War & Johnny Carson's Shirt Size
I was going to tell my happy husband and Handsome Prince when we retired - a huge list of neat things women "keep in their hearts". Fun things to share when we were white-haired and satisfied, enjoying the view from the porch in our rocking chairs: like why I watched "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson long past the time one does. Can't do that now. He died before retirement. And so I must share it with you:
a true story from the 1960's dedicated to deployed military and their loved ones at home.
I was going to tell my happy husband and Handsome Prince "when we're old" - a huge list of neat things couples "keep in their hearts". My handsome Prince got home from war just fine and to a fine successful life in work and love and fatherhood, but I'll never get to tell him these things I saved. He died suddenly one morning, well before retirement age. But I can share it with you:
He was an officer, with USACEngineers, Black Diamonds special ops - showing Army Engineers how to NOT to use the horribly carcinogenic Agent Orange to clear foliage. Just graduated with a degree in Chemistry, a healer - He loathed all Chemical Warfare. He enlisted before his draft notice arrived in July, because, if he did so, he was promised that he could choose his job.
It was worthy , but it was war.
The news shared a list of horrifying new war words daily, with "body bag" at the top! I'd blanche and take a chair. No Norman Rockwell and John Wayne easy patriotism - no. Unable to sleep, the popular "Heeerrre's Johnnny!" called my attention and tried to not be "one tough audience" to get a laugh from - though things for us were grim.
Replying to audience comments and questions, he told us his shirt size ! What a guy won't say, to get a laugh! But if you are Johhnnnnny, you can say ANYthing and bring down the house - even his shirt size won the moment. OK, funny!
But NOT for me; Hypersensitive from love and fear, the mention of "fourteen-and-a-half / thirty-two" made me jump up - Though my husband was taller, the shirt size was the same. And suddenly for a moment I smiled in happy peace , remembering the first time I bought him a shirt, the first time I pressed one up for him for a fete, and the first time I trashed a worn out one that he loved secretly and replaced it with a spotless twin. Oh dear, I WAS missing him so much!
It was 1968 - there was no media - no internet - no SKYPE - no email - nothing to bring reassuring live images of my deployed husband. There was Silence, and often lost or delayed mail. Food and other goodies I'd send were raided and never reached him.
I praised our baby, whose health made me NOT hold onto stress that would upset the infant in my arms. Being a good mommy meant NOT hugging our son tighter than I should over it.
But the silly moment worked and after that night, I'd watch Johnny Carson and fix on that shirt size, over and over - for the power of a factoid to generate connectivity. It worked, somehow, till my husband's tour was done. It was a way of poking fun at my own fears.
My late husband's homecoming from war remains the happiest day of my life - surpassing our wedding, our children's births, and even my art at the White House. Till then Death was there constantly taunting me with promises to destroy all the work and love of my own birth and development to make a fine adult life. Fear taunting constantly, no matter how cool and good and brave and busy I could be.
But, NO - you won't win this one....LIFE this time. My Lieutenant USACE Black Diamonds - some months later, walked through that door at LaGuardia - HOME - "all ten fingers, all ten toes", and the love better than ever for the test!
No Johnny Carson story for him - NOT that day. Time - the gift of time was ours - no rush. My husband had plenty of stories, as well, but one look at one another and we exulted : "We'll talk about it when we're old! We're not gonna have a problem ." And we didn't! Boundlessly grateful there was no PTS for us! Life - we won our right to a good life - with a down-payment on the mortgage for it.
Even years later, with our babies half grown and softly sleeping in the next room , curled up safe and sound, "watching Carson" with my husband - I'd sometimes remember the time of his deployment and that night when I was saved by "Johnny Carson's shirt size" on tv; and I'd feel "moreso" blessed for a moment, by comparison to those late nights alone, with nothing but a fixation on a "shirtsize-in-common" to help me hold onto my mind. Grateful praise !
Even widowed, years later I am fine and thriving for the goodness of the many years we made and enjoyed so well!
To all who serve and to all who love them, l send a good wish and a prayer that the Angels send at least a helpful bit of silliness, like "Johnny Carson's Shirt Size" to help any who need one.
Labor Day 1953
True Labor Day Story
Note: featuring the happy stories about Mother for the next few days - this is her week - she passed in her sleep before Monday morning12/11/17, at just shy of 92....she is free to be our angel always. I love you, Mother!
