“it stays where it lays……..”

Sort of weird thing happened in Cabo that I wanted to share. Some of you saw part of it on my Facebook page, but the follow up was kind of special to me.

A while back someone started that thing where they leave a beer on Memorial and Veterans Days for their fallen comrades. So I started doing it was well on both days. I suppose some would argue it should only be on Memorial Day, but they were veterans as well, and despite the fact that Veterans Day is meant for we the living, in my mind the men I served with live on, if only in my memories.

So anyway, I picked a bar in Cabo San Lucas, “Happy Endings” and left a beer. Here’s the beer and the message:

(As a side note, I forgot SGT Compton, who had died of cancer a few weeks earlier.)

Anyway, this is a busy bar, and it was 5 pm. So I asked the bartender if he could guard it. He was pleased to do so, but said he was leaving at 7pm, but would ask the bartender who followed to guard as well. This seemed less than perfect. So I talked to the owner, who was also sympathetic, but told me that this was one of the busiest bars in Cabo, and he just couldn’t in good conscience guarantee no one would steal it.

Now, I’m not much for meeting new people. In fact, cold talking to people gives me the shakes. But there were two dudes nearby, one wearing a Sox cap. So, I walked up and explained the situation. Turns out both guys were from Western Mass, in fact from the same town as The Sniper. They were not veterans, but promised that while they remained no one would touch it. I thanked them, shook their hands and left.

The next day (yesterday) we were leaving Mexico, and my wife and I had seats not together. As I followed her to her seat, I was somewhat amazed to find she was literally sitting next to the same two guys. Cabo is pretty damn big, and it has a lot of bars. And I managed to meet the two dudes sitting next to my wife, and they had offered to watch the beer. They both greeted me warmly, shook my hand, and let me know that they had stayed until 11pm and that no one had touched it. And when they left, they handed off guard duty to three other guys, who just happened to be Marines from San Diego.

I don’t know why that hit me, but it really did. Even if those Marines just chuckled and drank the beer, I know my friends would be pleased. But I would bet they didn’t. I bet that beer never got touched until closing. Maybe I am wrong, but I sleep better thinking it made it to the end of the night.

Category: Politics