Monday, July 11, 2011

Aggie (Agnes Beat)--laughing flight nurse

Remember when we were really young, and anyone 10 years older was OLD. Remember when we were 40, and 75 was old. You get the picture--age is so relative.
    Last week Aggie--beautiful blonde soldier pictured on this blog---came over to play cards with some other friends. We never did play cards; we got too busy visiting and laughing so much, and enjoying each others' company.
    Even though Aggie is 90, she still is not old. Her body is trying to slow her down, but she has a full schedule every week, and I am sure she keeps everyone laughing at each event she attends.
     Unfortunately, she is so  humble that trying to get her to relate stories about her life as a flight nurse is like listening to someone tell about flipping burgers at McDs. One time, the plane on which she was in charge of between 25 & 30 injured soldiers lost an engine and made a crash landing on a remote Pacific island. To hear Aggie tell the story, it was like having a flat tire on a dirt road with a bunch of friends who were hurt a little bit--- so she took care of them until help arrived.
       When, I was a kid, and my mother's nurse friends would come to visit, I never dreamed that over fifty years later one of them would become my dear friend.  Aggie has the most wonderful, contageous laugh and spreads joy to all she meets. I can imagine most all the soldiers she cared for must have fallen in love with her. Probably a good thing she saw most only on the long flights from evac centers to real hospitals at Hickam in Hawaii and later to San Francisco.
     Looking at Aggie, and other seniors in our church family, I realize there are so many fantastic interesting stories that need to be told and preserved before it is too late.
    Last evening I was reading through an interview given by my Uncle Ben, (a bomber pilot in Europe during WWII), before he died a few years ago. Another humble person, he mentioned that the people on the homefront also made great, unappreciated sacrifices during the war.
     I would love to hear your stories and use this blog as a "beginning" to honor these people of the "Greatest Generation" who are aging much too quickly.  Please just click below--0 comments to post your reflections

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Mom---"a complicated character"

I recently entered the first two chapters of the book I am endeavoring to write in a national contest, and I had been notified a couple of months ago that it was a finalist.  Received notice last week that it did not win, but the wonderful thing was the notice came with critiques for improvement---something I really welcome. However, these were not very helpful.
    One stated that Polly--Mom-- was too complicated. "At first she is a nurturing, caring young nurse, but then is cussing out someone, and being an exibitionist."  Well, if they knew Mom, they would know that was her. Loving one minute and yelling and cussing the next.
   Another critic said that Mom's  profanity was unrealistic for women during the WWII time period. Oh, that person must be young and innocent. 
   It was nice to be a finalist, but wish the critics had known Mom.  I acquired many more colorful words and phrases from her than Dad, most often the gentleman.