Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Irish Twins

Hey All,         Many have heard of Irish Twins..................it refers to two children born with a short span between their births.  Tommy and I are like this at 13 months apart.........................I am the older one.  It is written that "a friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity".....................God knows what you need and when you'll need it.
      Tommy and I did so much together as children and young adults.  As kids, we rode our bicycles where ever we wanted to go.  It may have been to the Park at Hatboro Pool or Eaton Park across the road from it.  We fished and swam in the deep holes in the creek or caught minnows to go fishing...........................sometimes with our Dad, but usually on our own.  One of us would hold the net and the other would run through the creek to try and scare the minnows into the net.....................in our sneakers,  the only pair of shoes we had.  We walked those same creeks in the fall and winter trapping for muskrats and raccoon in those same sneakers...................we made up a song and sang it on the way home to try and take our minds off our frozen feet.   We got up early, around 430 to 5AM  to check and pull our traps before school.....................and when darkness fell, we did it again. 
     We both had paper routes for the Daily Intelligencer and when one of us got sick ............the other delivered newspapers on two routes.  When we were old enough to hunt, Tom and I went every chance we could.  At a very young age,  Tommy and I played together, as teenagers and well into adulthood.  We lived at 16 Norwyn Road in Hatboro.  We had endured so much together and as individuals.  Many times we went hungry and didn't have much clothing to wear.  Dad was usually not around and we often were left to make out for ourselves.  Nobody made sure you brushed your teeth, took a shower, had eaten or did your homework.  We went out early in the mornings and stayed out as late as we wanted...................we were on our own.  I guess we raised ourselves for the most part as far as "homelife" was concerned.....................................or maybe we raised each other.  Without my "brother born for adversity", I couldn't have survived those days.  He was the only person I could depend on,  someone that knew what living in that house was really like. He shared my hunger, embarrassment and pains. Maybe we were so close because of those things..........................who else could understand your circumstances better than your "twin".
      I have so many memories from my life and although the pain I feel from some of them haunts me still...................the warmth and love of many others brings tears to my eyes when I go back in time.  Tommy has turned out to be the smartest and most successful of our litter.  Although he has had to endure many of the hardships that befall all of us, he was still  there when I  needed him.  He opened his house for 4 years to me when I worked for CBSD.  From feeding me to financial aid......................he always stepped forward.   He hasn't changed much in 50 years.
     There is no way for me to express how grateful I am for Tommy.  He is not perfect.................but his attributes far outweigh any faults he may have.  I Love You, Thomas..................I couldn't have made it without you.
        Until the Next Time........................................God Bless.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Track Star

Hey All,   I know that many of us participated in athletics in school.  In our home that was another thing that was not permitted............we could get hurt and we had no insurance.  I had asked Mom............Dad was on the road as usual.
      I frequently walked or ran home from school if the weather was nice.  I would make it running almost as fast the bus route would take.  Mr Wood was a coach and had asked me if I would like to participate in Track or Cross Country.   Of course I knew that I wouldn't be allowed to.....................just as I was denied permission to play football. 
      I was a senior and would walk the long hallway along the parking lot on my way out of the building to run home.  If it was too cold or bad weather, members of Track or XCountry could be seen running the halls after school let out....................this led to my introduction to the Track Star.  I would walk along the wall and he would clip me from behind with his shoulder as he ran by, but never said a word or stopped.  I usually was lost in thought and at first just thought it was accidental......................I'm a slow learner.   After this occurred a few times,  I finally got a good look at this guy and then paid better attention so as not to be caught off guard again, except from behind.     I still didn't know who he was.  It turned out that we shared a lunch period together and I inquired with a few friends to discover his identity. Mark was junior, someone I had never noticed, talked to or interacted in any way...........a complete stranger.
      I would glance around the lunch room and find Mark staring at me.  I tried to understand what I had done to this guy to attract his unwanted attention...............I had enough trouble to deal with when I got home everyday.   Once he realized that I recognized him as the Track Star, he became openly hostile and aggressive with threatening comments.  I tried to go about my business and ignore him.......................but he wasn't going to let that happen.  He was physically more muscular than I was at the time and  maybe he had something to prove.
      I stood at the corner outside of the library after the last bell rang.  I was going fishing with my friend Joe this afternoon as it was a gorgeous day.   We agreed to meet here and take off to our spot and I tried to look through the crowd for Joe.........................when I heard my name called.  Before I could turn in the the direction from which the voice spoke.....................a hard blow landed on my jaw from my left.  It took me a few seconds to recover and when I did, there was Mark, his fists clenched, dancing like he was "Rocky" and challenging me to fight.  Mt temper flared and all I felt was rage..................I followed him  into the   near empty library and I was very close to making a bad decision.  I was able to get control of myself and then shouted at him.......................I told him he was a coward.  That he felt safe hitting me from behind, when I was looking the other way, always the "sucker punch" with this guy.  Instead of fighting him, I told him I was going to the front office.  His punch had caused a chipped tooth and as I have said, we had no insurance. My tooth is still chipped, but the following conversations with the principal ended Marks' obsession for me.
     Graduation came and went as did Arny basic training.  I went back to visit the ladies of the high school library that very next year.........................as fate would have it, Mark was in the library.  He seemed nervous and spoke to me about my military training, particularly hand to hand combat training.  I suddenly realized that he was afraid.  He was no longer bigger than I was and I had military training..............he thought I was going to come after him. Suddenly, I felt sorry for him.................for I was well versed in fear.   I informed him that I had no interest in him and that I had nothing to prove, to him or anybody else.  I told him that he was wrong for his what he had done...................... that he was just a bully, a real man meets another one, face to face.  The relief could be read on his face and heard in his voice.............................he even apologized.
     Why me?   Was it the color of my eyes or the way I walked?   Something had drawn attention to make me a target.  What about me says,  "I'm vulnerable"?   How can I change this?  How do I protect myself?  What's wrong with me?   That's quite a few questions and the answer is the same for all of them.  Nothing.  The problem is not you.  It's not something about you or because of you.....................it's something inside the bully.  What  makes a person enjoy hurting others for sport?   I wonder who hurt them. What causes them to be so insecure that they have this unfulfilled need to prove to themselves that they are some how better than someone else............by embarrassment, ridicule and physical harm?  Those answers are as individual as the bully.
      Just because you have authority, money or a physically stronger presence.......................doesn't give you the right to use it as a weapon on another human being.  If anything,  it's the other way around.  You should have the strength of morality and character to use your assets to lift those up who have fallen and need a hand..........................or a kind word.  It won't hurt....................I promise.
        Until the next time.....................................God Bless.

