June 29, 2018
“Sorry for the delay. Lots going on.”
“Yeah, I been wondering about you. So, let’s have it”
“OK, I hardly know where to begin. So, I’ll start where I left off.
Did another Uber thing with Anne. Went well. I think I got it. Another lunch with Nan, Bob, Dick, Joan, and Jim. Always nice to talk about old times.
Big Birthday doings. Steve, Anne, and I went to Patty’s on the 28th of May. That was the official Memorial Day this year, so we also gave a nod to my 93rd. The month of June flew by, with a lot of storytelling and writing at both the Osher and the Veteran’s Writing program. I took Steve and Phil Ber
k t the new GCADA Summer show in Canandaigua, where I saw most of our friends, but the whole scene has changed.
Lots of far-away dealers now as the Association has morphed into the only good Rochester place to have an Antiques show. The old timers like Jim McAvinney and Steve Allman no longer able to sustain or sponsor shows. The whole scene has changed. I miss some of the “junk” dealers like Bernie and Rena, and Louise Creatura. The Canandaigua show was more like the shows we did in the big cities like Boston, New York, Miami, Etc. High quality, but, to me boring. Steve McAlpin bought a splendid early articulated rocker from Gene Pratt. Gave Steve a decent price.
My most significant accomplishments this time happened in the Spiritual realm. First, Patty and Jim and Steve treated me to the best Father’s Day I ever had. They took Annie and me to Mr. Dominic’s in Fairport – a new restaurant owned by the same Mr. Dominic’s we used to go to on Lake Avenue when we lived at Lighthouse Beach. The food was good – a bit pricey, but excellent. What happened there is where the Spiritual part comes in. I cannot get over it. It is changing my life. Let me start by sharing a picture that now hangs in the den where we used to watch television. That room ha
s had a transformation to a pictorial storyboard. This one has a lot to say about me since you left.
Steve McAlpin commissioned an artist to show Arnold and me swapping stories with a 13th Armored Division tank in the background. He and Patty placed it on the wall at a place reserved for us. I had no clue, even after Patty tried her best to get me to look up on the wall where it was placed. They finally had to tell me. Such a surprise! Such a Gift! A gift of Love. That’s the only way I can describe it. I am attaching portions of a letter I sent to Nancy Damon. One of two daughters of Arnold Mathias, I met with him five years ago, about six months after you departed. It partly explains the events that occurred since.
Arnold left on April 27th of this year to go where you are. Do me a favor, go and introduce yourself to him. You two will have lots of stories to tell. It is my aim and hope to get there when my time comes to join you both and share our family experiences together.in a place of peace. Here is the picture:
Arnold and I are swapping stories in front of a 13th Armored Division Tank, with a 13th Armored Division patch above it. Here are parts of the letter:
“We know you were right there with us in spirit.”
So, wrote Nancy Damon in a short note to me concerning Arnold’s memorial celebration.
Yes, I was there in spirit and it is spirit that I thank Nancy for enclosing with that note, the testimonials to Arnold’s life at his memorial service on June 2, 2018. I should like to add mine in this writing. Writing is an exercise in spirit, as are gymnastics, exercise to the body.
Spirit is our permanent connection. Arnold lives on in that connection. How fortunate was I to have experienced for the past five years a significant connection to Arnold and Nancy, Menda, and Deanna. A family who came to my rescue when I lost my most precious partner of 62 years.
Arnold and his family rescued me from my deep loneliness the very moment I met them. A “Damyankee” became a family member again. A whole new bag of support was opened and shared. Missing parts were replaced. Healing was starting. I found a long-lost brother. A brother with whom I could connect with the support of actions that saved ne, and to whom my actions would in some way reflect the same service. The very next night, after my welcome, Arnold and I began to share our stories of support. Arnold and his brother Tankers were high on my list of thanks. I knew, as an Infantry soldier how Tankers saved our asses.
Suffice to say I was blown away by all this, and am all the more inspired to pass along our conversations with the strong belief that we are still together in Spirit, and that keeping up these conversations is what cements the whole process.
I’ll have a ton more of stuff to tell next time.
I promise not to take too long…”