Today’s brand of patriotism as opposed to 40s version, are virtually unrecognizably incomparable
Those who love their country were unashamedly demonstrative from the first day of the war
The nation was galvanized in their support of that young generation, as they left home, and were trained to become soldiers
The fact they had no other choice was not lost on the general populace
The draft age was between 18 and 45
Over 13% of young men , not including volunteers, were removed from their cities and towns, and shipped out to God knows where, from a population of 132 million
This is a form letter that was sent to one of 10 million future American G Is
ORDER TO REPORT PREINDUCTION PHYSICAL EXAMINATION ISSUED TO: JOHN JOSEPH DOBROWOLSKI, ORDER 2729. The President of the United States, GREETING: You are hereby directed to report for preinduction physical examination at American Legion Hall, Clairton, PA at 8:00 A.M. on the 8th of February, 1944
Comparitively, the number of active duty voluntary men and women in the U.S. armed forces as of Jan. 2003 is roughly 1.5 million from todays population of roughly 282 million, or roughly ½ of 1%
In retrospect, looking back at our generation’s concern and personal sacrifice and unabashed gratitude to the soldiers, I personally am offended and deeply disappointed, in the tone of our patriotism, while our boys are in Iraq, and Afghanastan
Our president, after 9/11, chose to assuage the country to not worry about our troops, and to just go out and carry on as usual. He and his supporters predicted a slam dunk, and our boys will be welcomed as liberators
Later he then signed a bill, which was passed into law, known as the The Patriot Act, which reads in part:
The Act expands the authority of U.S. law enforcement agencies for the stated purpose of fighting terrorism in the United States and abroad. Among its provisions, the Act increased the ability of law enforcement agencies to search telephone and e-mail communications and medical, financial and other records
An apparent clever, easier to swallow, misnomer and manipulation of the word, to further a neo con agenda of nation building, abusing the War Powers Act, and weakening civil liberties, all in one fell swoop
All in the name of patriotism
http://www.helium.com/tm/104954/current-fiasco-presidents-bushs
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
The Essence of Collinwood
In order to describe the essence of Collinwood, requires a backdrop of the time period of my childhood, from the 40s to the 50s
The 40s
were days of national patriotism when citizens were asked and were more than willing to sacrifice, for the greater good of the country, during the duration of World War 11
Rationing was universal throughout the country, because produce and products were vulnerable to destruction from ocean shipping, due to the activity of Axis, but mainly German submarines
Great Britain (UK, England), Russia (USSR, Soviets), and America (US) were allies
The axis were a group led by Germany, Italy and Japan
Although in theory GermanU-boats were useful fleet weapons against Allied Naval Forces, in practice they were most effectively used in an economic-warfare role, enforcing a naval blockade against Allied shipping
http://www.uboataces.com/
Food booklets were distributed with coupons for such rationed items as sugar, coffee, butter, etc.
Householders had to register with their local shops.
The shopkeeper was then provided with enough food for his registered customers
Once items were purchased, the shopkeeper would cross off and subtract the relevant points used for that product for that month
The rules also stipulated, which underscored the the grim early months of the war, as follows:
If the shop where people were registered was bombed, they would then need to register with another shop in order to use their ration book, in order to buy their goods
Neighborhood stores were within walking distance of all city Collinwood blocks
Zucco’s, Cannarozzi’s, Galuppo’s, Petti’s, were within ours, but
Quagliata’s was our store where our family, like most families carried an account, usually settled at the end of the month
Angelo Quagliata once offered me free ice cream, if I would allow one of his 5 year old twin boys, to” punch you in the mouth, as hard as he could” without crying
They reminded me of the Katzenjammer Kids
http://www.geocities.com/~jimlowe/katzies/comix.html
I let that opportunity go by
During this time, the United States government encouraged the American people to participate in scrap drives.Citizens were asked to turn over to the government items that would prove to be useful in the war effort.These items included products made out of rubber and most types of metal, kitchen fat, newspapers, and rags, abong other items. The government then had various industries recycle these products into weapons and other items necessary for the war effort
Perhaps the greatest item collected was kitchen fat, an item necessary to produce glycerin
Glycerin was a vital component of bombs and other explosives
A railroad incident occured around 1939, just a few blocks south, towards London Road & Euclid
Lo and behold, livestock cars were upended and released most of it's panicked cargo of swine
Most of the locals were immigrants, or first generation Americans, and were very fond of pork products, and were familiar with butchering livestock back on their farms, in the old country
Needless to say, sausage and bacon were in grateful abundance, for months thereafter
The 40s
were days of national patriotism when citizens were asked and were more than willing to sacrifice, for the greater good of the country, during the duration of World War 11
Rationing was universal throughout the country, because produce and products were vulnerable to destruction from ocean shipping, due to the activity of Axis, but mainly German submarines
Great Britain (UK, England), Russia (USSR, Soviets), and America (US) were allies
The axis were a group led by Germany, Italy and Japan
Although in theory GermanU-boats were useful fleet weapons against Allied Naval Forces, in practice they were most effectively used in an economic-warfare role, enforcing a naval blockade against Allied shipping
http://www.uboataces.com/
Food booklets were distributed with coupons for such rationed items as sugar, coffee, butter, etc.
