My Friend Bob

I have had a penchant of writing about people whom I respected, admired or just genuinely liked. Bob Johnson was one of the above --maybe all of the above. He was married to my cousin, Barb and our family came to know them when we came to Minnesota in 1963. They opend their arms to us and our kids and we spent many very enjoyable times with them at their home but mostly at their lake place in a northern part of the state. Bob was a very interesting man-sometimes sullen or grumpy but when you knew him, this was all a sham. For some reason, he would pretend to be cataracterised as a uncooperative person but the minute you asked him for some form of help, he was immediately ready with his tool belt. He had been a gymnast for the Un. of Minnesota and there was still a semblance of his athletic body but as is the case in many of us, as his hair disappeared, his stomach seem to compensate. He might be leaning toward portly but again it meant nothing when it came to being of service for someone--possibly even a stranger. I can't tell you the many time he came to my assistance maybe in the construction of my back yard shed, my family room and sundry other things. When I needed help, he was the first one I called, no, the only one. And I was not unique! Was it his ego that propelled him to be of assistance to others? I doubt it. Under that gruff exterior he was a people person and he would always find time to be a friend. What a wonderful accolade that was. He died about two years ago and I miss him a lot! He was my fishing buddy and we managed to get in a trip to some nether region to try to catch fish for the 40 years of our relationship. He had spent about three years building the cabin I spoke of and I mean building. He was a most handy person and it didn't matter the problem, he would find a way to take care of it Carpentry, plumbing, electricity were all a part of his talents and we were the recipients of all of those at some time or other. I could go on a long time extolling his virtues or his talents but suffice it to say Minnesota will never be what it once was. In many ways Bob was the catalyst that enlightened our lives in those days that have past. Sleep well Robert, I know you are carrying your tool belt around even now.

Is This All There Is?

An unusual occurrance took place last week. I was seeing double and unable to hold a fork in my fingers and additionally couldn't focus on my conversation and therefore couldn't complete a sentence. What's happening I said to myself? Thanks to the bullying of a near by neighbor, he convinced me that I needed to get to a hospital. I prevailed on my daughter to drive there and I was taken into the Emergency immediately. It turned out my blood/sugar had plummeted to a reading of 31---unheard of!!After pumping some sweet stuff into an open IV I was placed in a square surrounded by curtains. In an adjacent cubicle such as mine, I could hear an elderly woman rambling on in an hallucinatory manner. A short time later as I was drowsily lying there wondering if they were going to move me to a room, I heard a slight rustling as if someone had entered the room. Not wanting to exert too much energy, I opened one eye to see if someone was there. There was!! I saw an elderly woman with a long face, a long droopy nose and yellowish hair hanging below her shoulders. My first thought was it must be the woman next door that had wandered into my room by mistake. An immediate next thought that flashed through my mind was the question"Is this all there is"?At my age I give some minor thought to my own mortality and this was a rather shocking revelation. No bands of Angels to carry me to an upper level? No crowds of friends and relatives welcoming me to the next phase? At this point I thought I had better open both eyes to see what was going on. My life may not have been one of perfection but didn't I deserve something more than an elderly woman who was just staring at me without a sound. Now that I was wide awake I looked again but the woman had disappeared and it was then I realized what I had seen was an impression created by the patterning and coloring of the drapes surrounding my area. There was no woman, just my sleepy impression of one. However, that fleeting impression has left me with a prevailing thought--- What, if indeed, this is all there is when I step into this next stage and all the mysteries that have been created by various philosophers, ministers and the like who don't have a clue as to what will take place. And so I leave you with the haunting possibility and a question"Is This All There Is"?

NO LONGER A BOY TENOR

I was in the 8th grade when Mrs Schneider took an interest in me --or my singing voice to be correct. I sat in the first row and suddenly she was standing next to me. Now, I have always been a fairly confident boy ( cocky might also be appropriate) but she had a hairdue that looked like a birds nest; even a large bird. But sing away I did, not quite knowing why she was so close to me. Had I done something? Was I to be punished ? The class ended and it was the last class of the day so when she asked me to stay over, I had some real concerns. She moved over to the piano and asked me to sing a scale. You remember Do Re Mi don't you? She was seated at the piano and I was finally in a positiion to look down into her hair Much to my relief there were no birds there.This may sound silly and I suppose it is but most of us in her class often wondered about that. Wonder no more: I will explain to my classmates the full scoop. Back to the piano where she now has some popular music in front of her. She asked that I begin to sing some of it. I was quite familiar with most of it and so I sang away, when suddenly my voice began to change. I struggled to stay on pitch and she looked at me and said "Well Jimmie, we will have to enter you as a tenor". I looked at her and asked, "Enter me where?" She replied, "There is a voice contest coming up in 6 weeks and I would like to enter you into it". I looked at her, somewhat amazed and said, "Mrs Schneider, I don't know how to sing!!" Once again she replied, "Jimmie you have a lovely voice and by the end of 6 weeks you will be prepared to be the best in the city". "Wow" said I, totally at a point of confusion. That began my career in voice which scaled to the height of mediocrity. Since that day, I have sung most of the rest of my life---Glee clubs, Choirs, a Men only group, funerals and weddings. I entertained on the stage of the High School and, oh yes, I came in second at the city wide contest. I actually had begun my career on the stage at age 4 where I sang "Ice Cream, you scream, we all scream for Ice cream". My grandmother had sent me up there so she could win a bag of groceries or 6 dinner plates. I had to do it the next week also, so she would have a total of 12 dinner plates. My career started very early and would you believe, I am still singing in various groups but am wise enough to never sing solo again. I am now on oxygen and my voice sounds like a crow had escaped into the air. It's a man of learning that knows when to quit.

