Ralph

       I used to go to Texarkana for the summer on the train by myself. It was a rare experience for a 10 yr old to travel alone.  My Uncle Ralph and Aunt Ginger made me feel welcome. Ralph would take me along to work delivering products to the various pharmacies of the region.  He'd sell things like nail clippers, combs and other grooming items. He would wake us up by singing songs such as Winchester Cathedral using a megaphone of rolled up papers. I played many pranks on him like serving rubber eggs for breakfast and phony poop jokes as well as putting itching powder in his sheets. 

      For my birthday he gave me a book about cowboys of the Old West. This was the best book I ever got from anyone. I wanted to be a cowboy. In fact, there is a picture of me at the age of 5 all dressed out as a cowboy which was typical of families of that era. I took it seriously though. Ralph was the best at many things. He is a faithful Christian and was interested in saving my soul.  My soul needed no saving though.  I am an excellent swimmer.  God had other plans for me.
    I always asked to stay at a motel with a swimming pool when we were on the road. I wanted to be good at something physical. Swimming was my choice.  I got to see much of the region and delighted in the annual trip to Lake Texarkana. Texarkana is on the border of three states Texas , Arkansas and Louisiana. Thus the name.
        Ralph was at the battle of Midway in the Pacific along with Uncle Kermit who was killed in a road accident. He never talks of that Battle, hoping to finally erase the horrors of that day.  My Uncle Ralph died this year on the 23rd of December 2015.  He died in his sleep which is the very best way to leave things.  Quietly he goes...
    My other Uncle is Fred. He is the Purple Heart recipient and Silver Star winner who was shot through the hand in the exact same spot his Uncle was shot at the Battle of Shiloh. They put him ashore in the Philippines and told to deliver orders.They sent him off in the wrong direction straight into a Japanese encampment. He killed three Japanese with his carbine he carried on the dash of the jeep . He was shot through the wrist but managed to return to the ship.
   It seems to be a generational thing to be injured in the hand since my injury is similar to theirs.  It's sort of a record for three generations to have hand injuries to the same hand. Nothing to be proud of though.