Al

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From 1943 - 1946, Al served in the Marines at Okinawa.

I get ahead of myself. The very first thing Al was to me was this: in my way in the detergent aisle at Target.

There he was, a bit stooped but every bit a gentleman.

There I was, a bit haggard but every bit needing some Cascade for my dishwasher.

I noticed his Marines jacket and cap firstly, which led me to, "Thank you so much for your service!"

"Ah, it was nothing." he told me, getting out of my way so I could grab some Cascade.

"No, really. Your serving means alot to me. Where did you serve?"

Al served in Okinawa, and he lost many buddies there. When I asked if he ever went back, he gave me a slight chuckle and a strange look. Why would he want to go back?

To me, war is a novelty.

To Al and his buddies who didn't make it back, war is a very dark reality.

His wife, Christian name Elizabeth, passed away 13 years ago. He carries her picture in his wallet. He calls her "Little Jewel" and he thinks about her every day. "There wasn't a woman better," he says:

Later, well after Al and I had parted ways forever, a Target employee comes running over, telling me an elderly gentleman wants to show me the photo book his oldest daughter had made for him for his 86th birthday. (He was a Halloween baby.) We met up in front of the ice machine, where he whipped out his iPhone and quipped, "I'm not so sure what I'm doing with this thing, you know." 

Al has been written up in the local paper.

 The main points, bulleted here for your convenience:

• Al is awesome.
• Al has a zest for life.
• Al likes the ladies.

A local restaurant celebrates "Alloween" every year, in honor of Awesome Al.

Al's last words to me as we parted ways: "That baby sure is beautiful."
"Hey, check out this picture of me dancing. That's Sally. She likes to be dipped, so I dip her:

Keep on dippin' the ladies, Al, and thanks for making my day.

:)