Householders had to register with their local shops.
The shopkeeper was then provided with enough food for his registered customers
Once items were purchased, the shopkeeper would cross off and subtract the relevant points used for that product for that month
The rules also stipulated, which underscored the the grim early months of the war, as follows:
If the shop where people were registered was bombed, they would then need to register with another shop in order to use their ration book, in order to buy their goods
Neighborhood stores were within walking distance of all city Collinwood blocks
Zucco’s, Cannarozzi’s, Galuppo’s, Petti’s, were within ours, but
Quagliata’s was our store where our family, like most families carried an account, usually settled at the end of the month
Angelo Quagliata once offered me free ice cream, if I would allow one of his 5 year old twin boys, to” punch you in the mouth, as hard as he could” without crying
They reminded me of the Katzenjammer Kids
http://www.geocities.com/~jimlowe/katzies/comix.html
I let that opportunity go by
During this time, the United States government encouraged the American people to participate in scrap drives.Citizens were asked to turn over to the government items that would prove to be useful in the war effort.These items included products made out of rubber and most types of metal, kitchen fat, newspapers, and rags, abong other items. The government then had various industries recycle these products into weapons and other items necessary for the war effort
Perhaps the greatest item collected was kitchen fat, an item necessary to produce glycerin
Glycerin was a vital component of bombs and other explosives
A railroad incident occured around 1939, just a few blocks south, towards London Road & Euclid
Lo and behold, livestock cars were upended and released most of it's panicked cargo of swine
Most of the locals were immigrants, or first generation Americans, and were very fond of pork products, and were familiar with butchering livestock back on their farms, in the old country
Needless to say, sausage and bacon were in grateful abundance, for months thereafter
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Waterlogged
Cousin Pat and I had a water drinking contest, one summer
We were in his kitchen
He lived on the corner with
Cousin Jo Anne, Uncle Al, and Aunt Jo
And Mr. Frank, his grandfather
Mr. Frank was in his eighties, and smoked wine dipped crooked Parodi cigars
Very pleasant demeanor, with a slow walk
He was very dapper and neat in appearance, and customarily walked a half a block to The Green Lantern Tavern, or more commonly called “ the beer joint”, or Roosh’s, the Italian derivation of red ( russo )
The elderly proprietor had white hair, but was apparently a red head in his younger days
The Green Lantern Tavern was on the corner of Rudyard and Kipling
The other corner intersection was Rudyard and Mandalay
The city planners also named other streets in the neighborhood, Evangaline, Stevenson, Nathaniel, Ivanhoe, Plato, Euclid Avenue, and London Road
After games at the baseball field, Pat, I and some other kids would often greet him as we were headed for the beer joint to drink ice cold Pepsis, on the stoop
His tag line upon being greeted “ Oh boy oh boy “
Back in the kitchen, we started out our contest, filling 2 ounce shot glasses with water
We counted to keep track, as we continued our competition
We transferred 4 smaller glasses to a larger glass, to speed up the match
Each of us drank glass after glass until the winner was declared
Sadly I can’t remember who won
All I remember was feeling sick, on my way home, and hearing & feeling sloshing, in my distended belly, and vowing never to do that again
We were in his kitchen
He lived on the corner with
Cousin Jo Anne, Uncle Al, and Aunt Jo
And Mr. Frank, his grandfather
Mr. Frank was in his eighties, and smoked wine dipped crooked Parodi cigars
Very pleasant demeanor, with a slow walk
He was very dapper and neat in appearance, and customarily walked a half a block to The Green Lantern Tavern, or more commonly called “ the beer joint”, or Roosh’s, the Italian derivation of red ( russo )
The elderly proprietor had white hair, but was apparently a red head in his younger days
