Thank You For Your Service
Conversation with a stranger.
I took my daughter to the park yesterday. As we were getting ready to leave I noticed a man with a “Vietnam Vet” hat on. So I coach my daughter to say, “thank you for your service.” She nailed it on the first try. The man is blown away! He is extremely grateful.
No Sir. We are grateful! This nice man and I started talking. He also recently retired from the United States Postal Service. I say, “damn, a life of nothing but service.” He smiles. Sharply after he says, “I’d rather be back in Vietnam than to be where we are today as a country.”
Quite the shocking statement. I’ve never lived through Vietnam or that time. I did not question him. I just stood and observed. Asking myself in the process what has this man seen in his life? Clearly older, past retirement age. With three of his seven grandchildren at the park.
It came to me that we don’t talk to strangers much. Sparking spontaneous conversations with other people. Especially older people. Who have a story to them. Their eyes have seen many things. If not for his grandchildren and my daughter I would have sat there and talked to this man for much longer. I hope I get to see him again. I get it. You might say to yourself you have nothing in common with someone much older than you, or it’s weird to just talk to a stranger or you may not know what to say.
I encourage you, if you can, to spend more time with older people. They’re a wealth of knowledge, practical wisdom and you can learn so much by just talking to them. Each day we are only surrounded by people just like us. They’re the same age, they might do the same thing to make a living and their kids might be around the same age as yours.
I believe that you stay in this moment in time, for your entire life, since you don’t connect with anyone outside your world.
To all service members young and old, male and female, thank you for your service.
Thought Provoking Question 1 : What question you ask an older person you don’t know, to start a conversation?
Dan Roman is a Husband, Father, and writer that releases a daily blog. A quick read on sharing wisdom and asking though-provoking questions.
What are your thoughts on this piece? Comment below…
[Here I insert an image of my typed out blog for the day and my signature. However, there was an issue uploading it. I’ll try again tomorrow.]