Something to ponder from a chance encounter.

Today my mom, SIL, niece, JP and I went to our local Renaissance Faire. One of the first things we did was to let my 4 year old niece go for a ride on a dragon swing. This is of course powered by a man with impressive physique. He was quite serious and didn't seem the type to talk. My mom must have asked him something and he started talking about doing this for the summer and his last job. His last job involved mortars being fired at him. We talked a bit about the war and he said he was so proud to have been able to serve the country for three years before a shoulder injury pulled him out. What made it even more impressionable on me was that he mentioned that he only felt it was right to give back when our country gave to him. Turns out he was/is an immigrant. He had no accent that I could detect and I asked where he was from originally. He came over from Ireland when he was a boy. He was so grateful to our country and to have been accepted into our country that he enlisted as soon as he was able to give something back. It really struck a cord in me. So many criticize this country and focus on the bad events...or whats sensationalized by the media. Here was a man who sees our country differently and was just so proud to have been able to give back. He was a fascinating man even if the talk was brief. I never did get his name.