BUMP-A-DE- BUMP

I'm sure there have been times when you have decided to do a job all the time knowing it was going to end in an accident if done in the manner you were starting. That's me! It took a long time for me to finally understand the method I was using was shorter but something was bound to happen that would make it much longer. And it usually did. I decided the ceiling at the top of the stairs coming from the cellar into the kitchen needed painting. It was a pretty simple job and I got out the kitchen step stool so I could reach the ceiling . Holding the gallon can of white paint, left over from a previous job, in my left hand I mounted the stool , wet my brush, and began the job. You understand that in the back of my mind I knew I shouldn't do the job in this manner but I proceeded anyway. That's when lightning hit the out house, to coin an expression. My stool wobbled. So did I. And so did that can of paint to the extent it leaped from my hand and went bump-a-de-bump, bump-a-de-bump all the way down the stairs managing to hit about every third step and splattering paint all over the walls and the steps. I sighed thinking to myself too soon old , too late smart and spent an hour cleaning that mess up salvaging enough paint to do the job I had started out to do, I was using a large round basin and as I completed the job, I inadvertently stepped backwards on the rim of that basin sending all that white water all over the carpeted kitchen floor. Here again I knew I shouldn't have used that basin, but it was large, if a bit unsteady. Another hour passed as I dutifully cleaned up the mess wringing the water mixture back into the basin. Finally ! I now could get that carafe of cranberry juice out of the refrigerator and as I reached for it with my paint covered hand, it slipped out and spilled all over the floor, My exasperation finally surfaced and I uttered my first profanity of the day---Damn!! Did I learn anything? Probably not. Those who don't learn from history are destined to do it again.

The Quiet Octave

She said to me one Friday evening, "Oh you know what I did today? I bought a piano!! Now, not having more than two nickels to rub together, I exclaimed in a somewhat heated manner, "You did what?! "Don't worry", said she, "It only cost $5.00!" Somewhat mollified, I found the piano was old and belonged to Eddy, a friend. So I contacted 5 other guys, promised them beer and then rented a trailer. They arrived the next morning and we started out for Eddy's home.In that Eddy had a cement slab just the right height for the trailer, it was no problem running the piano right onto the trailer and as we drove away, I noticed two heavily indented tire tracks in Eddy's lawn. On arrival at my home I drove the trailer up on my cemented driveway avoiding any indentation in my lawn and we unloaded the piano onto my "stoop" (Is that term still used?) and got it most of the way into my foyer/living room. That's when the trouble began. You knew there would be trouble didn't you? A staircase coming from upstairs was in the way and I removed a wrought iron railing so that we were able to lift the piano over the base of the stairs and get it into the living room. Our objective was to get it in the room with the wall we were backed up to but I found out pianos don't BEND and we couldn't get it around the two corners required to put the beast (By now I am getting unfriendly) into was what a spare bedroom. I should explain we had a spare room only because I had worked my tail off building two rooms and a bath up stairs in our "expandable " home. So there we stood, 5 guys having a beer, while I fumed a bit . You understand this was our first home and our living room was quite small. There that blasted monster stood, heaving and smoking with all our furniture and rugs and lamps pushed to one side of the room so that we could get the piano to its destination. At this point my frustration hit a new high and in somewhat of an unpleasant voice I said to my dear wife "I am leaving for New York in one hour. You had better call someone and have that #@%o:that#%$@&*&^% taken out of here before I get home Friday night!!!!" I arrived home Friday and was greeted by that thing in the same place it was when I left. I fumed and fussed and she said she couldn't get anyone that wanted it. At which point I stated in a voice that all five of the guys that helped must have been able to hear. I might add they lived in different parts of the city. "Well then" said I, its going to rot there," and I sat in the only chair available to read my trade paper. The next night my brother, Jack, came over and asked what the piano was doing there and I replied in a sarcastic tone, "Its rotting". I explained the circumstances and he said "We can't leave it there" to which I testily said, "I can"! He went out to his car, brought in his tool box and proceeded to begin to take it apart. What a nice guy my brother turned into. I joined in and when it was down to a harp we rolled it back into the spare room. It took us until mid-night to get it back together with no pieces left over and I sat down to play it and, you probably saw this coming, not a sound emitted from the piano. At this point, with a larger dose of frustration than I have ever known, my normally, nicely modulated voice rose into a stentorian bellow and I shouted "Louise, didn't you try this piano before you bought it??" I think she had left the house rather then reply. At this point, I looked at Jack and the humor of the past week began to infect me and soon he and I are laughing . Yes, we are laughing at the piano that didn't give up a sound and for the two years it sat there, it never did.

