re: I really wish I had listened more to the stories the old folks told, Let’s share some

I remember an assignment we had in 5th or 6th grade, where we had to interview a veteran. I knew my grandpa was in the Navy back in the day, but didn’t know he served in WWII until my dad suggested that I interview him. It was probably the longest I’ve ever talked to my grandpa one on one (long distance phone call bills were steep back in the day), and most times that we visited him were on holidays (Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc) and he was surrounded by 14 or so other grandkids at those times. No epiphanies, crazy war stories, or sage advice from that conversation that I recall. I just remember the feeling having that 1:1 conversation “man to man” for the first time.