Thank YOU for your service!
Last week a Viet Nam vet came into my shop with an old travel alarm clock that wasn’t working. He told me the (long) story of how he kept this clock with him during two tours of active duty and found its steady, gentle tick comforting with all the chaos around him. It was still working up until a few weeks ago. Even though I don’t normally repair travel alarm clocks, I took a quick look at it and found a couple of platform screws that had backed out. I tightened them and the little old clock came back to life.
I handed it back to the gentleman and said, “No charge — thank you so much for your service”. His eyes got big (and moist), and he thanked me profusely. He stood there for a second and said his faith got him through the war in one piece, and that he believes he was “guided” to my shop for a reason. He reached into his pocket and handed me a prayer card. Printed on it were the names of several churches and parishes including “OLPH”. I told him that’s where I went to Parochial school! He said, “See? I knew it!”
I guess I made his day, and I KNOW he made mine.