someone's father, someone's son

My outlaw Bunny's mom sent this to me. It isn't the first time, probably won't be the last, either. I'm sharing it here, partly so I'll be able to find it anytime I want it.
I like the piece because it is a prime example of someone in the right place at the right time, even though they didn't realize it at the time.
There are no coincidences.

****************
A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside.

"Your son is here," she said to the old man. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's eyes opened.

Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man's limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.

The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lit ward, holding the old man's hand and offering him words of love and strength.

Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile. He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital - the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients.

Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son's hand all through the night.

Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited.

Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her.

"Who was that man?" he asked.

The nurse was startled, "He was your father," she answered.

"No, he wasn't," the Marine replied. "I never saw him before in my life."

"Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?"

"I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn't here. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed."
"I came here tonight to find a Mr. William Grey. His son was killed in Iraq today and I was sent to inform him. What was this gentleman's name?"

The nurse, with tears in her eyes answered,
"Mr. William Grey..."
**************

The next time someone needs you ... just be there. Stay.
Today, I attended the funeral of the younger sister of my friend Boo. The sister was only 58 years old and had been on the road to recovery from cancer. Instead, her body took a southward turn and ran right off a cliff. Such a shock to everyone.
My friend is a lot like me. We're both in No Kidding!, we're both teachers, we both attend many of the same films and plays and musical events, though not necessarily together. She's a strong woman, generally keeping to her own company, but with some very close friends.
She and her sister had a good relationship, but they were certainly not each other's best friends. The biggest hurdle between them was a difference in religious beliefs, with one being far more evangelical than the other.
The religious hurdle was not limited to Boo and her sister. No, it extended to her sister's family, too, and all of her sister's friends and her sister's church family. Boo was concerned that she would be an outcast at the visitation and at the funeral.
I was there for her.
I met her sister's husband and her son and her daughter.
I met three cousins who had traveled from Florida and North Carolina to give love and comfort to Boo and to her sister's family.
I'm glad I was there.
I'm sorry I never had the opportunity to meet Margie.
But, mostly, I'm glad I had the opportunity to have Boo's back.