As I was studying the Gemrig family, known for providing the Union Army with surgical instruments during the Civil War, I was reminded of a moment with my kids. Our middle child usually is a quiet and laid back kind of kid. He is frequently found lost in his own thoughts and adrift in his own little world. He can, well...he marches to his own drum. Let's just leave it at that.  

    When the children were young I took them to a Civil War reenactment. We entered a tent where two soldiers were rolling around on cots in obvious pain. Another was sitting dazedly against a center post. A long table was set up, littered with various surgical instruments and next to that table was a bucket strewn with body parts. Two men stood behind the table, their aprons bloodied, when one of them asked my kids, "Can you tell what I do?" Before anyone else could speak, Middle Child proudly piped up, "You are a chef!"  

Best, Pat Earnest Dover, Delaware 27 August 2015