Life was very very good for the Smith Clan of Fairfield after WWII - all the sons who served, home and decorated for their heroism for Army Engineers in the Battle of the Bulge, Army Communications, Marines, Army Infantry, Army MPs, and our Dad Pioneer Army Air Corps "Smitty the Flight Mechanic" . All home and married to their sweethearts who served on the home front and all grateful and joyfully working at grand new jobs and raising families.
Photoshop needed here - but it's Father's fun with new camera day and all three of us with Mother at one time. Rare to get us all to stand still together that long.
Exuberant Gram and Gramps so proud and nearing their 50th wedding anniversary, and fit for it, joined the annual Labor Day Picnic - a patriotic work song celebration - and this year it was at Auntie Em's big homestead, to save Gram the work for a change at their "Little White House".
Mother was tall and lovely and expecting her third child very soon and fidgeted that morning, wondering if it was wise to join seven Irish sons and a daughter and their respective families at the blowout event of the year. She had experienced a false labor, a trip to hospital to deliver, but home again, and NOT deflated enough - so it could be any time now. But the All-American Smith Family day found her doing her part with the women, setting up the table and presenting the feast, as the men talked over their game of horseshoes and the children helped with chores and played running and swinging games at the fine large place under the trees and in the field with the sheep and one good donkey.
NOT without caprice, Mother thought it might help things along to overdo the watermelon-eating and did. Sure enough ! The second trip the hospital soon followed, and blushing, back to face the crowd at the picnic in an hour, from a second false labor. Father and the others making jokes about my Mother's desire to "go have this baby" on Labor Day made for a LOT of extra fun that day, for everyone but our Mother and the baby!
But she was NOT wrong to feel like getting things going - when our sister Lori was born on September 18th, she was not fat, but a very long baby weighing in at 9 pounds 3 ounces! No wonder she felt it MIGHT be time! Third millennium medicine would have been able to image it out and let Mother deliver earlier, but back then, no. And...Since Lori soon developed normally in size, it WAS surely just a long pregnancy resulting in high birth weight. This one remains a family favorite LORISTORY , all these years later! Hope you enjoyed it!
And always a quick prayer and a wish that all who ARE in labor on this American Labor Day, enjoy a celebration of life of it all - today and always!
The Murder of the Part-Time Wardrobe - a holiday fun mystery in 500 words!
fun thing for Thanksgiving weekend improvisation
Four Art shows! Count'em - four! And no sales from this venue of the previous five years! A lifetime first- no sales. Alone now, and thrilled to be running around and doing life in full health after a disability that could have been fatal, the need to recover the MONEY to full health was now the key.
And so it was easy to slip the charge into the back of the large gold frame that enhanced my entry in the largest of the shows!
My art had won prizes since girlhood, church and state, all the way to the White House, and so the zero sales were NOT okay.
For five years, the huge gallery had been "home" - so much time there, setting up, screening, doing drop-offs and pickups and receptions, promotions and related side-shows! The place had become a wardrobe of a sort - the contents inserted and removed as needed - changed all the time, but not entirely, and provided a magic portal to world-class events, thanks to the very hard work of all involved. A Part-Time Wardrobe, Indeed!
No sales directly associated with the place - NONE. A lifetime first- NOT ONE SALE!
Life had been good, then tragic , then redeemed, but not really unless the money would redeem as well.
NO sales? No sales meant NO redemption in this real world.f
I am a redcrosslady and non-violent, but gee! So poison charges in the frame would do the trick - nothing deadly, and triggered at pickup, the art would be fine and no one hurt - but fogged enough to stink the place up, to high heaven, till Spring!
YES....
I got busy helping with the take-down, and enjoyed the “wardrobe” one more time - taking in all the art, as the artists collected them at show’s end. Then as I took hold of my own “part of the art” I released the stink bomb capsule into a corner not visible to anyone who did not already know it was there.
Bye Bye - Happy Holiday! So good to see you all again - was quite sincere- they had been good and kind and great fun and restored the dead to life with their art and its related work for five years with me as a respected member! Bye bye- and hit the “on “ switch to my stinkbomb , then the “off”switch to my “Tempoary Wardrobe” and danced happily off to fine family holiday reunions.
Leaving art events smiling , with me, usually means that people liked the work and bought some - even a little.
I left smiling - and let them think so…….
This story fun to pass on from a facebook game begun by actor Benedict Cumberbach - click to join, if it is still there...if not, here, at least, is a screenshot to help you understand "what on earth?"