with pto and front plow. Runs good but needs new points.
[More Ads]
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy
TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.
