As an 18-year-old Nova Scotian farm boy, I wanted adventure, so I decided to join the Navy. When I reported to the naval base in Halifax for my interview, I took a cab that dropped me off at the front gate.

Explaining to the guard at the gate why I was there, he looked at me and said, "What is your sin?"

Being a good Baptist, I knew what sin was. But I just stood there, my mind completely blank except to think, What do my sins have to do with me joining the Navy?

The guard repeated the question once again and I said nothing. Finally, in a much louder voice, the guard said, "What is your SIN--your Social Insurance Number?"

Red-faced, I quickly pulled out my wallet and gave him the information on my new I.D. card.

As things turned out, I didn't join the Navy at that time. However, fifteen years later in British Columbia, I was able to tell military families all about sin--as a Navy chaplain.