Thursday, April 9, 2009
JUST A NOTE -----
IN CASE YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED IN SHARING A MEMORY OR ANY OF MY OTHER TOPICS, MAY I ENCOURAGE ANYONE WHO "IS INTO" CRYPTOGRAMS OR MINI-GOLF TO LET ME KNOW. IT COULDN'T HURT TO EXCHANGE A FEW VIEWS ON THOSE. I ALSO HAVE A STRONG INTEREST IN THE PESHTIGO, WISCONSIN, FIRE, AND LUDINGTON, MICHIGAN'S CEMETARY RECORDS. FURTHERMORE, I'M CURIOUS ABOUT THE NAMES SABRA AND MAHALLA (SP?) FINALLY, I'D VERY MUCH LIKE TO KNOW WHATEVER HAPPENED TO A MAN NAMED BERNARD QUICK, A GRADUATE OF BETTENDORF, IOWA H.S., 1957+/-, US ARMY VET AROUND 1960ish AND POSSIBLY STATIONED IN GERMANY? LAST HEARD FROM IN DEERFIELD, A SUBURB OF CHICAGO. REGARDS, GJ.
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Jim,
I am always a little reluctant to share memories because of the negative reactions of my children.
My wife(s), also,always cringed at the thought of my "war stories" -- even though those 'stories' have become the 'lessons' by which I live my life: worry-free and conscience-free.
EXAMPLE:
Somewhere around the age of 6-8 I was caught "hocking" (stealing) at the local dime-store. I think this was the first time I had surrendered to my 'gang' of older 'buddies' to participate in this weekly Saturday afternoon 'group activity'.
Well, I was caught by the store manager. He dragged me downstairs into the storage basement and locked me in, telling me he was going to call my Mother and call the police.
It seemed like hours that I sat there and cried-- listening to every sound, imagining it was the rats scurrying nearby.
I not only had visions of a spanking, but a 'view' of me sitting in a cell, wearing stripes-
that whole 'convict' imagery.
Yes, FEAR was imbedded in my being, but I never "stole" again-- for which I am thankful to that manager. I also discarded those 'friends' quickly.
This 'memoir' became the bulwark of my attitude toward BOTH 'tough love' and HONESTY.
It was clearly in my mind, when, 35 years later, I told a shop keeper than he had neglected to include a $25 purchase in the bill. ALL of the clothing had already been wrapped for me. The act was instinctive-- I never gave it a thought.
When I raised this example in a Humanities Class discussion about ethics, I was astonished that so many of my students thought I had been foolish.
I knew I could not alter their attitudes, but I responded, "JUST THINK, FOR A PALTRY $25 PRICE I HAVE BOUGHT A SUPERIOR ETHICAL REP THAN YOU LITTLE THIEVES."
I have had several students from that class, tell me, years later-- that this episode was etched in their psyche-- and thanked me for sharing my experience. [needless to say, NONE were my sons].
I wish I could claim some 'wisdom' for my angered response, but it was just a propitious episode--too many in my life to forget. For decades, these 'happy accidents' have warmed my 'soul' whenever I question my life's worth.
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