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"Buffalo
Bob" |
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A nurse took the
tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside. "Your son is here,"
she said to the old man. She had to repeat the words several times
before the patient's eyes opened. He reached out his
hand. The Marine wrapped
his toughened fingers around the old man's limp ones, squeezing a
message of love and encouragement. The nurse brought a chair so that the
Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the
night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lighted ward, holding the
old man's hand and offering him words of love and strength. Occasionally, the
nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile. He refused. Whenever the nurse
came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night
noises of the hospital - the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter
of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of
the other patients. Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said
nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night. Along
towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released
the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what
she had to do, he waited. Finally, she returned. She started to offer
words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her. "Who was that
man?" he asked. The nurse was
startled, "He was your father," she answered. "No, he
wasn't," the Marine replied. "I never saw him before in my
life." "Then why didn't you say something when I took you to
him?" "I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also
knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn't here. When I realized that
he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how
much he needed me, I stayed." I came here tonight
to find a Mr. William Grey. His Son was Killed
in The Nurse with Tears
in Her Eyes Answered, Mr. William Grey... The next time
someone needs you .... just be there. |
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