…at the Roycroft Inn in East Aurora, I saw her slowly shuffling our direction. It took several minutes before she finally arrived at our table and announced “This is where they put the celebrities.” “What are you people famous for?”
That initiated the introductions and conversations. She worked each one of us over, in turn. She remembered the context for each as she asked questions about how we were doing, while regaling us with stories from a previous age. She told us about the historic hotel we were in. She had been here her entire life and remembered plenty. Judy complimented her on her dress. She was not dressed simply; it was a regal affair of layers. She replied that she was wearing “memories”. A pleasant interlude in our conversations at dinner.
Rock and I were on the same boat to Okinawa in 1964; the USS Breckenridge. That trip took three weeks. We spent a year there together in the 173rd Airborne Brigade. We went to Vietnam together when our unit was transferred there. I came home after an additional year. He stayed on.
We’ve kept in touch (with a little help from the women in our lives). We’ve only seen each other a few times in the last 50 years, but each time we do, it’s like we’re just picking up from some conversation the day before.
But the visit with Rock and Ginny is done. Tomorrow we head for Pennsylvania; a new state and a visit with Cousin Ed.
No comments:
Post a Comment