My regular every-other-Sunday manicure ritual this week included some interesting conversation with Fran. Fran and I both had a bit of a wait. As we sat together on the bench, she turned to show me a letter she was holding from the Jewish War Veterans organization.

“Do you know them?” she asked, with a glimmer in her eye and inviting me to ask a question. I told her that my father-in-law, had been an active JWV participant during his retirement and is even buried in a JWV cemetery. She smiled, proudly announced that she is the last surviving female service member from WWII in Nassau County, and proceeded to tell me her story.

Fran was a college senior at Boston University during World War II. She was an avid student of language, speaking four or five as I recall, and math. One day, an officer showed up at the school and informed Fran that she had been drafted. Her family didn’t even know yet. She was escorted to Washington DC where she spent several years decoding Japanese war messages. She didn’t know Japanese, but she learned quickly. She still has very vivid memories of the code books they needed to learn. Fran has very strong opinions and spoke so proudly of her time in the service.

Just an ordinary Sunday manicure . . . Way to go Fran.

PS: As I often do before I post, I read this blog to my husband who thought it was out of character since it does not transparently seek comments. He may be right. But I really liked Fran.