All in a Day's Work...

Yesterday, I made a 90-year old man cry.

Let me back up a little bit and explain myself, before the Geritol Gang whips out their walkers and commits a slow chase of me around the block.

Mike and I had the honor and privilege to attend the Final North Carolina Flight of Honor, a service that ferries World War II Veterans from Raleigh NC to Washington, DC to visit the World War II memorial. There were over 100 veterans on this flight, including my friend Robert (Bobby) Lougee, whom we affectionately call "Loog". Now, I have known Loog since I was about two years old. In human years, that is 45 years. (( Do the math. I double-dog dare you)). I adore Loog, and he is like a Grandfather to me, and is one of the most genuinely, kind people I have ever known.

Anyway, as I was saying, I have known Loog a long time, so I pooled all my creative resources of Graphic Design and Illustration AND Technical Writing abilities and created the most glorious of all signs to celebrate his homecoming. Ok, it was NOT the work of art other people carried, but it was created and crafted from the heart. With poster board. And sticky letters, and copious amounts of craft glue. It was a fucking masterpiece I tell you. The Mona Lisa of Posters.

Mike and I waited 1.5 hours, and when the Veterans started filing through the Atrium at RDU, my heart was in my throat. Mike's father was a World War II Vet, served in the Aleutian Islands as a Radar O'Reilly-style company clerk, and unlike most families, he and all his brothers came home safe and sound. Part of the reason I was there, was because he could NOT be there. We stood, and waved our flags and greeted these men and women, clasping hands and expressing our most sincere thanks for their service. When they cried, I cried and when Bobby saw me, and saw my sign, he cried, and clasped me, and shook Mike's hand, and told us how touched he was that we were there. I found it extraordinary that he was thanking me, and my crappy handmade sign. He truly IS a member of the Greatest Generation, and I love that Loog with all my cholesterol-laden heart.