Fading History

Hi Gale and Paul,

Trista and I saw a story this morning on the Today show with Buz Aldrin and the first landing on the moon and I was telling her that Dad had actually worked on the legs of that lander at Newbrook. She wasn't aware of it.

I told her that there was a picture of him in the paper regarding this, but we aren't sure where it might possibly be. Would either of you have any knowledge of it?

I haven't had the chance to look through all our albums, but thought you guys might be able to save me some time! Would love to have Trista see it.

Thanks!

Love,

Allan

Allan and Gale,

Hello!

I didn't know he worked on the lander. I remember him talking about working on the camera mounts for the first unmanned moon shot and the retro-rockets that brought John Glen down. I remember photos of him as part of a group in front of some rocket nose cones but not the photo that you're trying to find. If you locate it, please take a digital photo of it and send me a copy.

Let's plan a get-together for the six of us next January or so. Perhaps in some place warm.

Thanks.

Paul

When my father died my mother insisted I take his photo in the casket. It may sound morbid but it's part of our culture. There are similar black and white photos from decades ago; photos of people I never knew or was too young to remember. I used to think there was something overly sentimental about this tradition and didn't like it.

I used to feel that way but.... I don't have a photo of my mother in her casket. I thought of it at the time. Now I regret it slightly.

After my father died in the spring my mother came for a month-long visit the following winter. It was the best time we ever shared. She laughed and told stories of things I had never heard. Like the story of how she hid her clothes in the woods in preparation for eloping with my father. It was during this visit that she mentioned my father being in South America during WWII. He never spoke of that. I heard tales of the South Pacific, India and the Himalayas but not South America. But it makes sense. Early in the war bombers were ferried to South America then to Africa and to England. It's not important really but....

Someday I'm going to write my personal history to include the good and the bad. I'm going to label photos which my mother mysteriously refused to do. If, after I'm a memory, anyone is interested then there will be something to answer some of those family questions whose answers are fading into history.

I wonder why we humans need and want a personal history.