The Visitor

There's a young man who grew up in Verona and never forgot it. He went to elementary school with our younger son before his family moved to California. He kept in touch with my son with letters (this was long before email) and whenever he was back east, he would visit Verona.

His visits were always unannounced. He'd ring the bell and there he was. Why us? Well, he felt very strongly about the relationship he had with our younger son. In fact, when our son got married in Israel in 1985 this young man showed up announced there, too. More surprising because he had given us a wedding gift to carry to Israel. Then he appeared in person.

Here's another notable item about this young man. Although he never graduated from Verona High School he felt he had to come to one of the school's reunions. His attachment to Verona knows no bounds.

After a number of these “surprise” visits, we laid down a ground rule. You can't just pop in on us without warning. Please call first and if we can, we will see you.

This week he called. He was in the metro area for a family function and wanted to stop by and say hello. His 10-year-old daughter was with him and he showed her the elementary school he went to and introduced her to his first grade teacher, who is still on the job. Then he visited another former elementary school friend before coming to us.

My wife brought him up to date on our son’s Israeli family and showed him the latest pictures. Then we sent him on his way.

You know he'll be baaaack!