Oh my, Mark O'Brien! You brought me back to my childhood with my dad, who also helped out hundreds in a quiet way. His backstory was nothing like your Uncle Ed’s — he never served, due to some physical issues — but he helped lots of people one way or another all his adult life.

I learned about at least one instance when I was a teenager; I learned of so many more instances at his funeral, as folks came up to my mother and me and told of his kindness through the years.

I was adopted at birth, so I don’t share his or my mother’s genes, but I surely did take after him to the extent that I could/can with how he interacted with people.

Thanks for a great trip down memory lane!