I grew up with Doctor Jim in Buffalo, NY. Of course that was long before he was a doctor but his Dad was one and we hung around with him and I guess it rubbed off on one of us anyway. He and my father were good friends as was my mom and Jim’s. I used to call his mom Aunt Marion although we weren’t really related.
Doctor Jim called me on the phone this morning and we talked for 52 minutes. That’s a long time for two guys to talk but it had been a while. It was good and I got a lot of good pointers from him about things that I am up to now. You know I talk to a lot of folks these days and they are doctors or nurses or patients or people in hospice. So, he was helping me with that.
Going back in time my dad was also involved in the medical field. He was an Army medic in World War Two in the Pacific Theater. He was in four major battles till he was wounded on Okinawa. I can’t even imagine what that was like but he helped a lot of guys survive and he did himself. Dad got back to Buffalo in 1946 after his stay in the hospital and married Mom and I came along in 47.
So, Jim’s Dad and my Dad used to talk a lot about things and healing was a big topic with them whenever they got together. I guess some of that rubbed off on me. I have a feel for healing it seems in a sort of medieval way. I’m not a professional by any reach of the imagination but things come to me from the depths of my experience.
Nap time now and then a busy afternoon. Later,love, Felipe.x
Ps – I am taking a two week break from FaceBook.
Hola Amigo! I didn’t see anything from you today celebrating our mutual birthday, so Happy Birthday, Marine. And Veterans Day tomorrow. If you’re taking an hiatus from FB, you won’t see the pic of my 3 Veteran Children that I’ll proudly post tomorrow.
As I continue to read all these blogs, I get to know more and more about you and your life. Your Dad being an Army medic and making it thru 4 battles in the Pacific is enlightening stuff. I’m planning on going to see Hacksaw Ridge this weekend. I suppose you’ve read or heard about it already, but I haven’t seen you comment on it. I expect to be very moved by it. I’ve read most of the story and it’s incredible. I know it will be “Hollywood”, but the basis of his life and strength will hopefully show through. Okinawa was such a charnel house of horror and went on for so long. It was hard (more like impossible) for me to get a feel for the ferocity and tragedy of the battle during the year I spent on the island.
I’m hoping the home made corn bread is a year round staple at your house. I’ll be expecting to try it when I come knocking at your door.
SF,
PFJ
PFJ ~ I had this reply all written last evening but fell asleep while working on it and canceled it of course. So starting over in the light of dawn. I hope you don’t mind me crowning you the Godfather of Corn just as James Brown is the Godfather of Soul. Now I can’t remember where that was. Anyway, I Googled Hacksaw Ridge and found out some basic info. Doss was a fellow medic in the same regiment as my Dad on Okinawa. The ridge that they referred to was always known to me as the escarpment (Urasoe Myra) but Doss is Doss never the less.
Dad was assigned to a “Cannon Company” that was on the far right of the 77th Div line and plugged the gap between them and the 1st Marine Div. There was a Marine Div on the left and another on the right of the Army’s 77th. I remember Dad talking of the intensity of the firing to his right in the Marine’s area. Straight ahead of the 77th was the Japanese headquarters at Shuri.
So I found this timetable of Dad’s travels:
Guam, M.I. – 24 July to 8 August 1944
Leyte, P.I. – 5 December to 25 December 1944
IeShima, R.I. – 18 April to 23 April 1945 (Ernie Pyle killed 18 April with the 307th)
Okinawa, R.I. – 28 April to 21 May 1945
Yea, Happy Birthday Marine and Happy Vet’s Day too. I went to the local party last night that I started maybe thirty years ago, I forget. Good cake. I used to make all the cakes myself and I can remember a couple of really really bad ones but no one ever complained, Marines don’t complain. Felipe, Farmer type.