4 - Reflections

I took my discharge just in time to miss the Korean War. I put my time in and do not regret missing out on that fun time.

We can look back on these times with fond memories because they were the times of our youth and always with a little sadness because for many of our friends never made it back.

I think I told you we had a priest in East Wenatchee one Christmas who was a four year old begging for chocolate from the G.I.’s. Maybe I gave him some. I don’t know. A few years ago I and Mom went to a birthday party for a friend. It was a potluck and while eating I got some egg roll. I said I hadn’t tasted any like that since I had been in the Philippine Islands. Bud Hawkins mother said; "I made them". His father was a merchant marine sailor and married her in Dumagette Negros Philippine Islands. It turned out she was a fifteen year old standing on the street corner welcoming the troops as we marched in to town after the Jap’s had run away to the hills. Also two houses up the street just south of where we live is a lady who was born on New Caladonia and was a war bride from there.

This is the last day of the year 1999. I and two of my sisters have lived in two millenniums and two distinct centuries. This is a great feeling and I can say how many people have dreaded this day, but I think that we have only fear to fear it’s self. People only pay mind to what ever threatens them or the unknown we need to look forward and do our best. Time will take care of the rest. One thing I must mention, when I was in the army in world war two we all the GI’s never read continued stories or magazines that carried them. Only stories that were complete. We never wanted to be kept guessing the outcome of anything. I think that was one reason we were able to be victorious. Was our ability to see them to the end and make sure it ended the way we hoped.

I was born seventy five years ago checked in at 12 pounds twice the size of most babies. It was at 1130 PM during a blizzard way below zero degrees and so much snow that the doctor had to wait till the next day to come see my mom. With my size she needed help I was number ten in a family of eleven. Seven boys and four girls. My Father had a stroke in 1932 and passed away in 1936 leaving my mother with about seven little kids to care of during the great depression. My older brother Albert always helped Mom and sent money home so she could keep the family together. She was a saint and I loved her. How hard it was for her and how easy it would have been to put all of us kids in an orphanage and to have gone on alone. All of us kids helped out. Boys caddying girls babysitting. Working in the orchards and fruit warehouses. Whatever we could do to earn money. Somehow we got by and grew up to adults. We never had much but we were always family and always got together for holidays, Christmases, Thanksgiving Our holidays were celebrated usually with the Gurnards. Either we would go up to their house in Dryden or they would come down to ours. With their family of eleven and ours of thirteen it was a real get together. Us kids would sit on apple boxes have turkey and chicken, cake, pie all the good stuff. Play cards and games till the day was over then they would go home or we would whichever. We never knew how poor we were. In those days everyone was poor and we were thankful for what we had and each other.

Maybe this is a good time to end this little discourse. Unless you can think of something that I can shed light on. Ill sign it off. This is and has been a lot more than I would have thought I would recall but maybe it will serve it’s place as a footnote to history as I saw it. Never before have I ever written more than one page of a letter to anyone and then it was how are you? I’m fine. See you soon and sign off.