The paper now refers most of the military and Veteran feature stories to me. Since I'm the only one working there that has been to boot camp, they figure I have a point of reference. Veterans tend to open up a little when they realize I've worn the uniform. That's OK with me.

Today, I interviewed a Vietnam veteran who served in 67 and 68. He was wounded three times before leaving South East Asia.

His story put chills on both my arms.

His sons kept encouraging him to write his story down. After more than 50 years, he did. I got an autographed copy of his book but I have not yet read it. The title is Jimmy, The Marine.

This is another story I'll post once it publishes toward the end of June.

In other news, the Zinnias are blooming. This evening when Jilda stepped down to get a jalapeno for the pasta, I went down and leaned on the fence to make sure she picked a good one.

I realized that the Old Maids have been blooming for several days and I haven't snapped the first picture. I fixed that tonight.