Saturday, May 26, 2012

The Red Poppie

Memorial Day, a moment of reflection for us as a nation of freedom.  My eyes were drawn to the card-table set up in the entry of the market where I shop and to the two very elderly gentlemen at the table, both having served in WW11.  I knew immediately that this was a Vintage moment for me as the Red Poppie has always been a part of  Memorial Day and that of my two daughters.  It was all so fresh  in my mind and heart as were the photos of my father in uniform as an Air Force pilot during the war standing next to his plane.  So young and handsome with his black hair and leather flight jacket.  It's no wonder my mother fell for him the way she did!  I spoke for a moment with the sweet gentlemen at the table surprised to find unexpected tears in my eyes.  At that moment I so wanted to greet my own father at the table with the Red Poppies but it was not to be.  Ironically, my father suffered a fatal heart attack on another plane on his way to vacation many years after his Air Force service.  My childhood memories include a parade through our little town on Memorial Day.  The coveted reciting of "On Flanders Field" at the cemetery at First Lutheran Church. A wreath tossed in the water in remembrance at the waterfront.  Vintage memories of my childhood from a still grateful heart.  I salute you my father, Lt. John Robert Gerry on this a day of remembrance.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

J. Robert Gerry.  Handwritten in my Emerson Birthday Book by my Great Aunt Mary is the date of my father's birth, May 17 1921.  I know the birth of my Dad was a joyous occasion for Great Aunt Mary and her sister my Great Aunt Elida. They both had remained unmarried and this was the birth of the second son to their sister, my Grandma Alma and my Grandpa Bill.  My dad was a darling from his early years which anyone who knew him in later years would well understand.  He was a wonderful husband, father and friend.  And so handsome!  His love and commitment to his parents, Aunt Mary and Aunt Elida was a foundational part of my childhood and connected us in a deep way as a family.  Grandpa Bill, Grandma Alma, Great Aunt Mary and Great Aunt Elida impacted my life in ways untold only meeting the Lord after long and fulfilling lives that we were all apart of.  Reflecting on their influences on my life with a grateful heart----------

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

In my past--

Lately I've been spending much of my time sorting through family treasures that have been stored over the years in a number of different place at my home in the country.  Oh, the most wonderful things I've found that I'd forgotten I even had.  Today I uncovered  the EMERSON BIRTHDAY BOOK, a sweet little leather-bound book given to my Great Aunt Mary in 1906.  It's a record of all the birthdays of so many of those important in Great Aunt Mary's life, and much to my surprise even included my own birthday, Feb 13, 1950 so many years after she had received the little book.  I recognize her handwriting and can still recall a picture of her in her home sitting at her writing desk.  Maybe recording another special ones birthday or preparing that card to drop in the mail to them.