Me 'n Mickey

In the days of my youth, which at this point seems like eons ago (It was only many decades) my older brother, Jack, had a temper of huge proportions. At the slightest opportunity when Mom wasn't looking he would pounce on me and begin flailing at me with flashing fists. Of course I was innocent of any untoward methods of provoking him. (Sure I was) At any rate, it was normal for me to burst into gales of tears and sobs even though sometimes he hadn't touched me. I knew he would attack at the slightest provocation so I usually started early to minimize my pain. It didn't do any good, he beat up on me regardless. This was a part of my growing up although, questionably it may account for the fact I never grew beyond 5'7 inches. My grandmother always called him Mickey for some unknown reason. We also had a dog named Mickey but I was an adult before I drew an anology between the two. Jack had joined the CCC, a conservation organization created by Franklin Roosevelt to help alleviate the depression through which our country was immersed. He was gone before I went into my end of the service and I assumed I might not see him again. However, it appeared he had a broken ear drum (No it was not part of my retribution) and came home about the time I went into the Navy. When the family was reunited three years later and we were all together again, it was amazing what a nice guy he turned out to be. He and his wife Betty would come over to our home and have dinner with us and he would help me with different projects and we would work side by side. One time he spent an entire day while we wheelbarrowed load after load of top soil from an empty lot behind our home. I remember one night he found a harp from an up right piano in the middle of our living room and asked what it was doing there. I replied "Its rotting" but that's a different story which shall be told ere long. After Betty died, he was a more frequent visitor and I grew to have a great appreciation for my brother. He died in a car crash a few years later and I never had a chance to remind him of the other Mickey I had known who was our dog. Jack was one of the good guys and I still miss my brother , even after all these 40 years or more.

THE GIRL NEXT DOOR

Back in the dim distant past of my youth I had basically two girl friends. The first and the most prominent was Mary. She was a fun loving, outgoing girl of seventeen and the first day I walked her home from school there were eight guys waiting for her to come home. This will give you some idea of her popularity. She really was a neat young lady that I was enamoured of but never really in love with (Is that a dangling participle?) We went together for about two years until she fell in love with some other guy. (Can you imagine that?) Our last date was graduation night from High School and it was a wonderful night filled with great big band music, a terrific ballroom, and one in which I sang a couple of songs. But it was probaly the last night Mary and I were together. She was going away to school and I was job hunting. The next one was Marion and this was a diminutive little girl that made me feel larger than I really was and I had a definite superiority complex. However that didn't last very long and I found some reason to break up. The problem with both of these young ladies was that they lived on the opposite end of the world from my home. So I walked, walked and then walked some more because I was too cheap to spend the eight and one third cents to take a street car. Three times I walked to save me twenty five cents to spend on something frivolous. However, graduation night was a triple date with six of us in Moon Bauman's borrowed car. One of the girls was Louise ---my first knowledge of her. Later there was a number of us that worked in downtown Buffalo and every Monday as many as could would meet at Andy's, a spaghetti bar/restaurant, and dined on a large plate of spaghetti for ninety nine cents including bread and butter---a feast. Louise was usually one of the group meeting there. And now you know the rest of the story. We met and slowly became very good friends. I once told my Mother "She is going to make a great wife for someone". Little did I know. The kicker to this story is that Louise only lived a short block from me. The three miles I used to walk to save a few cents was now in the past and I should have known the love of my life was only a short distance away. She still is the love of my life and she still is only a short distance away.

