Respect

Last year we were invited to a burial at Annapolis for the Captain who married us. As we were married by the sea and not at sea (I had five days to plan the wedding/elopement) we got special dispensation from the State for him to perform the wedding ceremony on land.

We asked. He considered it, and shed a tear before achieving Naval demeanor and agreeing to our request. He insisted on writing our vows and I typed them up in large print.

It was a brief, lovely ceremony with a few friends. We went home and called our families. Years later as he declined, I got him on the phone on a good day and told him who I was and that he married us. He said “I wore a nice suit,” and I agreed.

The day his ashes were interred the Secretary of the Navy was there and they saved the 21-cannon salute for Sec Nav. We stayed for it, thought it was for Capt. Jim and his son, III, brought his mother up to meet Sec Nav and he gave her a coin.

Here is to our soldiers who keep us safe. I can no longer say free because surveillance against civilians going out to buy groceries or gas for their cars is rampant inside our country and even on 9/11, not needed.

My adopted father is gone. I can visit him any time at his alma mater. I don’t need to because I know even as his “adopted” girl I’ll get in trouble if I do anything wrong.

I respect the person and the memory, because he was “Dad” to me and I now have three older brothers and a Mother who I love dearly, At the funeral one officer said he’d been in the family for over 40 years. I only have 19 so came in second!

This is also a lesson in Loyalty. Keep score, I’m not because it’s lessons learned, not points on a test. Dee