Grace Moments by Dolores Martin

COINCIDENCE OR FATE



My eighty year old brother called me at my home in Cape Cod and invited me out for a lobster dinner. I accepted his kind invitation. I love to have him fill me in about things that have happened to him or his friends back in the "good old days".



I love his wit and enthusiasm.



His wife of 53 years had passed away a number of years ago. I helped him get through that time of his life. When George passed away, he called to give me some good advise to help me through my difficult time. He gave me MY OWN advise back. I had no choice but to follow this advise, it was good advise coming from a source that I trusted!!!!!!



I was looking forward to a visit with Joe. He lives near the border of Maryland and he was going to drive to the Cape the next day.



I fully expected to prepare dinner for him after a long drive. I felt that he would be exhausted after driving over ten hours. NO WAY !!!!



He pulled into the drive way with his new BMW hard top convertible. I helped him with his suitcase and he proceeded to show me how the hard top folds down into the trunk. NEAT...He then said, "let"s go". LET'S GO? He was ready for the lobster dinner and a long talk.



Joe walked around to the passenger side of the car and opened the car door for me. He waited until I was comfortably seated before he closed the door. How gallant.



Then we peeled out of the drive way. His thick white hair was blowing in the breeze. What fun.



During dinner, he told me about Uncle Mickey and Uncle Andy during WWII.

Uncle Mickey joined the navy and Uncle Andy joined the army. After basic training, both brothers were going to be shipped overseas. They did not know WHEN or IF they would ever see one another again.

They were patriotic, idealistic young men who were off to war. Back in those days, any young man who stayed behind was looked at in an odd way according to one man that I know who was not accepted for the service.

Both brothers were optimistic that they would survive the war. They spent as much time as they could together. Until we meet again.

Mickey set off to sea and Andy was sent to complete his training as an army pilot. Fortunately he was sent to Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

The boys grew up in Wilkes-Barre and Andy had the opportunity to visit with family before he left for Hawaii.

Both men were caught up in the war and communication between them was practically non-existent. Family only knew that they were somewhere in the Pacific. They jokingly said that someday they would meet in Hawaii and have a great time together. This was a a dream that both brothers had.

Time passed. Mickey was fighting at sea and Andy was flying in and out of Pearl Harbour. Their dream of meeting was not happening. It was only a wonderful dream.

Andy had to make another run into Pearl Harbour and as he was making an approach to land his plane, he looked out the side window and saw a ship entering the harbour. He felt a connection. DREAMS CAN COME TRUE!!!!! Below him was Mickey's ship.

I will leave it to your imagination as to how they celebrated this joyous reunion. As I write this, I can feel their hugs and their joy.

Both brothers survived the war.

As for my brother Joe, I just received an e-mail from him. He continues to fascinate me as does our deceased brother, Steve. Joe wrote, "Life is too sweet to waste. My near term focus is that new program, "Light Sports Plane" flying." The FAA is slow getting me a laminated copy of my license. When it gets here, I will check out on the plane and tool around having fun.

I have a strong desire to get a pilots license. I have thought that I was too old. I am a lot younger than my brother, so who knows. He has cautioned me about getting caught in the downdrafts of the mountains. Older brothers are fun and a great source of information.