MOYNSIE #1

It is difficult to write about my best friend and keep it within reasonable limits. There is still a strong link to him and most men are reluctant to speak of another with an admission of love. But love him I did and one of the things my heart holds dear is the hope that I will meet him in the next phase and I will begin laughing again. At 5:30 in the morning, no one was funnier and as the day progressed most people had better stay out of his way because he had a high degree of cynicism that would not stay hidden. In short , if he found any sense of phonyism in your make up, he had no use for you and it was seldom if ever covered up. Back in the days when we were all getting started with our families, our jobs, our finances, there were 6 couples in our "group". And over the years, one by one Moynsie would come to me and say, "Well, I have just alienated Lightheart's", or one of the other couples. He had a hidden need to "Hunt and Destroy" and it all came to an end one night at about 11:00 p.m when Louise and I were in bed and I heard a car pull up and a couple of doors slam. Yes, it was the Moynihans and his opening remark was, "Well, I just alienated the Klutes". I, in my philosophical simplicity replied, "And now you have a circle of friend (singular)". Rather than feel badly about the fact he had lost the last friend of our group, he thought my simplistic reply was very funny and it was as though I had successfully summed up his journey through life. There is not enough room to fully describe his personality. Suffice it to say, I forgave him everything and anything because should I have a need he was first one to say, "What can I do?" It all began when shortly after the war, we met at a bus stop near the University of Buffalo and although we had never been close in high school we knew each other and made a date to play bridge that week-end. It ended many years later when I, in Japan on business, leaned against the wall and cried hearing of his death. He was a Roman Candle that was so full of energy he couldn't maintain the burst over the long haul and I loved him for all of his idiosyncrasies, his craziness and his huge trips into humor. The funny thing is that for all of the above, I was the only one that fulfilled his expectations of the one person that could keep up with him---not that I had all the answers but I had enough to keep him laughing at my ability to reply in a manner that delighted him. I was the last of his "circle of friend". Can one man love another? I can only speak for myself. He was my friend and I loved him. More to follow. ------

DID I MENTION STUBBORN??

All the wonderful things my Dad did, albeit was mostly for his grandchildren, whom he really adored. Oh he didn't show it with love and kisses. My Dad was not that type. But he did show it by playing with them hours on end, and I mean playing, right down on the floor type of playing. He taught them to sew, color, create images and a plethora of kid stuff that in todays world, with all its technology, seems to be sometimes forgotten. My two daughters , Marcie and Linda, were the chief recipients of his attention. And then there was me. "Handy Andy". That's what he would occasionally call me because I wasn't--- handy that is. But we had purchased an "expandable home' and what that label inferred was it would expand if the owners put enough hard work into it. And I was trying!! I won't go into all the things I did to that house because it now is superfluous. However one thing I did was to purchase a storm door to be planed and cut and painted and hung on the side of our home. It was an all day deal and when Dad came over that evening I saw his eyes glance quickly at my handiwork and I was hoping for some sort of praise. But no, I could see he disapproved of a part of my work. The evening wore on and as they got up to leave I had to find out what was wrong with the door. And so I asked him. Dad, I saw you look at the door. I worked all day on it and apparently there is something you don't like. He looked at me and said, "You should have it open against the wind so that it won't be blown from its hinges". I excitedly said, "I did that Dad . Usually the wind comes from the west and that's the west". Oops, my mistake. He pointed in the opposite direction and said, "No Jim, that's the west". "But Dad, there's the sun and its setting". His reply was a shock to everything I have ever known about the setting sun. He stated, "I don't care what the sun is doing, that's the west"!! I just was numbed by his answer and then said to myself, "What a great story I will be able to tell my kids about the stubborn streak my lovable Dad had deep within his persona. And you know what? I miss him like crazy and I'll take a little stubbornness when its surrounded by love for my kids. But someday I am going to ask him if he remembers my storm door and his answer to my comments. I wonder if he will admit a mistake or somehow convince me I had the wrong direction. We'll see.

THE BEST IS YET TO BE

My Dad was forced to sell our house, something I never understood. This was during the days of depression but I later realized banks were accepting merely the interest on mortgage loans and it may have been my father's stubbornness that wouldn't allow him to accept anything that even resembled charity. But we moved into a "flat" that had three bedrooms. My brother, Burt and I shared a bed---yes I said a bed , in one of the rooms and I would now attend a new school. It was Bennett High School and I was 12 years old. Don't ask why I was so young. I don't remember all the details, but I do recall I skipped a grade, and here I am walking down Fillmore Avenue to Main and on to school. It was about one and a half miles and not one school bus came by. I wonder why?? Because there were no school buses in those days. My freshman and sophomore years passed rather uneventfully. I did play in the band and was active in some of the school plays. But it was in my 3rd year that I began to blossom. I began to get aggressive about getting into various activities that placed me on stage at all the school auditoriums. I began singing in all the stage events. It turned out I was selected to be a cheerleader. I think that was because it became evident that I had the biggest mouth in the school and a megaphone was superfluous. I came to realize this was fun and made up my mind to only take 2 subjects the next two years ----yes that meant I would be in school for 5 years before I would graduate. But, so what? I would still only be 17. It was still during the depression. There were no jobs available and there was no money for a continuing education. So I reasoned, I might as well stay in school. I took two basic subjects each of those remaining two years, was active in every stage event ---sports, plays, musicals and so on. I was on stage and loved it. Down deep there was a ham lurking somewhere. My best buddy, Moon, was similarly active and we made a great couple. I am still in touch with Moon and we reminisce about those long ago years. He flew 30 Missions over Europe in a B17, which doesn't mean much to most of my readers but it was a BIG deal. Well, that is the story of how I went to High School for 5 years and they were the best years of my life at that time. Our motto, "The Best is yet to Be" still resonates with me and when I look back at all that followed I realize the Best was a continuing source of happiness with marriage, children, grandchildren and now great grand children. Certainly things did continue to get better and in spite of a setback here or there, life was great and I am at peace wondering if the best is still yet to be.

