One of the most pleasant experiences I had while stationed at Luke Field outside Phoenix, Arizona, happened when I was assigned to the gun shop where aircraft machine guns were completely re-built on a regular maintenance schedule. They would be removed from the aircraft, usually when the plane was in the hanger for scheduled maintenance and brought to the shop where one of several civilian workers would overhaul them to exacting military specifications. Some other civilians would remove and re-install the guns in the hanger and my job was to transport them back and forth.
The odd assortment of civilians was an education for me. I was the only military person assigned to the shop and each of the workers was x-military with many years of experience to share!
I arrived at work one morning to find we had a visitor. He was a Lieutenant in the Mexican Air Force in charge of maintaining the weapons of the few aircraft they had and his name was Juan Vega. After several days of occasionally chatting with him (he spoke almost better English than I) we agreed that his stay would be enriched by a visit to a local well known Mexican/American restaurant in Phoenix. Fraternization between enlisted and officer was not a problem as I was acting as his guide and only for one occasion.
My wife and I would sometimes go to the popular eatery and had always enjoyed the food there and we were sure the gentleman would find the food appetizing. When we ordered our preferences, the Lieutenant asked for a light salad. When the two platters of food were served, piled high with my favorite dishes, he gaped at the size of the meal and told me he could feed a large village on the two platters!
He told me of the simple philosophy of eating that he and most of his countrymen adhered to; that of eating breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper. I had never heard of that way of thinking before that moment, but have heard it many times since. Unfortunately as sensible as it is, I have not been able to adhere to that philosophy and have the extra pounds to prove it.
The officer and true gentleman thanked my wife and me for our kindness as no-one else had reached out to him and he was getting homesick. A day or so later he was gone after extending an invitation to me to come see his weapons shop near Mexico City if I ever got the chance. Sadly, I never had the chance. I consider this brief interaction to be one of the nicest experiences I
The odd assortment of civilians was an education for me. I was the only military person assigned to the shop and each of the workers was x-military with many years of experience to share!
I arrived at work one morning to find we had a visitor. He was a Lieutenant in the Mexican Air Force in charge of maintaining the weapons of the few aircraft they had and his name was Juan Vega. After several days of occasionally chatting with him (he spoke almost better English than I) we agreed that his stay would be enriched by a visit to a local well known Mexican/American restaurant in Phoenix. Fraternization between enlisted and officer was not a problem as I was acting as his guide and only for one occasion.
My wife and I would sometimes go to the popular eatery and had always enjoyed the food there and we were sure the gentleman would find the food appetizing. When we ordered our preferences, the Lieutenant asked for a light salad. When the two platters of food were served, piled high with my favorite dishes, he gaped at the size of the meal and told me he could feed a large village on the two platters!
He told me of the simple philosophy of eating that he and most of his countrymen adhered to; that of eating breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper. I had never heard of that way of thinking before that moment, but have heard it many times since. Unfortunately as sensible as it is, I have not been able to adhere to that philosophy and have the extra pounds to prove it.
The officer and true gentleman thanked my wife and me for our kindness as no-one else had reached out to him and he was getting homesick. A day or so later he was gone after extending an invitation to me to come see his weapons shop near Mexico City if I ever got the chance. Sadly, I never had the chance. I consider this brief interaction to be one of the nicest experiences I