The Green Lantern Tavern was on the corner of Rudyard and Kipling
The other corner intersection was Rudyard and Mandalay
The city planners also named other streets in the neighborhood, Evangaline, Stevenson, Nathaniel, Ivanhoe, Plato, Euclid Avenue, and London Road
After games at the baseball field, Pat, I and some other kids would often greet him as we were headed for the beer joint to drink ice cold Pepsis, on the stoop
His tag line upon being greeted “ Oh boy oh boy “
Back in the kitchen, we started out our contest, filling 2 ounce shot glasses with water
We counted to keep track, as we continued our competition
We transferred 4 smaller glasses to a larger glass, to speed up the match
Each of us drank glass after glass until the winner was declared
Sadly I can’t remember who won
All I remember was feeling sick, on my way home, and hearing & feeling sloshing, in my distended belly, and vowing never to do that again
My Cousin Pat
My Cousin Pat
They say that first cousins are almost brothers
A close relationship, especially, and more so, as children
As years go by, the relationship fades, beginning with high school graduation
Then slowly losing touch with absences due to college, army service, and marriage
This is one of my remembrances of Cousin Pat
We lived on the same street, about 4 houses apart
We lived in Cleveland, but when asked, we said we lived in Collinwood
Collinwood was an enclave of mostly double homes, almost exclusively, Italian working class, as opposed to middle class
Collinwood was once a village, before being incorporated into the city, around 1900
Around the same time, many Italian immigrants settled in
It’s claim to fame, ,or notoriety, if you will, was due to a horrendous fire that killed 170 grade school kids
The knobbed doors opened inward, and when the fire caused the kids to try to escape, the crush of panicked bodies, made it impossible, to allow rescue workers to help
A law was then enacted, stipulating that school doors thereafter would open outward, and would be equipped with horizontal metal panic bar hardware
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collinwood_School_Fire
Our parents lived through the Great Depression, which they reminded their kids, was a time of job scarcity, so bad, they had to scrape for bare necessities
My father was unemployed for 6 years, and scraped by as an entrepreneur, by picking up, and then delivering coal, the main home heating fuel of the period, house to house
The truck was old, and had a metal door with a steel lever that opened a small opening in the back, so that when the bed was tipped, he could reach through the opening with a coal shovel, and manually shovel the material, through a metal 2 foot square coal chute built into every basement wall, into the customer’s coal bin
Coal bins were usually 10x10, with wooden side walls, that had a door opening on one side with a one foot high opening at the bottom, with side channels for 1x8 inch wood panels that were used to contain the resultant coal pile, which could then be removed, one by one, as the pile diminished
The homeowner would then slide a coal shovel in the bottom opening, and walk to the furnace, open the furnace door, and shovel in the coal
Meanwhile, inside the truck cab were 2 levers to operate the hydraulic raising and lowering, of the truck bed
On several occasions, upon asking, Pop allowed me to manipulate the levers
At the time I couldn’t figure out why he would seem amused about such a serious and important assignment for a 5 year old kid
They say that first cousins are almost brothers
A close relationship, especially, and more so, as children
As years go by, the relationship fades, beginning with high school graduation
Then slowly losing touch with absences due to college, army service, and marriage
This is one of my remembrances of Cousin Pat
We lived on the same street, about 4 houses apart
We lived in Cleveland, but when asked, we said we lived in Collinwood
Collinwood was an enclave of mostly double homes, almost exclusively, Italian working class, as opposed to middle class
Collinwood was once a village, before being incorporated into the city, around 1900
Around the same time, many Italian immigrants settled in