THE FALSE TEETH EPISODE

Many years ago while attending High School, I used to work afternoon at my former grammar school and I would help the char-women to sweep the floor, dust around and clean the balckboard. When summer came, of course, there was no school and I hired on as one of a crew to prepare the school for the coming season. My brother was the crew chief and I had an in to the work. Mr Durr was the head custodian and you wanted to stay away from his temper. I had been assigned to work with Jimmie Gassman and clean windows---you know those great high windows where you needed a tall ladder to do them well. Jimmie was a riot and he was regaling me with some rediculous stories and we were sitting each on his own ladder when in comes Mr Durr. We sat quietly while he told us how worthless we were and threatened that if we didn't get to work, we would be fired. The morning time was passing and again Jimmie and I are sitting exchanging nonsense--one of which I still used to impress little kids. This is done by stretching the web of your thumb and forefinger, putting it against your mouth and blowing and the sound of a fog horn would resonate across the room. We did a few of those and were laughing when in come the ogre--Mr Durr Now he is really mad and as he begins to lay it on us he seems to have a problem getting the words out. With that encumbrance, he cups his hand, spits out his upper and lower denture and proceeds to scream at us. Well, here we are at about 14 and had never seen dentures before and instead of respecting his problem, we broke out the most hilarious laughter you have ever heard. How unkind!! Well, I wish this tale had a moral or something to make the story interesting but that was it. We were fired and walked out laughing. I never saw Jimmie Gassman again and always wondered "Is he still so very funny"?

UPDATE ON DAD

Dad became ill a week or so ago after spending the day boating on the Mississippi River with my brother Rand's family. He went into the hospital and ended up getting three stints placed in his heart arteries. He said the procedure was painless (such a tough guy). He is now supposed to be on oxygen, as his heart was not getting enough. They put him on oxygen seven years ago when he had a stint procedure done. He stayed on it a short while and then decided it was bothersome and went off it. He has arranged to get oxygen delivered to his home in Arizona for when he arrives. Maybe he will take it a little more seriously this time, but probably not. He was back on the boat a week after surgery, no doubt waving at pretty girls and embarrassing his grandsons. If he could, he would jump around and act like a teenager, but his age and condition will not allow it. He finds that very frustrating. It is tough when the mind races forward and the body can't keep up. Yes, he is a very immature 84 year old!

He was planning to come and visit me in Virginia Beach, but decided that it would be best if he went home instead. I am in total agreement, as the flights these days cannot be depended upon, and he could end up racing to catch a flight or stranded. He may try and come here in the fall. Meanwhile, he is going home to Arizona on Tuesday, July 24th . He is feeling good, and that is most important! More later---

Posted by Marcie, his loving daughter!

Profile Photo

Just so you know, I have been fussing with this picture for HOURS! Trying to get it loaded for Dad's profile picture. I am not a code reader and so I tried every html combination I could conceive of. I finally figured out that I had to make the title of the picture shorter. Instead of reading "Dad at Bear Lake" I changed it to "Dad.jpg". Isn't that nuts? But now there is a profile picture of him. Whew, too much work for something so simple. --Marcie

A NOTE FROM MARCIE

Today I posted this cute picture of my dad on my own blog and generated some interest from a few people that indicated they were interested in reading what Dad has to say. He actually has a blog on Yahoo 360, but I started this one for him recently because I thought it might be easier to operate. It has some nice features that the other blog doesn't have. Plus, you have to sign into Yahoo to get to the other one, and this blog you can reach from any search engine.

Soooo, I went into his Yahoo blog and copied and pasted his posts onto this blog, for your reading pleasure. I hope you enjoy reading some of my dad's funny stories. He will love it if you leave comments!

