HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY... a cute story....

i read this story in the TV Weekly shopper in milwaukee wisconsin and i had to reprint it...its truly a testament to the tenacity of our soldiers and mankind in general! wish a soldier a happy memorial day today!

two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. one man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. his bed was next to the rooms only window. the other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. the men talked for hours on end. they spoke of their wives, and families, their jobs, their homes, where they had gone on vacations and their involvement in the military.

Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he seen outside the window. the man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be braoadened by all the activity and color of the outside world. the window overlooked a park with a pond. ducks and swans played on the water while the children sailed their model boats. young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color of the rainbow. grand old trees graced the landscape and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

one warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. although the other man couldnt hear yhr band, in his minds eye he could see it as the other man described it with such vivid, descrptive words. days and weeks passed. one day while the nurse was bringing water for their baths, she discovered the man by the window has died peacefully in his sleep.

as soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked to be moved to the bed by the window. the nurse was happy to accomadate him. slowly the man propped himself up to look out the window, eager to have a look at the world outside.

he strained to look out the window, it faced a blank wall...he asked the nurse what could have compelled his roommate to describe such detailed wonderful things when he was always looking at a wall...the nurse responded that the man was blind and couldnt even see the wall...she said perhaps he wanted to encourage you to get well...