My dad, Charles Folsom, was transferred from south Georgia to Wilson, N.C., in 1937 by his work company. In 1942, the Army sent him to California for school. One weekend, he was hitchhiking and was picked up by a man from that area. After a few miles, without asking where he was from, the man asked if he was from Rocky Mount, N.C., 18 miles from where he lived when he went into service. Seems he used some phrase the man had only heard before in Rocky Mount. Sometimes it truly is a small world.

My father was still an active member of The American Legion when he died in 2003. I have been a member for 52 years.