Ever been out on Fairchild Air Force Base and driven past the real-life B-52 parked on display there? My father, Francis Harold Potter, was the AC (Aircraft Commander) of that very plane! My son took the serial number of that plane and did the research to prove that fact.
Dad would have been 105 years old today. He's been gone for 22 years. And I realize every day that I should have given him more of my time.
I'm so glad I talked to him over the years gleaning his stories..... from a poor, rural Illinois childhood, to a brilliant career in the Air Force (he flew in the Berlin Airlift and Operation Chromedome), to a great grandpa to children. He did his last waterskiing at age 80. He and Mom traveled the world. He could change rocks into candy for big-eyed grandchildren. He was a great guy.
Asking my grandmother how she named him, she explained that she liked "Frank" but that sounded too grownup for a baby so they settled on Francis. As for Harold? She giggled and lowered her voice to tell me "It was after an old boyfriend...but I never told Mel!"
The point of this post today is to beg you to procrastinate no longer! Talk to your elders and learn their stories! And get your own stories down either on paper or computer. Please just do it.
No comments:
Post a Comment