by Adam S. Kibbe, guest blogger<\/p>\n
\u00c3\u00acSee, eyeglasses weren\u00c3\u00adt unbreakable back then, so they wouldn\u00c3\u00adt let Charlie enlist for combat.\u00c3\u00ae The name delivered in a high-register version of that Nu-Yahwk drawl, to me usually fingernails on a chalkboard, but dismissable for the conversation we were having. \u00c3\u00acBut he was determined, so he went into the medical corp and was stationed in Virginia Beach for the rest of the Korean War — excuse me, \u00c3\u00acpolice action\u00c3\u00ae. It really wasn\u00c3\u00adt supposed to be called a war, you know.\u00c3\u00ae<\/p>\n
I was speaking with Cathy, the mother of a good friend. Her husband, Charlie (Chahw-lee), had died some years back, and we\u00c3\u00add attended his funeral on Long Island, along with various of the CT band. I was struck at the time by how well-regarded he was in his community there, how many people knew him, both currently and for decades, and could speak well of him and his many contributions. For several Thansgivings now we have invited our friend and her husband and mother to our house, as her only other sibling, Gary, lives far away, and theirs has become a quite small gathering. With ghosts.<\/p>\n
\u00c3\u00acI know. A U.N. action, wasn\u00c3\u00adt it? And how long was he there?\u00c3\u00ae I asked.<\/p>\n
\u00c3\u00acTwo years, I think — the rest of the war. I had just had Gary, and I know we didn\u00c3\u00adt have Lynn until he got out.\u00c3\u00ae Distant memories are often not set, but calculated against larger wayfaring milestones.<\/p>\n
\u00c3\u00acWasn\u00c3\u00adt that hard, raising a child alone, and wondering how your husband was doing?\u00c3\u00ae<\/p>\n
\u00c3\u00acOh, sure, but my mother was great — I wouldn\u00c3\u00adt have made it without her.\u00c3\u00ae Shoo-wah. Mu-thuh. Maiyd……….. \u00c3\u00acIt was harder on Charlie, though — he saw all the guys who came back, not just wounded, but really badly affected by what they saw. Some things you can\u00c3\u00adt fix with medicine. I know he\u00c3\u00add rather have been able to actually go over there, but I think it\u00c3\u00ads lucky he didn\u00c3\u00adt.\u00c3\u00ae<\/p>\n
\u00c3\u00acMy father was in that conflict, too. He was in the Air Force there — a mechanic, repairing….. some kind of airplanes. I always thought B-29\u00c3\u00ads, but he told me I had that part wrong. I\u00c3\u00adve often wondered what being there was like for him.\u00c3\u00ae<\/p>\n
\u00c3\u00acWell, if you want to know more about it, you should ask him.\u00c3\u00ae<\/p>\n
\u00c3\u00acI\u00c3\u00adve started to before, but I didn\u00c3\u00adt want to push it. I don\u00c3\u00adt know how private it is for him.\u00c3\u00ae<\/p>\n
\u00c3\u00acWell, the telephone\u00c3\u00ads right there — I bet they\u00c3\u00adre home. Take it from me, you won\u00c3\u00adt always have the chance.\u00c3\u00ae<\/p>\n
And while I wrestle with the obvious, adult sense of her suggestion, \u00c3\u00acHey, you guys, it\u00c3\u00ads ready. Come and sit down!\u00c3\u00ae Tricia says, sticking her head out of he kitchen to summon us to Thanksgiving dinner.<\/p>\n
And we go.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Our Thanksgiving houseguest, Cathy, helps Ivan try on the new mittens she knitted for him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Adam S. Kibbe, guest blogger \u00c3\u00acSee, eyeglasses weren\u00c3\u00adt unbreakable back then, so they wouldn\u00c3\u00adt let Charlie enlist for combat.\u00c3\u00ae The name delivered in a high-register version of that Nu-Yahwk drawl, to me usually fingernails on a chalkboard, but dismissable … Continue reading