A special lunch

Stacey and I both grew up with grandfathers who proudly fought with the Allies during World War II, and most of our friends' grandfathers fought alongside them.

Our beloved grandfathers have both been gone 15 years - hard to fathom, but true. And slowly, the passage of time has claimed most of their fellow soldiers, sailors and pilots.

Knowing this, we were delighted to accept a lunch invitation from Uncle Bill and Aunt Patty on Sunday, when the guest of honor was Hal Wilder, a pilot of B-24 Liberators during the final months of the war.

Hal, as he insisted we call him, met Bill recently at the Santa Paula Airport, and agreed to speak to Bill's junior high school next month on Veterans' Day. He's written books about his experiences, which were fascinating to hear. It was nice to introduce him to Cora and Violet, too, after giving them a brief history of the war on the drive to Ventura. Who knows if they'll meet another WWII veteran in this lifetime?

A special thanks to Uncle Bill and Aunt Patty for inviting us, and being such gracious hosts.