From his loving daughter,

Marcie

UNCLE CHUCK

Entry for January 17, 2007 Photo shows Uncle Chuck, Susie and Aunt Alice

When I was a very young lad, probably around eight, I used to be banished to my Grandparents home in Syracuse, N.Y. I was never sure whether my parents wanted to get rid of me or whether they thought I would enjoy this form of punishment. Well, they were rewarded by not having to put up with this kid and they were happy and as it turned out so was I. For, with my grandparents, whom I really loved, there lived my Aunt Alice and her husband Charles Howell--my Uncle Chuck. This combination of little Jimmie and Uncle Chuck was a match made in Heaven---at least from my point of view.
Chuck never earned much of a salary. For many years he worked as clerk in a hardware store and only had Sundays off. Ah but that was when he headed for the out-of-doors. He was in love with any outdoor activity and I was a recipient of his fondness of his Sunday activity. He loved to fish, hunt, dig potatoes, pick peaches, berries, of various description or anything that would allow him to further his hobby. As a result, every Sunday morning around 5:30 A.M. from my bedroom I would hear the words "C'mon Jim, lets go. I would be up in a flash, grab some breakfast and we would be in his car by 6:00 o'clock. We would often head for the Adirondack Mountains for there would always be something in season, something to shoot, just something to do in the great outdoors.
I first learned to golf when I was about eleven because Chuck liked to golf. I learned to distinguish which mushroom were the edible variety and we often would head for the same gold course he played at because there was always a plethora of mushrooms and puff balls, a usually very large type of that edible fungus in the shape of a ball. I learned a gooseberry from a boysenberry. Picking peaches or apples at his Aunt's farm was fun. I shot my first rabbit with a 410 shotgun and inexpertly shot the tail off a woodchuck feasting near his hole up on the hillside. In short, it was a paradise for a small boy and I came to love hearing his voice "C’mon Jim, lets go". I went to Syracuse every time I had a week off or a summer vacation from school. When I was nine or ten, my parents would take me to the train and I would wear shorts and because I was pretty small then, I could ride a train for the price normally reserved for age seven and under. In those days, it was no big deal to ride the train alone. Who in the world would think of bringing harm to a small boy?
When I was about eleven we moved to the country in a small community on about 2 acres of land and raised a garden each year. I learned to play Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in E(?) Minor there. I also caught a bull frog about the same size as the rabbit I shot. I would hike up to a nearby golf course and caddie for $.75 a round after I finished hoeing the garden. I did many things waiting for the Sabbath morning because then the familiar words would once again be heard and I would be up in a flash.
Unfortunately, as much as I loved being with Chuck, I discovered girls at about age fourteen and that former part of my life lost most of its glamour. But I never forgot what Charlie did for that little kid. In later years I would bring him to Minneapolis and we would drive or fly into various fishing resorts. He would stay with Louise and me for a week or two (This was after my Aunt Alice, Chuck’s wife, had passed away) and I think he really enjoyed being away from the loneliness of his small trailer near one of the Finger Lakes where he still fished, but he was alone most of the time. Some years after, I went to work in New Jersey and drove up to his trailer and we would go to dinner and I would spend the weekend with him.
We never said anything that could be construed as sentimental. Neither he or I could start the words and our throats would close up but I remember one time as I was preparing to go back to Jersey, I heard him say very softly "I'm sure lucky to have a nephew as good as you". I was crying as I got in my car and as I waved goodbye, I thought "No, I was the lucky one for all you did to give me the memories I cherish now". I cry now as I type this once again remembering the joy and happiness he brought into my life with just those simple words “C'mon Jim, lets go".

THE OLD TIMER

Entry for February 15, 2007

We moved to Appleton, Wisc in 1960. Little did I know then we would have three very happy years there. I began as a merchandise manager of Mens and Boys in a Department store and one of the people I would meet shortly after my arrival was a young fellow named George Kubisiak. In one of our conversations he asked if I liked fishing. I replied, "I used to love it when I was young but I haven't been in since I was a kid." He told me we would go that week.
He picked me up one night and as we were driving out he said "Now we are going to fish on a farmers private lake. The farmer is very particular who he will let on his property so try top make an impression so that he will like you." We proceeded through the gate, down through the lane past several cows who looked at us in a disinterested manner and finally found John, kneeling in a freshly plowed field. We walked over to him and George introduced me to John who grunted a rather cold hello. While George and the farmer talked I kneeled down a few feet away and when I could see I had his attention, I began running my fingers through the loose soil. I then picked up a small handful and smelled it. I now had his full blown interest and with that I picked up another handful and stuck my tongue out and tasted the soil. Then in a rather pontifical I said "Needs little lime doesn't it?" He looked at me in some astonishment and replied "Thats just what a I was thinking---needs a little lime!!" Shortly after that George and I walked down to the lake and George exploded "Geez Jim, I didn't know you were a soil expert". I said "Hell George, I'm a fraud. I don't know anything about soil but I thought I might get him to think I do". At which point George said "Well, you certainly impressed him. He will let you come out and fish any time you want."
We then got into a small boat and rowed into the middle of the lake and began casting with fly rods. We were using what was called a "popper" because when the fish inhaled the lure, it would make a popping sound so that even though we were fishing after dark, if you cast out into the deepening shadows and began to twitch the line you would be rewarded with a fighting small bass who would come leaping out of the water. It was a fisherman's delight and George and I spent several evenings enjoying John's private lake. George had a radio program every evening through out most of the year and his gravelly manner of speaking to his unseen audience earned him the title of "The Old Timer". He died a few short year later after we had moved to Minneapolis. After hearing of his death, I was reminded how he had taken part in making those three years such happy ones. He was a character that has always occupied a special place in my memory bank.

