One of the positives to spending more time with your parents as you get older, is you start to have far more interesting conversations. Gone are the grunts and groans and there is now a genuine enjoyment of each other’s conversations.

One topic that I really enjoy, is hearing stories of their friends parents. So many of them have achieved amazing feats in their lives. But sadly, they only hear of what they have done when attending their funeral or reading the obituary in the paper.
That seems like such a shame to me. That it takes for someone to pass before the story of their life is told. There are a lot of people out there who are quick to tell you a story. Generally they are not the greatest ones. It seems that the greatest stories so often go untold.

For example, one I was told the other day. The father of one of Dad’s mates was a pilot in WWII. He used to fly recon. Missions off the coast of Australia guarding the coast line. They used to fly big, long range aircraft capable of flying missions for many hours at a time. On particular evening, they were out on patrol, and the spotted the rapidly approaching Japanese army. They radioed back to the base and alerted them of the danger. But this also alerted the Japanese fleet to their position. They sent up a few faster, far more nimble fighters. They circled above the bigger less maneuverable plane until it was forced to ditch in the sea. A few on board the plane died. The survivors swam to safety of an island where they were captured and put into a POW camp.

Such an amazing story. And one that was only heard of once the hero was no longer around. Another example of heroics and adventures that my grandparents generation encountered. These tales motivate me to do more with my life than to spend it behind a desk for 50 hours a week slaving away to the man.

But more than that, these stories motivate me to take the time to ask. Ask about what people have done with their lives and to share their amazing experiences with them.