Yesterday on the drive home, I saw a Cadillac with a special California license plate that read "PEARL HARBOR SURVIVOR" on the left half, and a four-digit number on the right. I wonder how many of those plates have been issued (this was a number in the high 1000s). I wonder how many of the eligible persons are still around. Still quite a few, I guess.

You don't often think about how close in time you really are to events that seem like ancient tales. One of my mom's college classes, in the late 50s/early 60s, was visited by a fellow who had known Orville and Wilbur Wright, and (I think) had been at Kitty Hawk on the day of that first flight. The class chuckled when he said this, until they realized he was serious. My parents also remember in their childhoods seeing a few elderly Civil War veterans at parades. For that matter, my father's grandfather was born in 1859, before the Civil War began (long generations on that side, but still).

Or, maybe you do often think about it. That would be nice, if I had a little company.

copyright 2003 carrie lynn king.