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Musings of a Senior Scribe
An Old Diary, An Old
Calendar
By Mona Lease
Hi, all!! There's a 100 year old diary a WWI soldier kept. In a pocket
of his uniform, it traveled with him on long, cold, wet marches through
France. In pencil, he meticulously recorded the activity - marches,
drills, rests, food, no food, forages into turnip fields to eat, stolen
food from "KP", being able to eat at a table (some French people
"hosted" the troops with a hot meal & bath before continuing the
war), and the occasional baseball game - Red Team vs Blue Team.
To this day the diary exists - still legible with some fading. With his
8th grade education - his diction and spelling are amazing. In it, he
speaks of writing to a "Kind, Unknown Friend." The troops wrote to
people they did not know - that's obvious. But I wonder, was this a way
to keep us all "together", a way to keep everyone "involved" in the
war? War is as much a "psychological toll" as it is a physical one.
Everyone I speak with is in a tizzy over the "Mayan Calendar" ending on
December 20th or 21st. People are scrambling around "making plans" -
take the kiddies out of school, vacation days off from work, etc. Off
the top, I see paranoia - "Good Lord, what are we gonna do?" But, as I
write this, 16 days are left until the 21st.. That's 23,040 minutes
left until it's over - according to the "Mayan Hype." My next question
is - "How much of this precious time are you going to waste telling
your husband/wife you cheated on them and you're dealing with the hurt
& tears because you want go out with a clear conscious? How much
time are you going to waste telling people you're sorry and repay the
debts you owe?" Aren't we supposed to live that way everyday? I could
die before I push the send button on this e.mail.
In Hoboken, New Jersey Harbor sat a commercial freighter listlessly
bouncing with the tide. She was in commercial service under the German
flag. The US seized her, converted her to a troop ship and in December
of 1917 she ran her maiden voyage to Europe with US troops. In
1918-1919 she transported some 48,000 troops and the influenza virus to
France. Aboard the USS George Washington, trained men and an "ally" set
foot on European soil. It is said that the virus killed as many men as
the "war" did...over 600,000 Americans.
Twice, the USS George Washington ferried Woodrow Wilson to France to
negotiate the "Treaty of Versailles." In the fall of 1919 she carried
the King & Queen of Belgium to the US for a Commemorative Service
for their country's part in the "Great War" and the return trip home.
Afterwards, she did various commercial & governmental jobs until
her scrapping in February of 1951.
The author of the diary had no wife and children at the time of his
service. He had a fiancee. I spoke with her often about his letters to
her or absence of them. Many times she went on a "hope and a prayer"
that he was alive & well and not a POW ..or worse.
I'm guessing the soldier penciled the diary for a reason. I'm guessing
he did it to keep "connected." But, I'm betting he did it because there
was an unwritten code of honor. Men answered the "call of Uncle Sam."
You did not run - even if you had the money or were in college. That's
why Penn State was the first college to offer "long distance learning."
Pretty cool!!
So, while you're looking at the Mayan Calendar's "threat" - consider
this -
".....I spent the next days lookin' at the x-rays...and talkin' 'bout
sweet time....I was finally the husband (wife?) that most of the time I
wasn't..I spoke sweeter..I loved deeper...I became the friend a friend
would want to have...I took a good, hard, long look at what I would do
if I could do it all over again..." - excerpt from "Live Like You Were
Dying" - Tim McGraw
Remember the kiddies and our service people. Be good to the furry and
feathered ones out there. Be safe and healthy. See ya next time. Ever
Toodles!! MONA
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