Thanks Paul!

Memorial Day is a day set aside in which we remember those who have gone off to war and never returned and also a time to recognize that sacrifice.

Not knowing anyone who has left and not returned, my thoughts are turned to those who served our country and are no longer with us. And in my heart I find a big spot for a simple man named Paul.

Paul served in Japan during World War II. When he returned he worked as a metal worker in the industries in Ohio. After retiring he returned to Garrett County where he built a small cabin in the woods, about a mile from the main road. He didn’t have electricity or running water. His heat source was an open fireplace. Even though it wasn’t as efficient as a woodstove, it was his dream way to live. He had a well with an old iron pump and a squeaky handle. For the last ten years or so of his life, several of my friends and I were lucky enough to spend lots of time up on the mountain with Paul, shooting, drinking coffee, and just hanging out around the cabin. Paul loved shooting his forty-fours and blasting clay pigeons with his single shot 20 gauge.

Paul battled with cancer at the end of his life. After a stint in the hospital and a time of being away from his cabin, his family said that they would allow him to return if we checked on him daily. We readily agreed and Paul returned a skinny, but still happy, shell of the man that he was.

Bear season was coming and Paul really wanted to hunt bears in PA one more time. He wanted to do it alone and asked if I would take him and then return in the evening to pick him up. I obliged with the hope that his family wouldn’t find out and be upset, half expecting Paul to pass on while doing what he loved doing best.

When I returned to pick him, there he was happily sitting on his stump. He had not seen a bear but shared that he had a truly great day. And that defined Paul! He carried a lot of hurt with him, but never let bitterness and resentment in. He had a simple faith in God and truly enjoyed the simpler, and might I add, the finer things in life.

Today I remember and salute Paul and the others who sacrificed and have passed on, thankful that I too can enjoy a simple life of freedom!