My Grandfather center, my Mother right, my Aunt Mary left. Looking at grandpa, now I know where my bo legs came from. He and I are the only ones in the family with legs like that.
I don’t remember when I got this picture but I think it came from my sister Marion. I look at it frequently and think about life as it was back then. I smile every time I look at it.
My grandfather was one of the best men I’ve ever known. I loved him dearly. When I was a child I would sit on the floor at his side every night and ask him questions, which he kindly answered every one. I was closer to him than I was with my father. My father made me feel small; he always berated me. I don’t know why he did that, perhaps I was not up to his standards. My brother Tom was his favorite.
When I enlisted in the navy, he said to my mother, “your son has left you; my son (Tom) wouldn’t leave me.” That was true, in fact, while once I left for the navy I never asked my parents for anything, though I could have used the money in my early years in the navy when navy pay was very little, my pride kept me from ever asking for help. My brother Tom, on the other hand, was always needing money and he always got it from dad.
In the later years there were many times Mom and Dad needed financial help. Did they ask Tom? No, they asked me and I gave them what they needed. I’m not playing for sainthood, merely stating the facts. I never felt like I was better than anyone else. It’s just what it is, what it was, and what it shall be.
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