Well, It’s About Time!

Rick Hill and Joe Parker

This story isn’t exactly new (it's a month old), but seeing as it happened in Hawaii, how come the local newspapers or TV stations never reported it? Or maybe they did and I wasn’t paying attention.

See, this guy, Rick Hill of Massachusetts, and his family were visiting Waikiki, having fun cavorting on the sand, when they thought they needed a picture of themselves in Paradise. So they recruited a stranger who was walking by to take the pic.

You know how it is when you’re away from home. You talk to anybody … a lot. That’s what Rick Hill did with his new-found picture-snapping friend, Joe Parker.

Joe told the family to say “Leominster” instead of the usual “cheese” just before he snapped the camera. When asked why he said that, Joe told them that’s where he’s from – Leonminster, Massachusetts. It turns out that the Hills are from a neighboring town, Lunenburg. What a coinky-dink, huh?

Wait. There’s more.

They kept on talking, and found out their fathers had the same first name – Dickie, who turned out to be Dick Halligan, who had died years ago. Yep, you got it, same man (different mothers).

Joe and Rick went out of their minds. Rick’s wife, Maureen, started crying. Rick’s son, Adam, couldn’t believe that they came 6,000 miles from home to Hawaii and ended up meeting his uncle.

But that’s the magic of Hawaii, and I've GOT to start paying closer attention to the news.

I kid you not.