The man in the white hat

It was a baseball cap with an abstract grey and blue pattern across it. He dressed well, but casually. A brilliant white smile lit up his ebony face. His watch showed the time in 3 countries, one of which made emotion run thick in his voice when he said it's name.

He brought four carts full of clothes up to my register, asking that they be rung up a certain way. I did my best to accomodate him. As I ran the register he dispatched one child with him to hang up the hangers that came off the clothes. He set the other to folding and bagging as we discussed the author of a fascinating book he just bought.

Halfway through the third cart another man wandered up to my register. He was a regular customer, a favorite to see. Today he was looking for a wallet. This second man happens to be visually impaired. Not completely blind, but he does have significant trouble. Usually, we have an employee or volunteer to help him shop. Unfortunately, for the last several days our regular floor walker has been out due to serious health issues. We only had 2 employees to handle the entire crush of the holiday sale. Neither of us could leave a register to help him shop.

By now I'm sure you can guess what happened next. Our man in the white hat turned the rest of his transaction over to his wife, took the customer who needed help by the hand and helped him shop for his wallet. When they returned to my register the man in the white hat paid for the wallet, wishing the other customer a happy birthday.

I was touched, but not quite surprised. The identification the man in the white hat showed me when he gave me his credit card named him as a member of the United States Air Force.

We give alot of attention to our solidiers out on the battlefield. This is as it should be, as Heinlein once put it "the most noble fate a man can endure is to place his own mortal body between his loved home and the war's desolation." However, let us not forget the every day difference they make while interacting with the world. We see a lot of press about the occasional negative behavior of our service men and women off duty. We tend to ignore the code of ethics they uphold, the example they set for the rest of us, the self-discipline that makes them who they are.

They don't have to be on the battlefield to be heroes.

Happy Fourth of July, everyone.

Ms. Betty