In boot camp, we were taught that salutes were for greeting officers—and ladies.

I had just graduated from the Recruit Training Center in Orlando, Florida (not fifty miles from where I sit now). As I briskly walked toward my flight to my next duty station, a lovely young woman stopped me, curious about my dress white uniform. Her charming British accent explained why she hadn’t seen one before.

I was polite, but time was short—I couldn’t afford to miss my flight.

Somehow, our paths crossed again. And as a gesture not only of respect but of recognition, I saluted her.

One would have thought I’d just knighted her.

“Whoa!” she exclaimed. “What was that?”

“Just a gesture of respect for a pretty lady,” I replied.
She smiled.

That encounter was forty-five years ago. But I can’t help believing she remembers it too.

The Ordinary Path
is lit
for those who seek mercy,
memory,
and meaning.

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