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Sept. 15, 2006 If I had the power to do one thing for someone outside of my home, it would be to do something huge for all Americans who served in Viet Nam. Watching the great documentary on the firemen of 911 I watched them go into that living, breathing hell, when they knew the risk. They were heros, those who lived, those who died will always be heros. The boys that went to Viet Nam grew up watching the old black and white WWI & WWII films. They saw ticker tape parades, and a country willing to sacrifice everything to support them.They went to VN with no point of reference for what they would face in the jungles, tunnels, and rivers when they stepped onto that humid wet and spongy foreign soil. Kids really,whose biggest challenge months before was finding a pair of socks for school, would find socks and keeping your feet dry would be 2nd in importance only to staying alive. So sad that if they were lucky enough to get there, home had changed too, they were not welcomed, or thanked, and that is a shame. I know that is not a popular cause celeb, and it is not going to happen, but I wish those with more imagination, and power, would find a way to right that. To honor his memory and his family's privacy, I am going to call him Chuck. I hope you will read Chuck's story He was tall and blond, broad shouldered, powerful legs, and chiseled good lucks, he also had a crooked grin that everyone remembers. He was the proverbial "Golden Boy". He grew up in the deep South, one of five boys. His life revolved around yard ball, church, little league, and football. His work ethic was astounding. He had a paper route, and mowed grass, and work always came before play. He was a peace maker, and a right maker. He didn't talk alot, but when he did, people listened. He wasn't above a fight, but it was a last choice, at least when he was younger. The Wizard of Oz was a once a year event that everyone looked forward to. I was amazed to hear that Chuck had never seen the end of the Wizard of Oz or even the colored part when Dorothy got to Oz. See they always aired that on Sunday night, and Sunday, Wizard of Oz or not, was church night. Chuck's parents were strict, in fact today some of Chucks dad's discipline would be viewed as abuse, and it probably was. He loved his boys and taught them to hunt and fish. Camping was real camping, and included snakes, alligators, gnats, and bugs. Hams were cooked underground, and eggs and bacon right after sunup. He would tell you that his life was ideal, I think it was. In the 60's speed counted, and everyone can tell you who was the fastest kid in class. In this case it was Chuck. He was always first picked, last to fall, and the first to pat the losers on the back. He had an honor code that was deep and he was never uncertain. He used all of his gifts, along with an unfair amount of charm to cruise through the early years. Rolling into high school he was already a bit of a legend. He played baseball, football, track, basketball, and thanks to the addition of wrestling his junior year, he was the first from his school to letter in five sports. He wasn't perfect. He loved girls, and they loved him right back. Even when he was little boy he had a girl in the little town his grandmother lived in and one at home. He would fight in a second over his girl, or his mother, and the boundries weren't always real clear. His best friend liked to start a fight but didn't really have the goods to finish them, Chuck would watch calmly for a while, but eventually his jaw would clench, and he would put a stop to it. "Cussing" in the south was an art. First you had to make sure your mama didn't know you did it. Second, when you did it you had to make it count. Chuck was really good at it. He had a wit that was quick but not over used. His best friend Tommy told me that one night him and the boys were camping on the sheriff's property. They decided to go into town to cruise through the local hangout. They all piled into two cars, Chucks an old Rambler, he had worked and paid for himself. Coody's was a brand new Buick that belonged to his Mama. Somehow the boys backed into each other, and when Coody jumped out to see the damage, he lost it. He ranted and raved about the new car, and how he was going to pay for it. Chuck finally pulled his long legs out of his car and walked to the back, looks at Coody's first, and then leans back on the trunk of the old Rambler as Coody gets his second wind and started again. Everybody was telling him to shut up, but he couldn't. Tommy said he saw Chuck's jaw tighten, and he said, "Coody, I tell you what I can probably go to Sears and buy you a bumper, but you tell me where in the hell am I going to find one for this sumbitch. Don't know why they all remember that, but they do. Course the bumper on the Rambler never got fixed and it died a peaceful death right before graduation. As the class of 1969 prepared for graduation Chuck was in a good place. He had set school records that stand to this day, had a beautiful girl, and most important, Chuck had been lucky enough to have to choose between a baseball, and football scholarship. He chose football and would go on a full ride. He had been voted class favorite and senior superlative. It had been so much fun. Mid summer Chuck kissed his mother, shook his dad's hand and climbed into the back of his oldest brothers car first in his family to go to college. They got there before dark and Chuck climbed out, and pulled his duffel bag out of the trunk. He looked up into the tall oaks and thought this was just about the prettiest place on earth. He grinned as he told his brother and his wife good-bye and leaned into the window to say, I think this is going to be a good time. It was, and I'm glad, and I think you will be too, when you read the rest of Chuck's story. ------------ About the author: Joy Taylor, a mom, who use to be somebody's daughter. Email: canadianmounted@hotmail.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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