Fred and Me

Fred and I were walking companions. Barbi introduced us and we became very good friends. At first we would walk together to the clubhouse near where we lived. It was a 10 to 15 minute walk for us.  When we got there we sat on a bench and chatted for another 15 or 20  minutes and then walked back home. At first we talked about what we did when we worked. And I found out that he and Barbi spent many years as ex-pats. But it was a while before I found out what a high level Fred worked at. He liked to talk more about how remarkable Barbi was than about himself. But we eventually got to the point where we admired each others careers and accomplishments. Fred was a radioman on a destroyer and never forgot the time he spent on active duty. Then he became a bank auditor. I also spent time in the Navy and then went to work with a main frame computer company at the time when laptops were being introduced to the marketplace. Soon our  talks turned to every day chit chat. We discussed politics once in a while. Fred was a Conservative and I a little bit to the right of Genghis Khan. We enjoyed our time together.  Barbi would take us to different restaurants for dinner  and I enjoyed the breadth of knowledge she had about Newport Beach. And on holidays like Armed Forces Day or July 4th she made arrangements for us to attend those events. Fred wore his ball cap with Navy on it and I wore the one they bought for me that said Retired Navy. On Armed Forces day she got us front seats at the event and the local celebrities came over and shook our hands and told us how much they appreciated our service.  And she got us flags that were displayed among those that surrounded the venue and had our names and pictures. There came a time when we couldn’t make it to the club house anymore so we took our walks around our cul-de-sac. We became a well known sight. Two old men, one on a walker and the other using a walking stick. And we stopped traffic.  No--- we actually stopped traffic. They had to wait for us to get out of their way.  Fred was a good shipmate and I miss him.