Category Archives: Things

Spoiler: Not a dead kitten!

Things

Last Thursday in preparation for a friend stopping by for a glass of wine before we headed off to a neighborhood concert I tidied up the SSR [Supplemental Seasonal Refrigerator] (aka our screened porch). One of the tasks was to drag the fancy log and tinder boxes (aka wheeled trash cans) to their proper places (aka the trash area). As I walked past the stack of firewood I glanced down and noticed something furry, face-down in the ivy.

Kitten

After depositing the trash can in the trash area I went back and examined the furry thing more closely.

Oh My God, I thought (taking the Lord’s name in vain), it’s a dead kitten. A kitten was in our yard and DIED. We could have taken it in and had a new kitten!

I picked up a stick to turn the dead kitten over (why? I have no idea — I had not even started on the wine yet) and as I got closer I thought that it might not be a dead kitten after all. Perhaps a dead baby rabbit (better) or maybe a dead rat (even better. Sort of.).

It was hard to turn the dead kitten over with the small stick, but I persevered and that’s when I saw the tag. It was a stuffed animal. Not a kitten. Or rabbit. Or rat. Actually I think it was a wolf.

It had lain in the ivy for so many years that the ivy had grown in through its “mouth” and the face-down half was pretty much gone. I am sure it belonged to one of my kids though because the tag has a web site address on it.

Letters from Johnnie: Letter Five — the last one

Things, , , , ,

Final letter from Johnnie (as far as I know – there may have been more that were lost). I don’t know if Mom ever wrote back to him after this. After we looked at some of them together all she said was, “Maybe he took one look at me and said, ‘She’s just a kid!'”

I have a different theory. I think Mom had begun writing to Dad* by now and saw his photo and fell in love. Dad was a handsome young man. Perhaps they’d met and she abandoned writing to Johnnie.

Poor Johnnie.

So many mysteries. Maybe the great and powerful Internet can solve some. Wouldn’t it be fun if he ended up settling in Bethesda? I hope he followed his dreams.

I’m going to miss Johnnie — and wonder what Mom’s life would have been like with him instead of my father. Of course I am glad she met and married my dad because if she hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here. And also, he was a great guy.

8 March ‘52

Dear Pat,

It’s true, I have moved around an awful lot, and from the looks of things I’ll be moving for a year longer. The government seems to be on the verge of extending my enlistment for another year. That means I’ll be wearing a hash mark and good conduct medal. I’ll get some laboratory schooling on the East coast out of it.

The days are passing but not fast enough. Only 25 days to go and I’ll be on my way home. One other corpsman and I are the only ones from the KMC’s going home and we are happy.
For three days it has been cold – and we were told by the Koreans that winter is over. Well, at least it isn’t forty below now.

Had to get a new issue of clothes today – my old ones were too small. I just turned 21 and am still growing. Happy am I.

It’s pretty late now Pat and I’m really tired. They kept me busy all last night so I’m turning in early tonight. Best regards to the folks and write again soon.

Johnnie

*The story goes that my mom’s parents were friends of my dad’s sister and brother-in-law and my dad’s sister and brother-in-law asked if Mom would like to write to Dad. She did and he wrote back (mom has a large scrapbook full of his letters) and the rest is history.