Most of us know a veteran whether friend or family. Both of my grandfathers, 
Chris A. Lay, Sr. and John S. Kirby, Sr. served in World War I, the one they called the “Big One”. I never heard my grandfathers talk about it. As many of their generation, they did not share their experiences of the war. I do not know where they served or how long they served. I never asked the questions.
What I remember about my Grandfather Kirby being a veteran is every morning he got up and put on his hearing aid. He had lost his hearing while in the service. First he would put on the shoulder holder over his t-shirt, then he would put the ear piece in his ear, and last he would connect the wire in the ear piece to the silver box ( the thing that made him hear) that went into the pocket of the shoulder holder. Only rarely did seem to effect his day to day life…when the battery went out or when my cousins and I played “dress up with high heel shoes”. You know that sound…rat a tat, rat a tat. My grandmother, Dora Ellis Kirby, explained the sound reminded him of gunfire and the war. We quickly took off the shoes.
As a yound adult, my grandmother told me she thought my grandfather was dead for some of the war. He had been declared Miising in Action. One day she was sitting on the front porch and looked up…there he was coming up the sidewalk. He did not know anything about being declared Missing In Action. That is all the of the story I know. They had many wonderful years together and lived a simple life.
So on this Veteran’s Day, stop by or call a veteran you know, ask them about their time in the service and thank them for serving our country.
Thanks for all our veterans…young and old, past and current…and their families.
c“. It’s the thing every REALTOR loves to hear and I 
was so glad to see them! 
