Santana Row is in San Jose California and this is where my Virginia story begins.  I moved to Santana Row after I sold everything in Hollister; car, motorcycles and a house, furnished.  I was done with my life of over indulgence when it came to “things”.  Two years after my divorce from my son’s mom I was over the anger and selfishness and I wanted to change my life.  I was looking for a place in San Jose near my son and his mother.  I had never lived in an apartment and Santana Row seemed like an adventure and a good fit.

Back in the early days of Santana Row, everything was new and exciting.  There had been a great fire and part of this beautiful complex was destroyed.  The economy took a turn for the worse and Santana Row was doing all it could to get people in a lease; that’s how I happened into the place where high profile athletes and young millionaire dot com types were living.  I was definitely the poor kid on the block.  All that being said, I felt welcome and a part of the community.  It was at a community mixer where I met Rocky and Angelica.  They were standing at a table in the Valencia Hotel and I went up and introduced myself.  We hit it off pretty quickly.  They were very easy to talk to and down to earth.  Our friendship blossomed and over the next year we became family.

I’m here now in Virginia with Rocky’s parents.  Mac is Rocky’s dad, he is a retired Navy Captain (Capt = Colonel). The picture above is Mac and me, and the jet Mac flew in Korea.  Cappy is Rocky’s mom, she is a retired Navy Lieutenant (Lt = Capt).  I’m here with them because of their son Rocky and you know now why I met Rocky.  I have a room for as long as I want.  I can come and go as I please.  Scotch is at 6pm. Dinner is at 7pm!

I stayed a week.  I woke up each morning and had breakfast and coffee with Mac.  I was able to explore Virginia and DC and the surrounding areas because of the generosity of Mac and Cappy, because I am family.  And during my stay I didn’t just go to see monuments, I got to know my family and their friends in Virginia.  We went to a town called Occoquan because I asked them to show me some nearby history.  We explored the history together, we had lunch on the river and enjoyed each other’s company.  I found out that Mac was a pretty important guy in the Navy and in turn he knew some pretty important people.  I listened to Mac’s stories about his career and his family, usually with Cappy laughing and saying, “your stories get better over time.”  His stories are spellbinding.

Dinner with an Admiral.  I was out learning first hand about the history of our country when I received a text from Cappy saying the 3 of us were invited to dine with Mac’s friend and his wife.  I came home and freshened up and we were off.  On the way I was given some background and it turns out we were dining with an Admiral!  Mac explained that they had been friends for a career.  Many of Mac’s friends became Flag Officers.  To be a Flag Officer means he is permitted to fly a flag marking the position from which he exercises command.  Many of you have seen a General being driven in a jeep and he has a flag with 1-4 stars on it flying on the front of the jeep.  An Admiral is the same.  I was excited to hear the Admirals stories.  What a great experience for me.  It is one thing to look at monuments and hear someone explain the history behind the monument, it is surely another thing to hear the history from those who lived it.  I could have stayed a month and listened to Mac and the Admiral talk about flying jets and commanding a battleship or carrier, but dinner ended and we had to go.  I left the Admirals home wondering if his stories would be talked about by future generations or would they be lost to time.  So many wonderful stories fade because they are not “big events”.  Yet it is these small stories that get us to the big events.  The small things can change history dramatically.  The small things change our own history.  Don’t discount any decision you make as small or inconsequential.  I know my decision to give up “things” and move closer to my family not only changed my relationship with my son and his mother, but it brought me all the way out to Virginia where I had dinner with an Admiral.