I have been a very lucky man many times in my life. Not because I have been a survivor, but because of my gregarious nature I have met many people who were either famous, or near the ones who were.
I have met movie stars, War heros, WWII aces, sports legends, and just plain ordinary folks who were "there" when something famous happened.
My latest chance meeting was a man who I was eating dinner next to in my favorite resturant, I won't mention the name, because they don't pay me to advertise for them.
I generaly eat at the bar, because the hostesses always look at me funny when I say, "Table for one please."
This particular night there was a black man at the bar, who I swear looked just like Evander Hollyfield, the former heavyweight world boxing champion.
I mentioned this to him, and he said he had heard that before.
However, there was an elderly couple next to me, and the lady said, "Yeah he does except for one thing."
"What is that?" I asked. Her retort was, "He ain't missing half his ear!"
I almost fell off my chair laughing at her quick wit.
After engaging them in conversation I found out her husband was on Iwo Jima and had actually witnessed the the raising of the flag on Mount Surabachi.
He told me the story that the first flag raising was of a very small flag, and the photographer wanted to get a picture of a bigger flag. They found another larger one, and the raising of that one is the famous picture, and the model for the memorial in Washington, D.C. I then asked him if he knew Ira Hayes, the man who is not quite touching the flagpole and made famous by that picture.
He said, "Yeah, I knew Ira, he was a drunk." To which his wife replied,
"But honey, you all were drunks then."
Again, I almost fell off my chair laughing.
This story is not so much about the event, but the people I have met by serendipity, who were in a situation of importance to our history in some form or another.
I consider myself a very lucky man indeed. Most people don't appreciate what something like this means, but I do.
Really enjoyed this piece. It's such a pleasure to hear from people who appreciate how lucky they are and pass along their buoyant spirit to others. Far too many grim souls mucking about.
This got to be my favorite short story of yours, Walt. Indeed, you are a lucky man. What a great tale.
People who have done extraordinary things and stay humble, that does it for me.
One thing's sad, though: Hopefully someday there will be someone special you share a booth with instead of dining at the bar like some lone wolf.
R~
I have been working at the veteran's center for the past ten years. During this time I have met and become friends with some of the our unsung heros who did their job. War gave me the opportunity to meet and make odd friends, pleople who, when I was younger, would never be with. I thank God for my service not because I'm any man's hero. I was a 17 year old, snot nosed kid who thought I knew everything about life until I served in the navy. What an education!
Serendipity indeed; I don't meet famous people, only a few famous animals in my time; but i like WW II stories and this is sort of one... if an unusual one.
This is an amazing story! I love that you were one of those people that knows when things like this happens, it's meant to be..Love this.
Peace, Love, and LIght,
Amber "V"
I'm with you, Walt. My father-in-law was shot down twice over Germany. He was just a kid. He had to get his partent's permission to marry Mom. He wasn't old enough to marry her, but he was old enough to die at the hands of a mad man to protect her and the rest of us. --Charlie
It is often with hindsight that we look back at the characters we met throughout our lives and realize how much of an impact they may have had on our way of thinking and our lives. Well done story here with a lot to be learned from it.
I don't know if it counts, but once I scared the jebazzes of a post office clerk, I looked almost exactly as the one on the enlarged photo gallery of the FBI 10 most wanted pasted inside the glass beside her, gulped so hard that if she had a Adam apple it would have hit the floor.
Georg
You are always in the right place at the right time.
I DO know Evander. My ex was the chairman of the State Boxing ommission, He put the first middle weight belt on Evander. I was also a judge intern under Mills lane...a Savannhian. I know a little bit about boxing. In the reruns on HBO...I'm there at ringside with the judges...especially the holyfield fights and Quawi.
Okay...too much information already.
(Richard M. Feldman) Ever since I was a young boy, the only thing I wanted to be was a cowboy. I wanted to own and work on a real ranch, with cattle and horses. Especially horses.
While I never became a cowboy, considering everything I have done
Rosetta was born in 1909 as the youngest of ten children. The family had more laughter than money and neighbors would knock on their door to ask, "Can we come in and laugh, too?"
On February 20, 2003, pyrotechnics at a rock club in West Warwick, RI set off a devastating fire that roared through the crowded club, killing 100 people and injuring hundreds more. Gina Russo was one of the survivors, and she retells her harrowing e
I have been a very lucky man many times in my life. Not because I have been a survivor, but because of my gregarious nature I have met many people who were either famous, or near the ones who were.