It’s claim to fame, ,or notoriety, if you will, was due to a horrendous fire that killed 170 grade school kids
The knobbed doors opened inward, and when the fire caused the kids to try to escape, the crush of panicked bodies, made it impossible, to allow rescue workers to help
A law was then enacted, stipulating that school doors thereafter would open outward, and would be equipped with horizontal metal panic bar hardware
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collinwood_School_Fire
Our parents lived through the Great Depression, which they reminded their kids, was a time of job scarcity, so bad, they had to scrape for bare necessities
My father was unemployed for 6 years, and scraped by as an entrepreneur, by picking up, and then delivering coal, the main home heating fuel of the period, house to house
The truck was old, and had a metal door with a steel lever that opened a small opening in the back, so that when the bed was tipped, he could reach through the opening with a coal shovel, and manually shovel the material, through a metal 2 foot square coal chute built into every basement wall, into the customer’s coal bin
Coal bins were usually 10x10, with wooden side walls, that had a door opening on one side with a one foot high opening at the bottom, with side channels for 1x8 inch wood panels that were used to contain the resultant coal pile, which could then be removed, one by one, as the pile diminished
The homeowner would then slide a coal shovel in the bottom opening, and walk to the furnace, open the furnace door, and shovel in the coal
Meanwhile, inside the truck cab were 2 levers to operate the hydraulic raising and lowering, of the truck bed
On several occasions, upon asking, Pop allowed me to manipulate the levers
At the time I couldn’t figure out why he would seem amused about such a serious and important assignment for a 5 year old kid
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Movies Of The Forties
Movies of the forties gave a pre pube kid a glimpse of secrets of the adult life to come.
So many questions were not so much answered, but brought up
Characters on the screen ranged from criminal types, Boston Blackie, played by Chester Morris, chased and brought to justice, to the more subtle, such as the doctor character played by Charles Colburn, in Kings Row, who amputated Ronald Reagans character's legs, for spite. Richard Widmark's portrayal of Tommy Udo, who with an evil chuckle, pushed his mother in her wheelchair, down several flights of stairs, had many a lad, imitating that laugh, curled lip and all.
Getting to and from, was a weekend ritual, beginning with gathering the group, going house to house, waiting for whomever to tie his shoes, making small talk with his mother, accepting a snack, or being ignored. Three or four boys, walking and talking, through the neighborhood, about 3 miles to The Show. "Where are you Going"? To the show. "What's the picture?" They Died With Their Boots On. "Who's in it?" British accented, Australian born, Errol Flynn, portraying General George Custer's last stand. Hey cowboys and Indians, whats the difference?
Who could forget those character actors and their roles? Maria Openskia, an old gypsie woman, in Golden Earrings, with Ray Milland, and Paulette Goddard, with the hopefuly low cleavage. Laughable, outrageous dark makeup, and story lines.
Oskear Homulka, the man with two tongues, type cast as the mysterious foreign European, double agent.
Esther Williams, in all her swimming pictures, with underwater, musical ballet numbers, staged as a copy, or maybe actually, by Busby Berkley, who used various camera angles, using sometimes hundreds of actors/dancers/swimmers to produce a " Production Number".
Peter Lorrie, the sinister little man, whose evil laugh , we would all imitate. Fat man, Sydney Greenstreet, barely able to breathe, and say his lines. Bogie. Nobody fooled with Bogey. The beautiful, 22 year old Lauren Bacall, would stop the heartbeat, a a certain pre pube, Italian American schoolboy, and not quite know why.
Sidekick to Roy Rogers, Gabby Hayes, had an old codger style, all his own. Dag nab it !
Johnny Weismiller's Tarzan, had Cheetah, the chimp, silently mugging for the cameras.
Walter Brennen, everymans wiser, older, loyal, comedic best friend. The list goes on.
