FROM THE DESK OF: Happy Thanksgiving, Mr. Williams.

BY: Taft Matney

Preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving, people are getting their thoughts organized. As soon as Halloween 2011 went in to the record books, people began posting to social media what they were thankful for. For some it was friends or family. For others it was work – making it another day in a rough economy without being laid off.

Out to dinner with the family the other night, we were sitting at Como’s, a Greenville institution on Augusta Road, when an older gentleman walked up to the table. These days, you never know what someone’s motives might be, so I went on guard. He looked at me and smiled and said, “I want to give something to that boy,” motioning to my 8 year old son.

I know common sense would tell you we didn’t have anything to worry about. After all, we were in Pete’s. Nevertheless, I didn’t know what to think because in 2011 nobody comes up and says they want to give you something just for the heck of it.

“Um, okay,” I responded, even more alert than I was before.

He reached in the pocket of his old “Members Only” jacket and pulled out a small piece of wood. He leaned over my wife and gave it to our son.

I quit worrying.

He said, “I whittled it myself. I like to whittle ‘em and keep ‘em with me.”

It was a miniature baseball bat maybe three inches long, and on it he wrote, “Dewey ‘Skin’ Williams — An 89 year old WW II sailor. Greer, SC. 11-10-11.”

He smiled even more proudly than before pointing to the number written on the barrel of the bat. “7300. I’ve made 7300 of ‘em.”

He turned and walked away without another word as my son kept telling him, “Thank you.”

The 8 year old studied the bat all through supper. At least he did when he wasn’t inhaling his burger and picking off the excess bacon “for dessert.”

As we left, I went to the cash register to pay. The 8 year old hung back, and the wife stayed back even more to watch him.

He went up to the gentleman who had given him this 7300 bat and said, “Thank you again for the bat, Mr. Williams…and thank you for your service to our country.”

Mr. Williams looked back with a mix of surprise and appreciation and just said, “You’re welcome, young man. Now you have something to remember an old man by.”

So, as we celebrate another Thanksgiving, one that takes days to plan, hours to cook, and minutes to eat, let us remember the “Mr. Williams” of the world.

Let us remember not only the 89 year old WW II sailor, but the 25 year old soldier in the desert and everyone who has ever put on a uniform to keep us safe because it’s thanks to their sacrifices that we continue enjoying our freedoms.

Happy Thanksgiving, Mr. Williams.