Retirement Talk
WHAT to do with the rest of your life? |
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Episode 139 John's Departure
This is Retirement Talk. I'm Del Lowery.
Links to the past continue to be broken as we age. We learn
to value what we have. Retirement has it's challenges and dealing with the
death of old friends is one. Dick Smith shares his thoughts concerning his
friend John.
Friends have
been dying off at an accelerated pace lately. Audrey, Jim, Peter and Ralph have
recently departed. A few days ago, John
died on April 16, 2009 in
Pittsburgh
.
I miss him. We were good friends since we met in 1943, in the Navy. He was a
link to the past that is now broken.
The memorial
note from his wife was a little song. “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.
You make me happy when skies are gray. You’ll never know dear how much I love
you. Please don’t take my sunshine away. This week I sang to him rather than
with him. Next week, I will sing with him in my heart
On August 3,
1945, we were stationed at Kingsville Air Field near
Corpus Christi
,
Texas
.
We had just passed our instrument checks and expected to begin gunnery training
in the next few weeks. The end of our training was approaching when we would
get our commissions and our Navy Wings of Gold, hot stuff for a nineteen year
old. Three days later, on August 6, an atomic bomb was dropped on
Hiroshima
. On the 9th a second bomb was dropped on
Nagasaki
.
Emperor Hirohito surrendered on August 15. The formal surrender was on
September 2, 1945.
All training was cancelled and we were free to
play cards or volleyball while the officers met to decide our future. Most of
us began to discuss what we would do as the war ended. We learned about the GI
Bill and I learned about
Penn
State
from John and Sam
who had both completed a semester there before entering flight training. A week
later we were called together and told that we would be discharged within a
month unless we continued training in a four year enlistment.
John lived
in
Phillipsburg
,
only 30 miles from the college and he invited Sam, Joe and I to meet at his
home after discharge and then enroll together for the fall. Housing was
critical as hundreds and then thousands of veterans flocked to the campuses.
The four of us found an attic room with three beds. John and Sam shared one.
John often went home to see his girlfriend and they were married later that
year. He joined the college Glee Club together.
We went our
separate ways after a semester. Joe transferred to another college. John
commuted from Philipsburg and Sam and I joined an Independent Men’s House. I
saw John only rarely but three years later he was graduating and had a job
prospect near
Washington
D.C.
I drove him there for the interview and
to see the sights. He got the job and found an apartment and we drove back. We
stayed in touch with Christmas cards until 1957 when my choral group was
invited to sing at the National Academy of Art in D.C.
I wrote John
I was coming and he met me at the train station and later attended the concert.
Another dozen years passed. John and I had both remarried and my new wife and I
travelled East to see my family and to the University of Maryland, her old
school near D.C. John invited us to his house in Rock Creek and we were all
startled to find that he and my wife had been colleagues in a teacher training
program a few years earlier.
In later years
we telephoned occasionally and he reported on some of our old comrades from
Navy days. In 1983 he called and said, ”Let’s get the old gang together.” My
reaction was, “What old Gang?” A dozen former Aviation Cadets met that summer
at
Penn
State
for our forty-year reunion and we
had a great time. Sam had become a big supporter of the University and showed
us a building with his name on it. Bill’s wife sang and entertained us at a
nightclub. John was our platoon leader arranging the festivities.
There were
two more reunions, one at
New Hope
on the
Delaware River and the last one again at
Penn
State
ten years ago. At
New Hope
,
we all flew gliders that were towed aloft and released at 3,000 feet to soar
slowly back to the field. In an airplane you can “touch and go” land and take
off immediately but a glider landing is final awaiting the next tow plane. It
was a fitting end to my piloting days.
I’ve been a
rolling stone and have lost track of many old friends. I grew up in
Pennsylvania
. In the
Navy, we were stationed in
Kansas
,
Ohio
,
Michigan
,
Iowa
and
Texas
.
After college, I moved to
Connecticut
,
Hawaii
,
Ohio
and
Washington
State
. I have three sons and a handful
of friends in
Hawaii
but there is no “Old
Gang” except for current friends in
Bellingham
and they are becoming scarcer as we all age. Old friends are best. We get too
soon old and too late smart. I am learning to value more those who remain but
they will never replace John who was with me through so many vital experiences.
So long friend. See you soon.
My guest has been Dick Smith.
This is Retirement Talk.
A resource from a listener: Best Free Online Degrees for Seniors guide is designed to assist seniors who aspire to enhance their intellect or consider starting a new career path. It features an overview of the top online degrees for seniors, emphasizing their numerous advantages, and a broad range of subjects to choose from.
A friend's website: Terra Firma Designs: Fine Furniture, Stained Glass and woodworking workshops.
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