Saturday, August 25, 2012

A Soldier's Heart & Little Apples

The year was 1957. A 23-year-old young man had just been called to duty, to serve his country as a soldier in the U.S. Army. As fate would have it (or particularly bad-timing) he had also just become engaged to be married to a lovely girl he felt very fortunate to have. Isn't that the way it often goes in life? A body gets torn in more than one direction, rendering a jagged split down the center of a perfectly good heart. This newly-appointed soldier found his sentiments just would not keep still. He needed to find some way to express himself while being away from the girl he loved, a way to start to heal from the inside out. What better plan than to take pen to page? And so he did. Below is a copy of a portion of a letter he wrote and forwarded to the love of his life. So touched was she, that she kept it safe for years and years to come, through a marriage, two children, four grandchildren and a happily-ever after they went on to share.



The author of this letter is my father. (Hope you don't mind my sharing a bit of it, Dad! By the by - you looked quite dashing in your uniform :) When Mom showed me this note she said, "You see? The writing thing - it runs in the family." Yes, as the saying goes, "Apple trees make little apples." The urge to write is a gene, it's part of our creative DNA. I'm so very grateful for that. Perhaps I'll  pass it on, to one of my kids. Perhaps I already have. 

6 comments:

  1. Amazing photo and letter--and you know how much I love old photos and letters--but all the more amazing because I know your parents! Your nieces have told me about your dad telling stories, and making up stories with them. I totally get the genetics, but as an adoptee, with a storyteller dad, I think, as well, they teach us to think like storytellers and writers just by listening to them and living with them and loving them.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautifully put, Liz! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. Miss you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love the photo and what a great letter! Your dad is quite the writer. I love his attitude and outlook. We can all learn from him. :)
    ~Jess

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks, Jess! He's always had a way with words as well as an amazing outlook on life.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The letter is so lyrical and very telling of the period it was written. People don't write like this anymore, we abbreviate and invent acronyms for mose anything.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yes, I agree. A lot has been lost since the onset of texting and such. Sometimes I have to remind myself to spell out the words in full!

    ReplyDelete