Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Uncles/Aunts (04/17/08)
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TITLE: Remembrance | Previous Challenge Entry
By Thomas Kappel
04/21/08 -
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ADD TO MY FAVORITES
in Minnesota
where my father and his brothers
were raised
No indoor plumbing
outhouses and chamber pots
hand and arm worked water pump
at the kitchen sink and out in the yard
They talked, read, and listened to the radio
to bed early, to rise before the sun, to step
outside at first light and to work until last light
and when it was good it was really really good
and when it was bad it was really really bad
and good wasn’t often enough and often
just too darn hard
No wonder they moved to the city
to manufacturing jobs and 8 to 5 work
until be big war—WWII—then to the war
I visited the home once
in Detroit
where my mother and her brothers and sisters
were raised
indoor plumbing
bathrooms and bath tubs
running water by turning a handle
at the kitchen sink and out in the yard
They talked, read, and listened to the radio
to bed early, to rise before the sun, to step
outside at first light and to work in the factories
often until last light
and it was hard work, really really hard
with tough conditions and hard men
and bosses and unions
often just too darn hard
until be big war—WWII—then to the war
They were changed by that war
all of them—men and women
they talked about it
the before and after
and I listened
I was a young boy when I first met them all
My uncles and their wives
My aunts and their husbands
war veteran men and Rosie-the-riveter women
They got together and partied a lot
they were a hard drinking, hard smoking
fun loving, laughing a lot
family
Some had permanent war wounds
some had factory wounds
all had lived hard lives
all believed in God
They were a different generation
far removed in thought
and life’s experiences
they thought different
but all wanted and sacrificed for
one thing
to make the world and life
a better place
for their children
and they did
Now it is up to us
our generation
of
aunts and uncles
to strive and pray
to sacrifice and work
to do the same
They showed us how
by their fine example
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Laury
Thank you for sharing this authentic step back into the past. I enjoyed it. :)