doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com OT: Gunga Din

My 88 year old Dad, who served in the Eighth Air Force in England during WW II as a mechanic, was always one to take part in any off-base entertainment that might be available. A local pub was sponsoring a small talent show and invited American servicemen stationed nearby to take part. My Dad memorized this famous poem by Rudyard Kipling and stood up and recited it in a limey accent he had made a point to acquire while there. He's now in his last few days at a local nursing home.
Enjoy:
http://www.kipling.org.uk/poems_gunga.htm
JR

John, that's so cool. Can you read it to him ?

Thanks Daryl. I would if I thought I could make it through, but I would be a blubbering mess after a few lines...
JR

John:
Very touching. I especially respect the men of the Mighty Eighth. I knew a few.

And they were all "better men" than most of us these days. Myself included.

My very best to your father... and you.

There was a terrible tragedy during my Dad's time at Base Air Depot #2. He has related this story to me many times over the years and it obviously affected him deeply:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freckleton_Air_Disaster

John, it took us another 40 years and many hundreds of lives to fully appreciate the 'microburst' part of a thunderstorm.

This is one area where we have learned, but only slowly.

Good luck with your dad. Mine is 86, and also part of that generation and that conflict.

If I could only freeze the clock...

That's very cool! I can certainly understand how difficult it would be to read it to your father. I know if it were I in the same situation, I wouldn't be able to either. A father to be very proud of.

A good friend of mine's father was a B-17 pilot in the 8th. He passed a number of years ago, but I can still see in my minds eye his big waxed handle bar mustache, hear his gravelly voice and chuckle at his sense of humor.

I don't typically advocate chemical alterations, but considering I start choking up over a sad movie, I can tell you lorazepam has worked wonders in situations where you need to keep a stiff upper lip - where you'd typically be on your knees sobbing.

John, you can do it. He'll wait for you. I had a similar thing with my dad, and although he could not speak, he grabbed my hand . He could let go, then.

I was out driving my car and got caught in a thunderstorms micro-burst. I'd pulled off the road and the horizontal winds blew the rain against my side windows with such force water began pouring in around the side window jams.

Steve

Don't worry about that "keep a stiff upper lip" BS where someone you love is concerned, it's not the time for it. Almost 42 years of knowing my wife, a mentally strong person who wasn't afraid to reveal her feelings, taught me that.