CURRENTLY...

Entry for January 29, 2007

Now that I am mature I was told by a noted authority that I need to say something of myself at this stage of my life. Actually, its a bit boring because now that I have grown up, things around me are not that stimulating. However, to bring you upo date, I have now retired in a gerisatric form of an apartment complex. Everywhere I look, I see wheel chairs,mechanized scooters and walkers. I tried to make one of my smooth approaches last week and this nice looking lady hit me with her walker. I must really look like a shady character because 50 years ago when I first used that approach, it always brought good results. My apartment is quite nice for a old guy living by himself. I have my sister in law Frieda and her two daughters to thank for that. My daughter Linda lives here in Mesa as do my grandsons Matt and family, Renn, Marcie's youngest boy--now 27, and Jonathan Call, Linda's youngest son of 25 or thereabouts. I also enjoy the company of Hoyt and Kathy -Louise's sister, and I didn't mention Bruce, Louise's brother. So I am surrounded by family and I couldn't do anything wrong if I wanted to, heh heh, heh. I get 25 meals a month here at my apartment complex which I supplement with terribly fattening foods at every opportunity. The food is quite good and I am one of the few that walks, unassisted, into the dining hall.I feel definitely superior with this capability and try not to look smug when I walk in. I am a movie fan and have joined the library and already, in the space of five days have gone through 5 movies. So you see my life is not of excitement and debauchery. I also sing in the church choir and this seems to be in contrast to the preceding sentence, Maybe it is more in keeping with the previous statement, "I couldn't do anything wrong if I wanted to. So this gives you some idea of what is happening in my life. I miss Louise greatly and she has been gone 7 years now. It just goes to prove the old adage, "Only the good die young." Hope all is well with you. You carry my love wherever you are.---Oh, some wag when looking at my picture which I posted with my first blog, said "Who is the young guy"? In reply, I say, "You don't want to see a picture of me that is current. I look like my father who has been dead for 50 years."

ME AND MY PBY

Entry for February 15, 2007


Many of you might recall the legend of the little Dutch boy who, by putting his finger in the hole of the dike, saved the country of Holland. Now while this story I am about to tell is not quite parallel to the above, I am drawing a bit of poetic license to make the analogy. I was sitting out on the Bay of Pensacola one sunny afternoon, having finished my tour at the "Yoke" in an attempt to fly a large water craft called a PBY. I had already received my "wings" and was wearing them proudly after showing off my prowess by taking off and landing this monster three times with an instructor at my side and coaching me through my training. Now some of you, born after 1950, might ask what is a PBY? In reply, I tell you it was a twin engine flying boat. You may have seen some of the heroics on your television screen of these aircraft picking up Naval aviators that were in the water. Its two large engines were high above your ears on each side of the boat and their roar was significant. It was the darling of the Naval pilots because it was hinted that it would climb at 90, dive at 90 and you would live to be 90.---- not necessarily true, but it served the purpose of giving bragging rights to those that flew them. A stiff breeze had come up and the instructor had decided to sit a while to see if the wind would go down. I was sitting amidship when I could hear him say, "It's not getting any calmer, I'll go ahead and take off". As he began to increase the engine speed, we hit a large wave head on and the old boat shuddered, slowed and then proceeded forward. Gathering a bit more speed we hit another wave and once again the plane shuddered and moved forward some more. I thought to myself "If we hit another with that impact, I don't think this plane will staand it". Sure enough, another large wave once again burst on the bow of the vessel and with a crash, water began flowing into the nose of the ship. By way of explanation, in the nose of a PBY is a steel shuttered window with reinforced plate glass for added protection. It was commonly used for photography. Water is pouring in. The wind coming through what was practically a wind tunnel, was fierce. Trying to be of some assistance, not knowing what, I began to fight my way forward. The boat was close to flying speed but with about a 30 knot wind and airspeed now attaining about 40 knots. It meant I was fighting my way through a airflow of about 75 mph. I hung on to anything I could and gradually got up into the nose of the aircraft. Water was flowing through at a good amount and was now sloshing around my ankles. How do I help get the craft airborne? Then in a magnificent display of courage, I turned around and sat down in the broken window, thereby sealing off the water and allowing the instructor to get the plane in the air. We are now airborne. The wind is beating against my rear-end. The water, although sealed off, is still quite deep around my feet and my butt is being battered with the cold air. I can hear the instructor radioing the flight tower that he is going to put it up on the beach back at the air station. That gave me pause to think "Wait a minute. My butt is hanging out the window and he wants to put it on the beach??" I have visions of a not so pleasant ending to my tail bone. I now hear the engines being pulled back and feel the nose lifting up in preparation for a landing. I can see the pilot and I point to myself and then indicate "Should I jump out of the nose bay"? He shouts at me "No! Stay there." Once again visions of a scraped butt go through my head. Suddenly he shouts down to me "Out" and I leaped away. And that is how I was almost awarded the Order of the Purple Bottom".

