April 18, 2013
Dear Grandson,
How exciting to go to the mailbox and find a letter from you.
Regarding the card game, you’ll need to show me how to play, when I see you the next time.
I was wondering, looking at your letter, are you left-handed? Your writing is very nice.
I went on You Tube to see the maneuver 18 for an Orange belt. I am going to be careful not to cause you to get mad at me. It looks very athletic. I like the way you use your whole body – shoulders, hands, arms, and legs. Keep telling me about your new maneuvers.
Tell me also about school. What subjects do you like? What subjects are easy for you? Who’s your best friend at school? Who’s your favorite teacher?
I want to clarify something. I was never actually involved in war. The term here, to be specific, would be in combat. Combat is when you actually fight in a war. I was, at the end of my obligation, a Captain in the United States Army Reserve. I served on active duty in 1966, 1967, 1971, and then even in 1974, all for training purposes. (Active duty means I was actually on assignment in the Army, and wore the uniform every day.) But I was lucky. My country never commanded me to serve in combat, for example, to go to Vietnam.
I have friends who went to war. It was not fun. War is a horrible thing. My favorite uncle, Thom Breen, who your uncle Kendall knew and with whom he went fishing in Mexico on several occasions, fought with the Marine Corp, and was badly injured on the Island of Guam, in the South Pacific, in July, 1944. (Go to you iPad and Google Quam.) He spent a year in the hospital at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He lost his right leg. But, he overcame these terrible things.
He was only nineteen years old. He was handsome and exciting and liked me. He took me fishing many times on a fishing boat. It became a lifetime friendship. After the war, he was a movie actor, under contract with a major studio, MGM, and starred in a move called The River, which was filmed in India. (Google, movie, The River, Jean Renoir. He played the army captain, who lost his leg in the war. His name was Thomas E Breen.) He moved to Phoenix in 1954, right next to where I live now. He ended up having a good life.
Right now, I am excited about the Lakers basketball team, because they have made it to the play-offs. However, I watched the Dodgers play the Diamondbacks a week or so ago. My favorite player on the Dodgers is Matt Kemp. He is not hitting very well. He must still be hurt from his shoulder operation last year.
I have to go now. Have a great week. I think about you all of the time.