Who could not be patriotic, after seeing those those WW2 war movies? The young kid, scared, taken under the wings of veteran soldiers, who you knew wouldn't live to the end of the movie. The American pilot, being machine gunned, after bailing out, by a Japanese pilot, shown sniggering. I'll bet that 90% of the American flags sold, are to people over 50, affected by those movies.
Nothing slid by the watchful eye of a pre puber, regarding actresses. One thing it taught, in a subtle way, was girls/women could be different. Some as buddies, some as pests. some as nuetral nice, some as jerks, but our hormones were there for the erotica.
The poster for The Outlaw, is imbedded in my memory. Jane Russell, in a haystack, tight blouse, pouty look, low cut blouse,...well, you get the picture. C'mon, give a kid a break. Virginia Mayo, Ann Baxter, Marylyn Monroe, pant pant, and yes even Carmen Miranda and Dale evans.
Then you had your "Genre" movies. Pirate, War,Historical, Biblical, Arabian, Swimming Musicals, Dancing Musicals, Slapstick Comedy, Romantic Comedy, Serious Mysteries, Comedy Mysteries, Detective,Prison, No stone left unturned
Horror and Comedy howevwe were the meat and potatos of our crew.
How many hairs, on the back of your neck, stood up, as Lon Chaney as The Wolf Man, was growing his, quickly, before your eyes? Dracula was a scary dude. That casket inside that stone dungeon, and whats with Igor, anyway? Frankenstein was no slouch either. The scary scene in The Catwoman, with the unseen girl, behind the door, screaming horrificly, and then the silence, as the camera pans to the threshold, and blood trickles. It could keep a kid awake some nights.
A typical day began, hitting up mom or dad for the admission price, plus extra money for candy and popcorn.They just were also coming out with soda pop vending machines, which were an exciting novelty to try. After the coins were dropped, sometimes the cup would come down askew, and as the pop was bouncing off the the side, you had to quickly open the tranparent plastic vertcle door, and right the cup, to save some for a sip at least. Alas, sometimes no cup at all, and then suffer not only thirst, but jeers and laughter from your buddies. The manager of the theatre was uninterested in your loss, as his steely glare indicated to you, intimidation, since you knew you could be only one raucous laugh away from being ejected from the theatre.
Ten cents to get in, a nickle for popcorn, and if you had more, a Holloway sucker, which would last a very long time, as long as you let it melt, and not chew.
Pre television days were matinees on Saturday, and Sunday afternoons, sarting at 1 in the afternoon, and ending around 4 or 4:30. Double features with one basic B movie first, cartoons and coming attractions next, and then the feature.
A lot of not paying attention to the plots very much, noise, laughing through tears of silly behaviour, ridiculing actors, and each other, were the norms.
Bob Hope, Danny Kaye, Jimmy Durante? Nah
On the way home, we became pirates, cowboys, or whatever the theme of the movie, we just saw.
When we got home, we remembered Virginia Mayo.
So many questions were not so much answered, but brought up
Characters on the screen ranged from criminal types, Boston Blackie, played by Chester Morris, chased and brought to justice, to the more subtle, such as the doctor character played by Charles Colburn, in Kings Row, who amputated Ronald Reagans character's legs, for spite. Richard Widmark's portrayal of Tommy Udo, who with an evil chuckle, pushed his mother in her wheelchair, down several flights of stairs, had many a lad, imitating that laugh, curled lip and all.
Getting to and from, was a weekend ritual, beginning with gathering the group, going house to house, waiting for whomever to tie his shoes, making small talk with his mother, accepting a snack, or being ignored. Three or four boys, walking and talking, through the neighborhood, about 3 miles to The Show. "Where are you Going"? To the show. "What's the picture?" They Died With Their Boots On. "Who's in it?" British accented, Australian born, Errol Flynn, portraying General George Custer's last stand. Hey cowboys and Indians, whats the difference?
Who could forget those character actors and their roles? Maria Openskia, an old gypsie woman, in Golden Earrings, with Ray Milland, and Paulette Goddard, with the hopefuly low cleavage. Laughable, outrageous dark makeup, and story lines.