YELLOW DEMON

Entry for March 11, 2007

I arrived in Glenview, Illinois on December 31st 1943 and remember being in my bunk, the only one who had reported for duty. I could hear the church bells in town tolling in the New Year! 1944 was here and now my flight training would begin in earnest Here we would begin flying the "yellow demons", a bi-winged single engine plane with a tandem open cockpit. We would receive instructions from Naval pilots and washing out became a genuine threat. We had started out with 150 of us cadets from Buffalo and I don't think any of them were now in my present squadron. This was not a concern. Other things such as Chicago winters and the uncompromising instructors we were now facing was the greater concern. The severity of the demands thrust upon us was something to be feared. Life was tough but thank goodness for the resilience of youth. I slept in the top bunk at the far end of the barracks and soon developed a reputation for glib remarks and witty or maybe even coarse comments--always loud enough so the entire barracks could hear me. It seemed that after lights out my humor became amplified. I found a soul mate in Jersey Lawrence, another cadet, and between the two of us we amused the other 60 or so guys that completed the barracks. One night while sharper than usual with my cutting remarks, I suddenly found my bunk heaved skywards mattress and all and found myself on the floor. I knew it was Jersey and in my haste to get out tried to squeeze between my bunk and the wall. I had forgotten about the very hot radiator there and branded myself on the metal. I carried that mark for many months before it faded away. Continuing down the middle of the barracks, I realized Jersey would be waiting for me and devised a plan to get back at him. I got under the bunk of the Big Swede a very large, 240 pound, humorless man and heaved him into the air. I knew he would never figure little Jimmy Winspear would be able to lift his weight and my plan worked perfectly. With a roar he went after Jersey, complacently snuggled in his bed. Absolute chaos broke out and soon every cadet in the barracks was heaving and throwing bedding at anything that moved. Mattresses were strewn all over the place. Some of the others were even running into the snow to escape the turmoil. Everyone was finally laughing hysterically at the absurdity of what had taken place. Even the Big Swede was laughing. We finally calmed down about 1:00 A.M. and I went to my bed thinking that if the Officer of the Day had happened by we would have all found ourselves at boot camp. But he didn't and weeks later they were still talking about my devilment. I was the hero of the Glenview air base.

FATHERS AND SONS

Entry for March 28, 2007

The photo above shows my son Rand on my lap, and my grandfather and father.

I gave a talk in church last week and it was suggested that it might be something I should put in my blog and so here tis. Because I changed from the original subject and managed to escape the wrath of the Bishop, my talk was on the bonds that may or may not be between a Father and sons. As a child of the depression, I never saw much of my Dad, He was working in any field he could to try to keep food on the table. We managed to eat although some nights it was oatmeal once again. As a result when I grew older and wondered if my Dad loved me, I excused him knowing he was constantly working. However, as time went on it became more of an un-answered question that concerned me. One night late, I returned from my Navy base and surprised my Mom when I went into their room. She awoke and we were talking softly when my Dad also awoke and instinctively reached over, grabbed me and gave me a hug saying, "Oh Jim, I'm so glad to see you. That answered the question of whether my Father loved me or not. Having that knowledge, I became aware of relationships that I could see were evident between other Fathers and their sons. Two events brought that home to me with amazing clarity. One was when Harmon Killebrew was accepting his award when entering the baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown He said, of his Father , who had passed away a few weeks before, "I wish my Dad was here. No, I know he is". I was very impressed with that obvious bond. Another was when the U.S. hockey team beat the Russians in 1980 to win the gold during the Olympics, The spectators went wild and the first words the goalie said when he left his net were "Where is my Dad"? This again gave evidence of a strong bond that existed between the two. Those two singular events allowed me to think of the question I once held "Does my Dad love me". In retrospect I ached for the answer and was so grateful I had found that the bond I had wondered about was there even though it went unanswered for so long. Relating to those events, a talk was given in church,by a person I held in high regard, entitled "Breaking the chain". The chain he referred to was the chain that stated I shall not show love for my son. That relationship was exemplyfied by his Father and the Father before him. And my friend said I will break that chain and declare my love for my son as often as I can. That attitude now permeates many many Fathers and link by link the chain is being broken. Its acceptable for a man to show emtion and I am content knowing my Dad loved me.