Brothers

Chuck & Ken  6/27/10

Chuck and I finally got together for the first time in over three years.  We met at Perkins Restaurant for brunch today.  We had a nice visit and talked a bit about old times.  I guess you could say that we both are remarkably well considering he is age 87 and I at age 89.  We plan to meet again during the Christmas holiday season,

My Dad

I was lucky in having a Good Dad. When he was with me, I had the world by the tail, lot of joy, many tender moments...... and sobbing tears at the end.

A World View

The heat and humidity we’ve had during the month of June in Florida, reminded me of this picture taken in June of 1944 at Accra, Ghana near the equator on the coast of West Africa. I’m pretty sure the heat and humidity there were higher there than here. However, at age 23, with the sea-breeze, pineapples, bananas and getting to see the world, I did not mind it. (That’s me on the left, enjoying a pineapple)

As for seeing the world; thanks to being a WWII pilot, I saw much of it. Enough to discard any notions I otherwise would have carried to the grave.

Whining

I’ve not felt very good for the past two weeks and have not been in a very good mood, either. The only thing I can blame it on is the weather. After a record cold winter in Florida, it now looks like we are going to have a record breaking hot summer. Temperatures have been near 95 for daytime highs since the first of June.... and it ain’t even officially summer yet. I suppose Mother Nature is trying to even things out, but I prefer that she do it by staying closer to the norms than the extremes.

Buddies

Photo from the front page of the Bicknell Daily News

Chuck and I have always been close buddies; especially when we were growing up. When I was about 8 years old and Chuck at age 6, dad strapped us in the front seat of a barn stormer’s biplane for our first airplane ride. We were not up very long before Chuck unbuckled our safety belt and stood up in the seat so he could see out better. Needless to say, our first airplane ride was cut short. But I think from that day forward, we both had a strong desire to be pilots when we grew up. Our goal was achieved during WWII.

Looking Forward

A tentative date (Sunday, June 27) has been set for my get-together with Chuck. We plan to meet for brunch at Perkins Restaurant near Bayonet Point. It will be just a short drive for me, but it’s not totally unfair.  Chuck will have a 60 year old chauffeur (his son) driving a new car, compared to me, an 89 year old man driving a 17 year old car :-)

Firebird

In yesterday’s post I mentioned that Kris had her own new car. This is a photo of her and the new 1970 Pontiac Firebird. A pre-highschool graduation gift from me and her mom.

A Good Year

This picture of Lomie, Kris and me was taken on our 25th wedding anniversary in 1969. It was a great time in our lives. Lomie and I happily married, Kris had her own new car and was ready to graduate from highschool with high honors, I was at the height of my career with General Electric, our mortgage was paid off, and all of us were in excellent health. Who could ask for anything more?

Chuck

My kid brother, Chuck, has started the ball rolling on a get-together. It has been 3 or 4 years, maybe longer, since we last saw each other. It’s a shame! We only live 40 miles apart, but in our old age, both of us have limited driving ability. I haven’t driven more than 10 miles from home in several years. It’s about the same with Chuck. However, he has a son that lives nearby that takes him on longer trips, occasionally. That’s partly in the plan for our getting together. He hopes his son can find time soon to drive him up this way. Hopefully, they can come about 30 miles, leaving me with only about 10 miles to drive to a meeting place.

If things develop as I hope, I’ll take a picture of us two old brothers, nearing our 90s, getting together again, more than likely for the last time, and post it to this blog.