Toad's story about his dad reminded me something that developed in our family in recent years.
My dad enlisted in the army airborne in 1947. During training he and another recruit became close friends. They managed to stay together throughout much of their tour of the Korean conflict, until dad was wounded and got an early trip to Japan, then home. They didn't see or hear from one another for the next 50+ years. Then my sister looked up his old unit on the internet, found where this guy lived and surprised Dad on his b'day three years ago by arranging a visit from his old friend. Now when Dad's buddy and his wife drive from their home in Illinois to their place in Florida, they stop by in Birmingham, pick up my parents, and continue on to FL, or sometimes they just hang around Birmingham for a couple days. It's very touching to see 75-80 y.o. guys become teenagers again before your eyes. It's true magic.
