Stories from the coffeehouse: A hero and his mandarin orange

mandarin orange

This is the second in a new segment.

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When I entered I saw two mature women playing what looked like Scrabble with a yellow banana on the table near them.  They were both smiling and very friendly so it was easy to talk to them.  In fact, one of them saw me and smiled and said:

“It’s a great day isn’t it?”

“Of course.”, I replied.  “Even if it’s cold, I still enjoy drinking my hot chocolate.  I am curious, however, are you playing Scrabble?”

The younger one replied, “It’s called Bananagrams.”  She explained the process to me.  “Want to play?“, she invited me.

“Normally I would love to, but I need to work on my blog for the few viewers I have.”, I said.  “Once I get done, I might play.”  With that, I set to work finding interesting articles to share for that day.

Once I was done I returned to their table and asked “So what is the reason that you both are smiling so big today?”

The older one said “My grandson is coming home today from the war and we are going to pick him up in a few hours at Ohare.  We are so glad that he is ok, even though it is his second tour of duty.”

“I’m glad to hear that.  What does he do?”, I asked.

“He is a reconnaissance pilot.  It is dangerous work, even though he is away from the main fighting.”, she replied. “We have more family that is going to meet him at the airport.”

“Oh so he is going to be spoiled today isn’t he?”, I joked with them.   “You know maybe you can give him a present when he comes home some food that he has missed.  Is there anything that he really likes?”

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“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.  I know this will sound crazy but he really likes mandarin oranges.  We can stop by the store and get some of those before we see him.  He will be so thrilled.”, she and her daughter excitedly said together.

I said “I am sure he will love it.  It is a thoughtful gift and shows that you were thinking of him.”

Some small talk later they said they had to go, and thanked me for our conversation.  The older one said, “I hope we see you again and for sure we will play Bananagrams them.”

I smiled and said “Count on it.  Tell him welcome home from me.” Mother Theresa said “We can do no great things.  We can only do small things with great love.”