exploring my past
I happened to get back up to Maine to visit with my parents, would have loved to stop in and visit with Silvermane and Runtt but as it is I only left on Friday night and came back on Sunday. I not only got to visit with a childhood friend of mine, who I found out finally got a girlfriend and despite being hearing impaired is quite a nice looking guy and a decent fella. I also went up to visit my sickly grandmother and we talked some about where she came from. It was quite interesting hearing her story of being brought over on a train as a kid and being adopted by the Whinee (not sure of the spelling) family and then later by the Sturtevant family. Later I also talked with my dad about his past, which he's always kinda sensitive about, and he related a story about his trip to Korea (on his way to active duty).
Back then you basically had to travel everywhere by either bus or train if you didn't have your own car, which most guys going into the military didn't have. He and three other guys were traveling from Maine and happened to stop in Chicago on a 14 hour lay over when they met a guy who was gracious enough to buy them breakfast in support of them going off to war. This stranger dropped his wallet though on the way out and he ended up coming back but they couldn't find it so the guy acted gracious and didn't make a fuss but thanked them for their efforts in searching and went on his way. Later as my father was going out to get some air, he noticed the wallet had actually fallen behind the french doors. This wallet had around $4K in it, which was quite a sizable amount back then, I find it admirable that my father then turned around and called the guy and informed him of the found wallet to which the guy was ever so relived and came rushing down there.
They became good acquaintances after that and he took my father and the other soldiers on a tour around Chicago. I guess my father was quite a fan of cigars back then and they made a stop at a couple shops during the tour. He ended up sending a case of cigars every month to my father. On his way back home from duty in Korea he ended up meeting the stranger once more, two months before he ended up passing away.
I don't figure myself a story teller and I can't seem to capture the same feel my father gives the story but I felt it neat to share this. I really don't know how much longer I have with my father but I need to write these things down before I loose them.
Back then you basically had to travel everywhere by either bus or train if you didn't have your own car, which most guys going into the military didn't have. He and three other guys were traveling from Maine and happened to stop in Chicago on a 14 hour lay over when they met a guy who was gracious enough to buy them breakfast in support of them going off to war. This stranger dropped his wallet though on the way out and he ended up coming back but they couldn't find it so the guy acted gracious and didn't make a fuss but thanked them for their efforts in searching and went on his way. Later as my father was going out to get some air, he noticed the wallet had actually fallen behind the french doors. This wallet had around $4K in it, which was quite a sizable amount back then, I find it admirable that my father then turned around and called the guy and informed him of the found wallet to which the guy was ever so relived and came rushing down there.
They became good acquaintances after that and he took my father and the other soldiers on a tour around Chicago. I guess my father was quite a fan of cigars back then and they made a stop at a couple shops during the tour. He ended up sending a case of cigars every month to my father. On his way back home from duty in Korea he ended up meeting the stranger once more, two months before he ended up passing away.
I don't figure myself a story teller and I can't seem to capture the same feel my father gives the story but I felt it neat to share this. I really don't know how much longer I have with my father but I need to write these things down before I loose them.