Father’s day

[fbhjr]

It was 99 years ago today my father was born in “Underhill Flats” Vermont.
His birth records actually say Jericho Vermont. But, the town line ran
down the street on which his parents lived and I guess there was some
debate on which side of the street they lived. (Even today the two towns
share a fire department as they are so close together.) Either way it was
on the flats along the side of the river.
I don’t know what time of day he was born. I know it was night. Part of
me has wondered if it was really April 1st he was born and his father
didn’t want his son born on April Fool’s day so put down the day before on
the birth certificate.
As my grandfather was the doctor who delivered my father he could have done
that. But, it could have been the previous night too. Don’t know.

Living here in the 21st century with my iPhone, iPad and hybrid car it is
sometimes a bit strange for me to think that when my father was young his
father made his rounds on horse or by horse drawn vehicles.
My father met soldiers who had fought in the American Civil War. His
memories of them were they were mad they weren’t allowed in the Veteran of
Foreign Wars hall like the folks from the Spanish American War, or the
first World War.

He heard the Orson Wells War of the World broadcast and for a little while
was fooled into thinking Martians were invading. (He says he caught on
when they said there was a radio reporter in the cockpit of the bomber
attacking the Martians. He said there was no way the pilot would be willing
to give an interview during a bombing run.)

He saw the first King Kong movie in the theaters while taking a young woman
on a date. Apparently they were very impressed with the special effects.

He and I didn’t really get along very well. Our priorities and outlooks on
life were just too far apart. I’m sure some of that is the almost double
generation gap between us as he was 48 when I was born.
But, there was a lot more to it that that as well.

I’ve often wondered what it would have been like to know the younger him,
instead of the older one I knew.
Perhaps we’d have gotten along better.

But, in the 13 ½ years since he’s died I have never felt that the issue was
on my end. I did my best to make and keep that connection with him. But,
he was not willing to do the same.
Which is why my sister didn’t talk with him for the last 7 years of his
life, and I practically didn’t for the last 4 of them.
I regret the events, but not my part in them.

It’s been 10 years since I was up to visit his grave. Maybe sometime this
summer…

Comments

[evrgreen.livejournal.com]

I've spent alot of time driving through Underhill and Jericho, going to & from University of Vermont and my home town. Snowflake Bentley was living in Jericho and doing his famous study of snowflake crystals at the time your father was probably still in that area- did he ever mention anything about that?

I've stopped in Jericho at various times to see the small museum there (don't know if they have benches or not) but I've always managed to get there when they were closed.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

They didn't live there very long. A couple of years at the most.
WWI had already started in Europe. As my grandfather was a doctor they didn't draft him into the army, but instead made him some sort of consultant that would do health care for critical industries in Vermont.
I know one of them was a veneer company that made the wood veneer used on something for the military.
So, until the war ended they moved around a lot as the government dictated.
Once the war ended they went back to Fairfax where my grandfather's family was from.

That's my long winded way of saying that by the time my father would have been old enough to know about the snowflake thing, they weren't there any more...

[hindustar.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

[meathiel]

Oh wow ... my grandma is 93 now ...
That's quite an age difference ...

[tatjna.livejournal.com]

My Dad was 48 when I was born, too. Which was kind of nice because we are an expat family and I had no grandparents, so I got to see the original King Kong with him as a kid when they had this vintage film thing at the theatre, the same way a grandparent would show kids Old Things.

Meanwhile, it's possible he was born in Jericho but his birth was registered in Underhill Flats. Would depend where the office was. I was born in Elvington but my birth certificate says Sutton upon Derwent, which is a whole kilometre away.

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

I'm told that Jericho had a much better reputation, at least it did 99 years ago, than Underhill. So, my grandfather wanted my father to be born in the better of the two towns. And, as he was the doctor, he could say where it happened.

I remember going there in the 70's with my father and noticing the street sign did not agree with the story. Underhill was on the side the house number in question was on, not on the other side.
My father put it down to his father being confused about where they had lived.

[chaquir.livejournal.com]

My grandfather would turn 103 the year he died. he was born in 1896. It would've been awesome if he could've lived until 2000. He's been in two WW's and has gone from no radio at all and car and horses to what we are about now. He always told us it was crazy!!

You visit your father's grave if you feel like going. It's no obligation.

[charliemc.livejournal.com]

Frank, I'm amazed by these reflections of your father. Doing the math, he was born in 1915 -- correct? Our dad was born in 1920, so I figure he had some of the same experiences as your father.

There was something about when they were born, that's for sure. The stories of Dad's youth were fascinating. I guess I should share some of those, sometime.

It is hard when your own background is so different. Those years matter quite a bit. There's almost no way we can really understand them, or them us.

(hugs)

[fbhjr.livejournal.com]

Yes, 1915. And, his sister in 1916. I never had any trouble making a good connection with his sister. That's part of the reason I put it more on him than the generation gap.

[endlessblush.livejournal.com]

Thank you for sharing your reflection of your father
*hugs*