Prentiss. And thank you to all of you fathers and sons for having me this morning.”
He began his speech.
“When I was asked to speak to you today about fatherhood,” he said, “I thought about my own
.
father. He was a steelworker in Youngstown, Ohio. He worked double shifts for thirty years. He wasn’t around much. But he taught me—”
He stopped.
Mid-sentence. In the middle of a word.
He was looking at the back of the room.
At first, I didn’t understand what he was looking at.
Then I realized.
He was looking at our table. In the far corner. By the bleachers.
At me.
At the dark uniform. At the gold buttons.
At the rows of ribbons on my chest.
The whole room turned to see what he was staring at.
Two hundred heads. Turning. Following his gaze.
To the back table.
The admiral stood at the podium for a long moment. Not moving. Not speaking.
