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10474. iiibbb - 11/7/2012 1:14:45 AM Bummer 10475. concerned - 11/7/2012 1:33:58 AM I'm sorry to hear that about Pelle. He was one of the exceptional Mote posters. 10476. judithathome - 11/7/2012 3:13:18 AM He was the guy who taught me that things CalGal said were unimportant in the whole scheme of things...I will be forever grateful for his advice. 10477. anomie - 11/7/2012 3:29:32 AM So sorry to hear about Pelle. Thanks for the info, Judith. 10478. alistairconnor - 11/7/2012 3:33:33 AM Oh, I've lost a fried. I've often thought of him, and regretted losing touch.
I feel I'd like to write to Christina. 10479. judithathome - 11/7/2012 3:42:14 AM I have her address...send me an email and I'll send it to you... 10480. judithathome - 11/7/2012 3:43:03 AM Or contact Wabbit or Arky...I gave then her address. 10481. judithathome - 11/7/2012 3:43:55 AM then = them 10482. arkymalarky - 11/7/2012 3:44:05 AM I guess he knew when he popped in a while back. I wish we'd known what he was going through. Just so the rest of you know, I've been a part of this forum a long time and I do love you all. 10483. judithathome - 11/7/2012 3:50:18 AM I'm a little upset because I know he knew what I was going through and we could have both offered one another...if not support...at the very least a sense of comraderie...support, even anger....I just feel such a sense of loss and sadness.
Not trying to make this about me...just feeling so sad and forlorn.
A great loss...such a great loss. 10484. wabbit - 11/7/2012 3:05:17 PM I am so sorry to hear this sad news about Pelle. Judith, thank you for letting us know. 10485. PsychProf - 11/7/2012 7:33:07 PM Thanks Judith. 10486. judithathome - 11/9/2012 7:47:57 PM If anyone goes to CalGal's place, please let them know. 10487. judithathome - 11/9/2012 10:08:30 PM Breaking news: resignation letter from CIA director David Petreaus...another high ranking official who couldn't keep it in his pants.
I'm sure the Right will say it is over Benghazi but HE says it is because after 30 years of marriage, he has had an affair with another woman. 10488. Wombat - 11/12/2012 4:55:39 AM Judith,
Could you send me contact information for Pelle's wife? Arky knows how to reach me.
Whenever I reread the archived threads, I realize how great it was to have Pelle as an online friend, mentor, and collaborator. I missed him when he moved on from the Mote, and now that he's dead, I'll miss him that much more. 10489. arkymalarky - 11/12/2012 5:33:10 AM I just sent it to you. 10490. Ms. No - 11/15/2012 12:43:51 AM Oh, no. How terribly sad. I will miss the possibility of future Pelle sightings. I'll have to make a paper hat in remembrance. 10491. robertjayb - 11/15/2012 10:52:42 PM 
Elizbeth and Tammy walking the halls of power. You go girls!
A poster to Jaunita Jean's says the portrait in the background is of the pioneering Senator Margaret Chase Smith.
10492. robertjayb - 12/8/2012 7:54:36 AM Maybe this can be news and current events because today, December 7, is Pearl Harbor Day. Also because I continue to be listed as host of the thread.
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I was five. I think we heard of the attack at school. I was considered, by some, a precocious child (Whom the Gods would punish, they first make promising) and certainly had pushy parents, particularily my old man, so I was in school at that age, a year earlier than most.
Soon I noticed that my brother, then 19, and his buds from our rural dirt-farmer community were very active. My clearest memory is of watching through the screen door as my brother and pals stood around an old car engaged in earnest conversation. I thought for the longest time they were talking about a scheme I had overheard to make the car run on kerosene. Later I realized they must have been discussing which branch of the military to join.
And within a week or so they were gone. Most went to the army. A neighbor boy to the south of our farm, a brother of my best pal at the time, went to the army and was killed in Europe. He was 24.
The oldest son of the family to our north joined the Marines and was shot to pieces at either Gaudalcanal or Iwo Jima. I don't remember which. He came back and lived until 81, limping about his rural mechanic/blacksmith business. Always jovial and telling tales. Repeating often about how a fallen log separated him from an exploding grenade and certain death.
Neighbor boy to the east went to the army in Europe and as far as I know never said a word about the war. He was a fine, solid, slow-talking man who was of great help to my parents. He lived as a bachelor for many years, eventually keeping company with the widow of a cousin.
When they married he moved out of the family place in the woods and lived in her little white house by the side of the road. After their wedding a group of supposedly well-meaning neighbors conducted a shivaree. An old custom that is a raucus, teasing assault on the newlyweds home with banging pots, horns, bells and other noisemakers. I think the expectation was that the merry makers would be invited in for refreshments. The solid, stolid groom would have none of it. He was royally pissed and used words never before heard from him. Must have learned them in the army. He died at 80, a well-respected man.
(more) 10493. robertjayb - 12/8/2012 8:01:38 AM ADD1
Neighbor boy to the west went to the army and I know nothing of his experience. He came home intact to farm, raise cattle and become an admired horseman. Later he was a deputy sheriff. He died at 82.
My brother joined The Army Air Corps (became the Air force in '47) and served with the Eighth Air Force out of England. He was a tailgunner on B-17s. He never talked much and stupid me never asked questions. The exploits of the Eighth Air Force are well known. They made the first daylight raids over Germany, hit petroleum complexes, ball bearing factories and railyards. My brother received shrapnel wounds from flak and one mission a crew member wearing the brother's wristwatch was blown completely out of the aircraft, leaving a gaping hole in the fuselage that threatened to destroy the aircraft. I have seen a number of B17s and tried to imagine being trapped in that tiny aft section. It's no wonder to me he had nightmares for the rest of his life. He came home and got involved in some sort of construction business in Houston. When that didn't pan out he joined the Air National Guard and later transferred to the regular Air Force where he served until retirement. He lived alone at the family farm and reconnected with some of his boyhood friends. But he failed to take advantage of the medical treatment available to him as a retired vet. He died too young at 65. Bad heart. I carry guilt for not dragooning him into a VA or military
hospital.
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Were these ordinary country boys the greatest generation?
Was it duty, anger, adventure, or simply getting out of Dodge that motivated them to move out so unhesitatingly and serve without complaint?
Whatever, they are heroes to me and I wish I had taken the time to get to know them better.
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Do you have toys to put away?
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