Tokugowa, your kindness is its own reward. Hopefully, you made a friend. Showing respect for elders is a noble trait. I sent my father a birthday card earlier this week. He made it to 81, and though I wished him many more, in my heart I know another birthday will be an unexpected milestone. Dad flew 31 missions as a waist gunner aboard a B-17, flying from Foggia, Italy. His education ended at high school, but I've truly never known a man with more plain old common sense. His father was a truck driver, and my dad, at age 16, drove a semi from Omaha to Chicago. Those were different times, but still, quite an accomplishment!
Working in retail gun stores the past fifteen years, I've had the honor and privilege meeting a good number of my father's generation. I've rarely met one I didn't learn something from. Their passing is a sad thing, and I hope I age with the grace and dignity most of them displayed. And Dad, happy 81st! You, sir, are my personal hero!