Oskear Homulka, the man with two tongues, type cast as the mysterious foreign European, double agent.
Esther Williams, in all her swimming pictures, with underwater, musical ballet numbers, staged as a copy, or maybe actually, by Busby Berkley, who used various camera angles, using sometimes hundreds of actors/dancers/swimmers to produce a " Production Number".
Peter Lorrie, the sinister little man, whose evil laugh , we would all imitate. Fat man, Sydney Greenstreet, barely able to breathe, and say his lines. Bogie. Nobody fooled with Bogey. The beautiful, 22 year old Lauren Bacall, would stop the heartbeat, a a certain pre pube, Italian American schoolboy, and not quite know why.
Sidekick to Roy Rogers, Gabby Hayes, had an old codger style, all his own. Dag nab it !
Johnny Weismiller's Tarzan, had Cheetah, the chimp, silently mugging for the cameras.
Walter Brennen, everymans wiser, older, loyal, comedic best friend. The list goes on.
Who could not be patriotic, after seeing those those WW2 war movies? The young kid, scared, taken under the wings of veteran soldiers, who you knew wouldn't live to the end of the movie. The American pilot, being machine gunned, after bailing out, by a Japanese pilot, shown sniggering. I'll bet that 90% of the American flags sold, are to people over 50, affected by those movies.
Nothing slid by the watchful eye of a pre puber, regarding actresses. One thing it taught, in a subtle way, was girls/women could be different. Some as buddies, some as pests. some as nuetral nice, some as jerks, but our hormones were there for the erotica.
The poster for The Outlaw, is imbedded in my memory. Jane Russell, in a haystack, tight blouse, pouty look, low cut blouse,...well, you get the picture. C'mon, give a kid a break. Virginia Mayo, Ann Baxter, Marylyn Monroe, pant pant, and yes even Carmen Miranda and Dale evans.
Then you had your "Genre" movies. Pirate, War,Historical, Biblical, Arabian, Swimming Musicals, Dancing Musicals, Slapstick Comedy, Romantic Comedy, Serious Mysteries, Comedy Mysteries, Detective,Prison, No stone left unturned
Horror and Comedy howevwe were the meat and potatos of our crew.
How many hairs, on the back of your neck, stood up, as Lon Chaney as The Wolf Man, was growing his, quickly, before your eyes? Dracula was a scary dude. That casket inside that stone dungeon, and whats with Igor, anyway? Frankenstein was no slouch either. The scary scene in The Catwoman, with the unseen girl, behind the door, screaming horrificly, and then the silence, as the camera pans to the threshold, and blood trickles. It could keep a kid awake some nights.
A typical day began, hitting up mom or dad for the admission price, plus extra money for candy and popcorn.They just were also coming out with soda pop vending machines, which were an exciting novelty to try. After the coins were dropped, sometimes the cup would come down askew, and as the pop was bouncing off the the side, you had to quickly open the tranparent plastic vertcle door, and right the cup, to save some for a sip at least. Alas, sometimes no cup at all, and then suffer not only thirst, but jeers and laughter from your buddies. The manager of the theatre was uninterested in your loss, as his steely glare indicated to you, intimidation, since you knew you could be only one raucous laugh away from being ejected from the theatre.
Ten cents to get in, a nickle for popcorn, and if you had more, a Holloway sucker, which would last a very long time, as long as you let it melt, and not chew.
Pre television days were matinees on Saturday, and Sunday afternoons, sarting at 1 in the afternoon, and ending around 4 or 4:30. Double features with one basic B movie first, cartoons and coming attractions next, and then the feature.
A lot of not paying attention to the plots very much, noise, laughing through tears of silly behaviour, ridiculing actors, and each other, were the norms.
Bob Hope, Danny Kaye, Jimmy Durante? Nah
On the way home, we became pirates, cowboys, or whatever the theme of the movie, we just saw.
When we got home, we remembered Virginia Mayo.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Sept 25, 2007
My cousin Jo Anne came in from out of town, and it was good to see her, and brought back some memories.
We were not close in age , she being about 5 years younger, but we had an affinity for each other which bonded us together by way of parenting skills, or lack thereof .
