tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9094742788006644220.post2200697967438280601..comments2009-03-26T18:33:10.049-07:00Mike Brownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9094742788006644220.post-34714666416285213112009-03-26T18:33:00.000-07:002009-03-26T18:33:00.000-07:00This is beautiful! I will have to show it to my children.Ilya2http://www.blogger.com/profile/07018957034723367050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9094742788006644220.post-83147229066947704572009-03-20T09:55:00.000-07:002009-03-20T09:55:00.000-07:00&quot;Well, my Daddy left home when I was three (Johnny Cash)&quot;...actually it was before my second birthday. I have no memory of my natural father from childhood. My older brother arranged a meeting with him and my half-sisters as an adult and quite frankly, it was a bit strained.<BR/><BR/>My grandfather was furious over the breakup and ordered her to &quot;marry the first GI that came along&quot;. Since I was too young to understand, that GI became &quot;Daddy&quot;. Remarrying outside the religion was a violation of the laws of the Catholic Church, so they excommunicated her. It wasn&#39;t until much, much later that I found out how devasted she was to be separated from her background.<BR/><BR/>Dad was assigned to the Military Advisory and Assistance Group in Taiwan. This was a diplomatic post and he did well and was promoted. I think it had to do with the International Incident and his handling of it. We had a dog, Skippy, so named because he was the color of Skippy Peanut Butter. Skippy got out one day and the Chinese ate him.<BR/><BR/>We went back to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. One day I found a fossil, a common sea animal called a brachiopod. It was an excellent specimen. I showed it to Mom and waxed all enthusiastic, but Mom was shocked when I said that this showed the Earth must be very old and so the Bible must be incorrect. I was about 10 years old at the time. Later that year Dad was assigned to White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.<BR/><BR/>There was a huge difference between WSMR and the Apollo Program, namely that President Kennedy decreed that the moon show would be transparent and all details would be made public, whereas WSMR was cloaked in the deepest secrecy. The President visited WSMR on Armed Forces Day. I was hoping he would speak of the Space Program but the speech was a tribute to the military. WWII was still fresh in people&#39;s minds. It was a different era. <BR/><BR/>As a dependent of an enlisted man I was way, way back in the crowd, too far to make out any details of the President&#39;s face. By this time Dad had made Sergeant Major, the highest enlisted rank. In fact, he made Command Sergeant Major but I don&#39;t remember if he held the rotating post during the President&#39;s visit. He was in charge of the hospital and the military police, and the latter were charged with keeping the National Secrets secret.<BR/><BR/>Being a kid and, like most humans, enjoying fireworks displays, I thought the rocket launches were Neato. I watched a Redstone go up one day. The flame started at the base in silence and the rocket rose, then when it was a considerable distance in the air, this incredibly loud, deep bass noise shook everything down into my bones. Far away, a cloud developed in front of the missile and formed a ring, and the missile flew though the ring and was gone. The incredible sound continued for quite some time after the Redstone disappeared.<BR/><BR/>Mom didn&#39;t look like she thought it was Neato. Later she described a piece of her personal history that told me why. April 16, 1947 (before I was born) seemed like such a quiet morning in Texas City. Mom was working at the local hospital. She didn&#39;t hear the incredibly loud sound because it was infrasonic, &gt;20 Hz. Suddenly a huge mob of horribly burned people flooded the hospital. There were nowhere near enough medical personnel to handle this, they kept coming and coming, the ambulances were overwhelmed and people kept arriving in cars, busses, some on foot, there were not enough beds so they were laid out on the floors in the hallways. <BR/><BR/>For nearly two sleepless days and nights Mom, fresh out of nursing school, was assigned the horrifying responsibility of triage. Some would die no matter what kind of treatment they got, so they didn&#39;t get treatment. Some would live even if they weren&#39;t treated, so they got no treatment. Those in between got treatment. She kept working through exhaustion, finally one of the doctors who had arrived from all over the nation ordered her to go home and get some sleep. Not an easy task...<BR/><BR/>2.3 kilotons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer had exploded in a ship in the harbor. It was one of the worst industrial accidents in the history of the United States. 581 people were killed.<BR/><BR/>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_disaster<BR/><BR/>The marriage fell apart just before I entered high school. Upon graduation, imbued with the Honor of Patriotic Duty, and more importantly realizing that Mom could not put both me and my brother through college at the same time, I joined the Army. I wound up in artillery. Mom was horrified, but she hadn&#39;t yet told me about Texas City.<BR/><BR/>While I was away, Mom married a Catholic man, which made her very happy. She kept remarking how much I had &quot;changed&quot;, but believe me, my changes were not nearly as radical as hers. Our relationship became dysfunctional. I didn&#39;t want to become a Catholic and this disappointed her no end. I didn&#39;t want to interfere with her happiness so I kept my mouth shut.<BR/><BR/>Rodger, I rode a motorcycle during my teenage years, thanks for the fond memories.<BR/><BR/>Mike, it gave me that warm fuzzy feeling to read about a functional family. I wish that had happened for me. Thank you. :)<BR/><BR/>-Mike Emmertmikeemmerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06086633057200198850noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9094742788006644220.post-66285852735465512522009-03-17T11:25:00.000-07:002009-03-17T11:25:00.000-07:00Energy: neither created nor destroyed...he knows! I am new to this blog, don't wish to step into anything too personal, but there is great beauty in what has been shared here. I thank you for the information - I thank you for the beauty.ShadWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9094742788006644220.post-3744510671858762832009-03-17T09:08:00.000-07:002009-03-17T09:08:00.000-07:00Very well written Mike. My father passed away in March 2008, and it is always good to put things in perspective.<BR/>-- KevinKevin Heidernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9094742788006644220.post-73093479383981503122009-03-16T20:15:00.000-07:002009-03-16T20:15:00.000-07:00I'll never forget your father welding the rear wheel of my motorcycle back together--he could things that seemed like magic to us kids. My father was an attorney for NASA, but I've always thought that sending a man to the moon, to be part of that team in any capacity, must've been the greatest job in the world. It's pretty obvious that your dad instilled that same sense of reckless wonder into the whole family...just wish it could have worn off more on us neighborhood kids! :)<BR/><BR/>Glad to have found your blog and I look forward to reading more.<BR/> <BR/> --Rodger LingRodgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01588242385936341466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9094742788006644220.post-38920109310659928762009-03-16T08:36:00.000-07:002009-03-16T08:36:00.000-07:00Thank you for this very touching post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com