My wife and I enjoyed the vacation of a lifetime last year. We had
often wanted to visit Scotland and Ireland, and were determined to do so by our
70th birthdays. And true to our intentions, we just managed to do so 'by a
whisker.'
Our hotel in Glasgow, Scotland stood on the banks of the Clyde
River, (or River Clyde, as they are prone to refer to it 'over there'). We were
just fifty feet from a beautiful bridge which spanned the river, a hundred
yards from the convention center in which the now world famous Susan Boyle was
awarded second place in "Britain's Got Talent," and an ancient
overhead ship-building crane, for which the wonderful city is known, was just
seconds away from the front door of the hotel.
On our second day in Glasgow, I boarded an elevator to take me up
to our room on the third floor. And it so happened that a middle-aged, fairly
non-descript man stepped on the elevator with me. I must have greeted him with
a, "How are you." And recognizing my accent he said, "Are you an
American?" And I evidently responded in the affirmative. (I could not be
sure, and I did not ask, but based on the stranger's own peculiar accent, I
surmised he was probably a native of this country).
As the elevator moved quickly towards my third floor destination,
referring to the Second World War, my short-term acquaintance mused,
"Ah, we are so grateful for what your great country did for
us; coming over here to help us" (and) "those dear, dear American
lads. How we love and appreciate them even today."
And with this the elevator reached its destination, the doors
opened, I nodded, and stepped off.
It was just a momentary, circumstantial sort of thing, lasting all
of thirty seconds, and yet I will remember my brief interaction with this fine
gentleman; as long as I live, and move, and breathe on the earth.
by William McDonald, PhD. Copyright pending
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