Her mother, my aunt Jo, had eccentric personality tendencies, and my dad, her Uncle Tony, was a self annointed pundit, who meted out his opinions, and judgements, in an abrasive manner, just this side of being a tyrant.
With his own son, moi, I was able to witness first hand his mannerisms, and become affected by them, as well as Jo Anne witnessed her mothers foibles.
So therin, I perceived this odd way were were raised, though unspoken, bonded us together,
We met with her brother, cousin Pat, his wife, my brother Bob, and sister in law Sandi
The night before our meeting I remembered , The Way We Were, so to speak, and got a little depressed and introspective. My brother Bob, 6 years my senior, my hero & role model growing up, sat across the table very thin, but upbeat and cheerful, despite suffering the effects of a stroke a few years before , with his cane parked next to his chair, and my sister-in-law with her fold away wheeled walker nearby, also cheerily discussing their new life at the retirement community, where they now live.
Cousin Pat was almost like a brother to me, growing up, and being 2 years older, we were almost peers, at the playground, and close to equal in baseball, footballl, and other rites of passage experiences involving our favorite pastimes which had the subject of girls, very high on the to do, or trying to figure out, list
He looked very healthy a virile for a 74 year old guy, who aged really well. About 5 years ago he was diagnosed with a form of dementia, which is hardly noticeable, in a short visit, other than him repeating anecdotes.
His wife Paula is a strong beautiful person, who is by his side constantly, watchful and attentive, and wary of him wandering out of sight, and becoming lost.
Jo Annes dad, my Uncle Al, is now 93 years old, and unfortunately didnt join us, because after visiting with an elder care attorney, which was the purpose, of the visit, became tired, and opted out, and asked to be returned to his
elder care type hotel, which is not assisted living. The place he now resides requires that older folks, who need constant medical attention, are not eligable for admittance. He still gets around relatively well, found himself a girlfriend there, and seems quite content.
Growing up, I always admired him, and tried to emulate his upbeat mannerisms, and realized his intelligence was a trait, that was worth having, and made me determined to work hard to become learned.
I remembered that when I was a kid, when I visited, he had a stack of crossword puzzles, all solved, printed neatly in pencil, wrapped neatly and saved. with a rubber band, that he would cut every day from the newspaper. He had many such bundles, which fascinated me, and made me wonder why he seemed to enjoy doing that , which prompted me to begin trying to solve those puzzles myself. What a fantanstic gift this was to me. What a great way to improve ones vocabulary, as well as feeling the satisfaction of sometimes at first, and even today, on those damn tough New York Times Sundasy puzzle, just completing a small section, that ties itself together
Jo Anne is a beautiful, vibrant, confident person, who was in the company of her friend Heinz, who accompanied her on this trip. Heinze is a very likeable, soft spoken, unpretentious kind of guy, who stays quietly in the background, but always ready and willing to help others.
Lord knows he was at the right table for that service.
Which brings me back to the Night Before this luncheon meeting
Remembering tossing the football, and baseball, with my brother and cousin, all the street games, kick the can,hide and seek, getting home before dark, the interactions with this particular group and our families, can make one feel saddened and yet grateful, for being in the mix of this company, so to speak.
I was hoping I would not have to steel myself for drawing these introspective comparisons to such a degree that I would become kinda choked up, about this meeting,. But in the light of day, and in real life, despite this marching of time,it was a time of hugs, handshakes, and happy faces, and rejoicing.
My cousin Jo Anne came in from out of town, and it was good to see her, and brought back some memories.
We were not close in age , she being about 5 years younger, but we had an affinity for each other which bonded us together by way of parenting skills, or lack thereof .
Her mother, my aunt Jo, had eccentric personality tendencies, and my dad, her Uncle Tony, was a self annointed pundit, who meted out his opinions, and judgements, in an abrasive manner, just this side of being a tyrant.
With his own son, moi, I was able to witness first hand his mannerisms, and become affected by them, as well as Jo Anne witnessed her mothers foibles.
