Decisions

Every day we make decisions, some good and some bad. Every time we make a decision we do not know if it will be a life-changing decision or not.

Joyce’s father made a decision to join the navy during WWII. He was sent to diesel mechanics school and that led to his being assigned to a destroyer. That destroyer ended up supporting the marine’s landing off New Britain.

A Japanese pilot made a decision to attack the destroyer Joyce’s father was on. That led to a 500 pound bomb being dropped on the destroyer and sinking it. That diesel mechanics school Joyce’s father attended led to his battle station being in the auxiliary diesel compartment on the ship. Had he been in his regular watch station in the boiler room, he would have been killed on the spot.

The sinking of the destroyer led to Joyce’s father being transferred to an Ohio shipyard where his crew took newly-built LST’s and put them into commission on their way down the Ohio river to the Mississippi to New Orleans. Those trips stopped in Saint Louis along the way down river. That led to him meeting Joyce’s mother, which led to Joyce being born, which led to my meeting Joyce, which led to Annie being born, which led to Hailey being born.

I wonder if Vienna’s Academy of Fine Arts had not rejected Adolf Hitler if there might not have been a WWII?

I have discovered that decisions made while drinking can lead to things one might never otherwise do.

I wonder how many military decisions are made after a few cocktails at the officer’s club?

All of this above leads me to my favorite quote,

“We never know when we do an act

what the result will be

but with every deed we sow a seed

the result of which we may never see.”