The other day I was out on my usual walk along the fore shore. It was a nice sunny day and I was enjoying myself immensely. I passed two elderly gentlemen standing on the footpath while talking. I went a bit further and stopped where I usually do. Lost in my own thoughts I nearly jumped when one of the two gentlemen address me saying, “Do you know who that man is?”
A little stunned and quite curious I turned around. The man that was talking to me I had met at the same place on a number of occasions. He had taken up surfing only a few years earlier and let everyone know that he was not very good at it, although I must confess I had no seen him on the water. “No, I have no idea who he is,” I replied.
He then asked me if I knew of a Vietnam veteran who had been awarded a medal only a couple of years ago. Again my answer was no. He then proceeded to tell me how the other man was Vietnam war hero who had only just recently been awarded the Medal of Gallantry, and that he then went to Papua New Guinee where he made a unaided long crossing and written a book about it. He told me the man’s name and told me to look him up on the internet as I would find he as he had written a couple of books.
All this information intrigued me, so when I got home I looked him up. Sure enough everything that I had been told was true and there was a lot more as well. This man had immigrated from Spain, become a high school teacher and ended up working high up in government. What a fascinating life this man had led.
Yet, up until today I had only known him as an elderly gentleman that I met on my walks. He always said hello with a friendly smile. His one knees was always bandaged or strapped, however this never seemed to slow him down and his walking pace was about the same as mine if not faster. Now I knew so much more about this man – a hero!
I was so intrigued by this man that I started telling my friends and family about him. “Guess who I met this morning? A war hero! . . .” They were just as fascinated by who this man was and what he had done as I was.
It then got me thinking, if his friend had not spoken up and told me who he was I probably would never have found out. I would never have known any of the fascinating facts that I had discovered on the internet either. But how many people do we meet on a regular basis and just say hello to, without giving a thought about who they are, what they have done in their life, whether they were or are they someone important or even a hero?
So the next time that you are walking round casually saying hello to people that you pass, stop and ponder for a moment or two who this person might be and what they might have done during their life. Maybe say more than hello, and you too might be able to say, “Guess who I met?”
Until next time – remember, safety first!