Lives saved; dinners bought

EDITOR: Here’s a good D-Day story (“Remembering Kenneth Moore, D-Day Hero,” June 7):

Ann’s (former) book club women meet every six weeks so the husbands go out to dinner on the same night. Last night there were six of us, four of whom had been in the military. We talked a lot about WWII and other military stuff, airplanes, battles, etc. At the end of the dinner the waiter told us that our meal had been paid for. As it turned out, the couple in the next booth had overheard all of our military talk and, since it was D-Day, decided to pay for our dinners.

A couple of us got up as they were leaving (others were wedged into the booth), and I hugged the wife and shook the hand of the husband (who was probably in his 50s) and introduced myself as a Marine Captain fighter pilot who flew in Vietnam. He said his brother was a Green Beret, but mentioned no personal military affiliation. There was a young boy about 4, the son of another woman in the booth, who said, “Thanks for saving our lives.”

What a nice “thanks for serving.”

Jim Honeywell

Sonoma

Hear ye, hear ye!

EDITOR: Message from above:

God’s intentions, when he issued two ears and one mouth to humans, were for people to use them in that proportion. Unfortunately, there were no instructions that came with them. As a result of that, not all people do that. It’s amazing how much more you can learn by listening, instead of thinking about what you’re going to be saying. In discussions where there is a disagreement, nothing gets conveyed to the other person because they are already thinking of a rebuttal to what the other party is trying to say. It just wastes a bunch of time and effort by both sides and not much gets accomplished. (We have a highly ranked political figure that needs to try that once in a while.)

Next time you’re in a real conversation, stop and listen for a minute and sometimes it’s unbelievable. Everyone wants to be right, that’s just human nature. At some point it borders on being rude, and that’s not what this world needs. Some people actually have smart, informative things to say, but nobody listens. A seminar I attended once was regarding customer service and the “art of listening.” We all can hear, but few people actually listen. By that I mean actually not talk at all, and listen to each word said and, all of a sudden, if both parties do this, the phone call or discussion actually accomplishes something. You cannot talk and listen at the same time. Yes, you can talk and hear. Hearing is easy; try listening.

This letter is not directed at any one group, or person specifically. I just thought it may shed some light on a good idea for everyone. Give it a shot. I learned a lot at that seminar, and I thought I already was a listener. I wasn’t but I am now. God bless y’all and try to Be Cool. If you already are, please Stay Cool. It’s better that way. Everyone hang in there, and have a great day.