Doing a favor for someone can make the day of the person whom you helped, but it can also make you feel better too. Mr. Joseph Kinney was a member of the Navy in WWII and his story exemplifies how nice it is when someone does a favor for someone else.

Joseph Kinney joined the Navy at age 19. He went to the Great Lakes Training Center in November of 1942. Mr. Kinney and I spoke several times on the phone and he also sent some of his stories to me that he wrote out in his own handwriting in letters that he mailed to me. His letter commenced,

“Short story, Victoria, we had one fellow whose Mom sent him cakes that she would bake. He always shared the cake, but the can of white house condensed milk, he would keep. Trailed him one time and caught him drinking it. It was whiskey. His Mom would drain the can and replace it with whiskey.”

I laughed as I read the word, “whiskey.” These are the stories, the tid bits, the memories, and the things that happened that are not talked about in the mainstream history books. These are the stories that I worked so hard to catch the past decade of my life, so that History would have these stories to keep. From Mr. Kinney’s story, I became informed that sometimes we do things in life – little things that help someone else out. Sometimes no one knows that we do the kind gesture that we do, but we do these favors because it supports someone.

The short story that Mr. Kinney shared with me imparted to me a valuable lesson: sometimes you have to do something for someone. What favor can you do for someone? What can you help someone to do? What is something you can do for someone that no one else can do? Do that thing. Who knows? Years from now, it may be a great story for you to share with the generations that come after you.

I imagined that sailor in the Pacific, experiencing war, away from home, yet he could enjoy his whiskey. Mr. Kinney ended his letter to me, “Victoria! Have a great life!” Nine pages filled with stories that he wrote to me in his elegant handwriting sat on my desk.

I knew that I would not talk to Mr. Kinney again, but I had his story and I would always remember that a fellow’s Mom sent him cakes, but she also sent him whiskey that was disguised as condensed milk. Reading this story about what Mr. Kinney’s friend’s mom did for him reminds us all to think about favors that we too can do for someone.