A young sailor stationed aboard a ship home ported in San Francisco, had his wife come out to be with him while he was in port. Housing in the Bay Area is very expensive, so, like many others, they ended up staying in a wino district flop house.

The money soon ran out, and the wife, fresh out of Quietville, Midwest, was not used to such life. She lived on cheap hamburgers and caned soft drinks.

The young sailor took a "dead horse" (advance pay) to cover expenses, thinking he could pay it off while he was overseas and she would go back home to Quietville.

Things did not turn out the way planned. The young man was killed in a tragic shipboard accident, leaving the young wife destitute. Of course, she would receive money from the Navy, but that has to go through much red tape, and she just saw no help for the short run.

The young wife became ill the day after her husband was killed, and called 911 for help. When the Emergency crew learned her husband was in the Navy, they took her to the Navy Hospital.

The doctors tested her and found that she was pregnant. What was she to do? Two Thousand miles from anyone she knew, no money, sick, and suffering the tragic loss of her husband. My God, what a terrible fix she was in!

The young widow came to the conclusion that she wanted to end it all. She thought of how to do it. Never seeing anything die before in her life, she really had no idea how to go about accomplishing such a deed. She cried herself to sleep.

The next morning the nurse came into her room with a package, and told her someone had left it with instructions to give it to her. She opened the package and found an airline ticket to her home town, rental car for a week in her home town, a ticket to the airport by taxi, and over $4,000.00 in all denominations of bills. A note simply said, "For the Family of our Shipmate."

The young lady went back to Quietville, brought into the world a fine young man, who is now a Commander in the Chaplain Corps. Yes, my friend, even in the depths of darkness and despair, life is valuable.

Just suppose the young, destitute widow had carried out her desperate deed? Thank God for good people she had never met, she lived to bring forth a great legacy from her beloved husband!
- - - Tom Nance

BACK TO STORIES MENU

BACK TO MAIN MENU