Friday, May 4, 2012

Now What?

Hey All,  I think all of us have had moments of decision when we have that little nagging feeling...............some may call it instinct, a gut feeling or maybe your subconscious.  Whatever it is....................I've always been sorry when I didn't heed the message.
     Korea.  When stationed overseas.............military personnel are issued a RCP Card.  It looks just like a credit card and is used to track specific purchases.  Depending on marital status and family size, each soldier is allowed to spend just so much money and buy only so much liquor, beer, cigarettes etc.  These items along with many others were in high demand on the black market and people could easily supplement their monthly income by purchasing and selling what they didn't use or spend on themselves personally. Spouses get a card too.
     I was a SGT/E5 by this time with a Korean wife and a son.  We were allotted more than enough to cover our family needs for things purchased in the Commissary and PX.  I was informed to report to the 1st Sgt at company HQ at 1000 Hrs.  I wasn't informed as to the nature of this order but, being a dutiful soldier.........I obeyed.   I arrived with plenty of time and when the 1st SGT finally had time for me.................he told me I was overdrawn by dollar amount on my RCP account.  He had all the signed slips....................in the "old days"  they put your card in a slide type machine with a paper over it.  I sat with him and examined all the slips...................I had only signed 2 of them, my spouse at the time............ all the rest.  Sure enough we were over the limit.  I then had to see the "Old Man", the Commanding Officer. He explained that I could be punished under the Uniform Code of Military Justice -UCMJ, which was entirely up to his discretion.  He sent me home to talk this problem over with my wife and I was to report back to him after lunch.
     When I got home my wife was very surprised to see me.  When I explained why I was home...................she was even more surprised.  She went to a drawer and pulled out a cigar box with RCP slips in it and added everything up with a calculator and added it again to be sure......................we hadn't overspent by her tally. She insisted that they had made a mistake as she was very "careful" to keep track what she bought.  I went over to the open drawer and looked inside...................I then pulled out a slip that apparently was under the cigar box................this changed everything.  I was curious to just what we had purchased that cost so much money..........................since we were out of rations allotment, but, not out of month.  She had been black marketing and now my career was in jeopardy.................... just shoot me now,  please.    I then asked how long she was doing this and just where was all that money she made. She claimed to have had been at it awhile and sent the money to her family back home..........................the same family, I had never met.    Did they even exist?  She advised me to tell the CO that we had a big party and had overspent, but would be more careful in the future,  She wanted me to lie for her and cover up her illegal activity..................................as I walked back to post, I had this nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach that wouldn't quit.
       I officially reported to the Old Man and he asked for my explanation.............................."Sir. I'm not going to insult your intelligence.  I have only signed 2 of those slips.  My wife has been black marketing her ass off.", I said.   There was a long  pause as he regarded me with his hands folded in front of his mouth.  His reply gave me hope in all the virtues that I had been taught  He leaned back in his chair and said "Sgt Scarborough, if you had come in here with some bullshit story about having a big party................I would have had you Court Martialed and busted back to a Private.  Get your house in order and don't let this happen again. Dismissed." I sharply saluted, did a quick about face and walked outside HQ...................I stood there, considering what had just happened,.  Grandmom Scarborough was right........................"nobody likes a liar"................honesty really was best policy.
     We had a long talk at my house that afternoon and we had come to an understanding.  I felt like I had a daughter instead of a wife and she insisted she was being treated as a child. My career was on the line and I wouldn't accept another mistake on this subject..................it was my name she would ruin.
      A few months went by and I received a phone call from the front gate...................my spouse.  She informed me "we" had a problem.  She had over purchased cocoa, a controlled item like cigarettes and had found her error too late.   I asked when this happened.  As it was only a couple of days, I instructed her to go back to where ever she disposed of it and get it back, then, do a return merchandise at the Commissary.  Immediately!  It worked...................... no violation was recorded.  She wasn't very pleased after I took her RCP card away though.  From then on I would to do the shopping..................small price.
   I wish that was" the end" of my marital problems.   I was the Titanic and had only seen the tip of this berg................................. just a part of my continuing education.  Life is  learning, loving and learning how to love others.  Sometimes.....................it's learning how to love yourself, even though you've made mistakes....................................and sometimes it seems that it is easier to forgive others.........than yourself.
       Until next time.............................................God Bless.