There is a reason my house is such a mess. In preparation for hosting the brick swap, I had the Tuscaloosa tourism director over to iron out some details last November. She raved over the upstairs living area of my house and explained how I could clean up game day weekends renting that area out. After giving the matter much thought I realized I could easily cover the taxes and house insurance in one football season. That space has just been collecting dust so I have been cleaning out boxes that have been packed since I moved my belongings here in 1996. I kill so much time getting lost in the family stuff I have packed away. There are boxes of letters I have I'm afraid to open for the time I will spend..
Here is a fast picture taken before starting this entry showing what I'm up against!
This paper was not a standard size so some overlap occurred. I went through and blanked out the repeated text which makes reading much easier.
Here is a fast picture taken before starting this entry showing what I'm up against!
These past few weeks have seen me listing things on E-bay to move out. At this point in time the money is really secondary. It makes me glad to know this stuff will be appreciated.
One project I have been mulling over is a journal entry on mom and dad’s courtship and marriage before shipping overseas during WWII. That project got put on hold. Going through old suitcases this morning I discovered papers describing the troop trains my dad manned in the early days of the war.
This copy I have looks to be the original typed copy. I don’t know if this was ever published or run off as a stencil.
My dad seldom talked of his experiences during the war. Like so many men of his generation, he was tight lipped on his personal experiences. To read about what his life was like in 1944 brings him back to life to me.
It is times like this I’m in such awe of present day technology. I know for kids who have grown up with computers, what still impresses me so much is mundane and routine to them. It is mind boggling to me to be able to scan papers from 1944 and upload them to a website and then share with people from the all over the world.
Dad died in 1985. I don’t think he would mind me sharing his life this way. He loved meeting people. He never met a stranger. I also like to think that in sharing this information a better understanding of the war can be had. It is through the everyday people a greater sense of history can be learned.
My Dad:
