Further Brushes With Greatness

I remember a brush with greatness that I had back in the late 60's in Cocoa Beach, FL. I was down there on vacation with my parents, older brother Ed, and my sister. My oldest brother Joe was off in the Navy during the Vietnam War. Ed and I ran into 4 guys from the Navy who were out having a good time. They weren't much older than Ed and I. We had a great time, laughed a lot, and drank some beers. We suggested that rather than head back to ship, they could just sleep on the couches and floor of our motel. At first they were hesitant, and didn't wan't to put us out, but we reassured them that they would be welcome.
My dad heard snoring in the middle of the night, came in and saw this surprising development. I told him that they were in the Navy. With a son on a ship overseas, a brother in law who died in WWII while serving as a Navy pilot, and having served on a ship in WWII himself, my dad just smiled and said something to the effect of "That's fine. . we'll get them a nice breakfast" and went back to bed with a smile on his face and a lump in his throat. Alas, the next morning, all the young men wanted for breakfast was a cigarette and a drive back to the ship. I remember them as a great bunch of people who were making that sharp transition from boys into men.