So therin, I perceived this odd way were were raised, though unspoken, bonded us together,
We met with her brother, cousin Pat, his wife, my brother Bob, and sister in law Sandi
The night before our meeting I remembered , The Way We Were, so to speak, and got a little depressed and introspective. My brother Bob, 6 years my senior, my hero & role model growing up, sat across the table very thin, but upbeat and cheerful, despite suffering the effects of a stroke a few years before , with his cane parked next to his chair, and my sister-in-law with her fold away wheeled walker nearby, also cheerily discussing their new life at the retirement community, where they now live.
Cousin Pat was almost like a brother to me, growing up, and being 2 years older, we were almost peers, at the playground, and close to equal in baseball, footballl, and other rites of passage experiences involving our favorite pastimes which had the subject of girls, very high on the to do, or trying to figure out, list
He looked very healthy a virile for a 74 year old guy, who aged really well. About 5 years ago he was diagnosed with a form of dementia, which is hardly noticeable, in a short visit, other than him repeating anecdotes.
His wife Paula is a strong beautiful person, who is by his side constantly, watchful and attentive, and wary of him wandering out of sight, and becoming lost.
Jo Annes dad, my Uncle Al, is now 93 years old, and unfortunately didnt join us, because after visiting with an elder care attorney, which was the purpose, of the visit, became tired, and opted out, and asked to be returned to his
elder care type hotel, which is not assisted living. The place he now resides requires that older folks, who need constant medical attention, are not eligable for admittance. He still gets around relatively well, found himself a girlfriend there, and seems quite content.
Growing up, I always admired him, and tried to emulate his upbeat mannerisms, and realized his intelligence was a trait, that was worth having, and made me determined to work hard to become learned.
I remembered that when I was a kid, when I visited, he had a stack of crossword puzzles, all solved, printed neatly in pencil, wrapped neatly and saved. with a rubber band, that he would cut every day from the newspaper. He had many such bundles, which fascinated me, and made me wonder why he seemed to enjoy doing that , which prompted me to begin trying to solve those puzzles myself. What a fantanstic gift this was to me. What a great way to improve ones vocabulary, as well as feeling the satisfaction of sometimes at first, and even today, on those damn tough New York Times Sundasy puzzle, just completing a small section, that ties itself together
Jo Anne is a beautiful, vibrant, confident person, who was in the company of her friend Heinz, who accompanied her on this trip. Heinze is a very likeable, soft spoken, unpretentious kind of guy, who stays quietly in the background, but always ready and willing to help others.
Lord knows he was at the right table for that service.
Which brings me back to the Night Before this luncheon meeting
Remembering tossing the football, and baseball, with my brother and cousin, all the street games, kick the can,hide and seek, getting home before dark, the interactions with this particular group and our families, can make one feel saddened and yet grateful, for being in the mix of this company, so to speak.
I was hoping I would not have to steel myself for drawing these introspective comparisons to such a degree that I would become kinda choked up, about this meeting,. But in the light of day, and in real life, despite this marching of time,it was a time of hugs, handshakes, and happy faces, and rejoicing.
Getting started
Back In The Day
And Today Too
I was born in 1936
The world is so fast today compared to when I was growing up
Because I always enjoyed reading about world history, I always wanted to write about my impressions of and comparisons of back then, and now
Who knows, it might be interesting and fun for my descendants
I like the idea of a diary, and if I have the balls to share some things, in writing, which is so damn permanent, I'll cut and paste , from an e mail sent to myself , and transfer it to my Blog
One of the good things will be, is that it wont have to be organized into any time frame formats, which makes it a rambling of thoughts & attitudes
Stay tuned
Sept 2007
And Today Too
I was born in 1936
The world is so fast today compared to when I was growing up
Because I always enjoyed reading about world history, I always wanted to write about my impressions of and comparisons of back then, and now
Who knows, it might be interesting and fun for my descendants
I like the idea of a diary, and if I have the balls to share some things, in writing, which is so damn permanent, I'll cut and paste , from an e mail sent to myself , and transfer it to my Blog
One of the good things will be, is that it wont have to be organized into any time frame formats, which makes it a rambling of thoughts & attitudes
Stay tuned
Sept 2007
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