It was 1925, and Ed was five, when they immigrated to America, the oldest of five children eventually. Uncle John was three, and the second oldest. The other three siblings that came later, were born in Minneapolis. Immigrating from Eastern Europe with his parents and his brother John, Ed was already so advanced mentally, they put him in a special school. When their boat landed in New York, Ed was already speaking three different languages, Slovakian, Polish, and German. English, French and Italian he would learn growing up in Minneapolis. He graduated with a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota at the age of 16, and went on to MIT on a Rubiks Cube scholarship. Just kidding. Point is, the word “Electronics” hadn’t been invented yet. Everything was vacuum tubes and lots of wiring. If your radio was on the fritz, you called Ed over to fix it. Later in life, Ed would end up working at Honeywell, working on what would eventually become “Electronic” components for aircraft flight controls.
At 19, Ed was a lieutenant in the Army, training in Virginia before being deployed to Europe. His specialty of course was radio and remote battlefield communications. That was 1941. in 1951, he was six foot three, about 185 pounds. Maybe he gained all that weight from eating Mom’s “spaghetti-o’s”. A giant to a three year old kid like me. Grandma said when Ed came home from the war in 1945, he was thin as sticks, weighing only 135 pounds. After the war, he spent the first two years in his room, which was on the third floor. According to Mom, Grandmother would have to leave his tray of food outside his door and knock.
The family really didn’t know much about his war experiences, other than the fact that he was held by the Nazi’s in a prison in Berlin, and that he was so thin after the war. Two years he stayed sequestered in his bedroom, as if he was still in that prison. He eventually did share his story with his brother John, who in turn, shared it with my brother and I after Ed died. He had sworn his brother to secrecy for whatever reason, and Uncle John kept his word.
Ed wore a crew-cut all his life. Mom had me try a crew-cut when I was seven. Ed’s hair was short on the sides, exposing some of the scars from the beatings he took from his captors. The family was fairly well to do, having owned a small factory which they were able to sell before moving to America. Their house in Minneapolis was pretty darn cool to a little kid like me, a mansion really. Three stories tall, and a spooky basement. I can remember as a little kid, running up the stairs exploring. Staying clear of the basement, only after the first exploration there. Grandmother had a friend that helped her, especially in the kitchen. I eventually figured out what a maid was.
The best part of the house was the Living Room, because it had a “Black & White” small-screen television. The only show I can remember is Wrestling. I guess the only reason Wrestling sticks with me for so many years is how Grandma and Grandpa would get so excited, yelling at the TV as if they were there ringside. I couldn’t understand what they were yelling, or why they got so excited, but I joined in with my own 4 year old version of Slovakian cuss words. The kitchen was huge and a lot of fun to explore. Ms. Lenka, the maid, would sometimes make me an Ice Cream Sundae. I think Lenka was also from Eastern Europe. She spoke like Grandpa and Grandma, a strange, funny language that Mom said also was Slovakian. One of the things in the kitchen that caught my eye was this thing hanging from the doorknob. I didn’t know what a cow smelled like back then, but that was what the leather thing my Mom called a “Strap” smelled like. A Cow, i.e., it was the infamous leather strap. Grandpa had used it on Ed and his brothers, and Ed used it on me.
We sometimes think it is hopeless and against all odds, but hey, we are part of the 99% against the 1% that currently have absolute control. We can and shall overcome the odds, but only if we truly ORGANIZE. Otherwise, we are all just as a “Single Fly, Farting in the Wind”. Some thoughts on possible miracles/solutions can be found on the following GOFUNDME page. If you have questions, suggestions, comments, etcetera, again, please feel free to contact me. You can contact me by farcecrap PM, send me an email or fill out the contact form below.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/like-a-single-fly-farting-in-the-wind
For my faithful readers that are aware that I’m finally working on “The Dead Armadillo” story, like say, a Producer, or a Director, or a Screenwriter or someone or a company that desires to option my novel, you can contact me at any time, night or day. If you are a one of those faithful readers that wish to read and follow my progress as I work on this novel, I will be posting updates as a PDF file on every new post on this website/blog. Here’s the latest of “The Dead Armadillo”
TheDeadArmadilloManuscript101019
For those of you that would care to get involved with me on this project, as I intend to hire a professional screenwriter at some point, and produce a feature film, I have recently been approved for a KICKSTARTER campaign where you can contribute. Here is the link to the KICKSTARTER campaign.
Peace & Abide, La paz y la morada, السلام والالتزام , שלום ושמירה, Paix et Demeure, Խաղաղությունը եւ մնալը, Мир и пребывание,, 平和と遵守, 和平與恪守, Aştî û Abad, صلح و عبید, Fred och Abide, Kapayapaan at Patuloy, Frieden und Bleiben, Mir i Ostanite, शांति और निवास, Hòa bình và ở lại, Мир и Абиде, שלום און בלייַבן, สันติภาพและการปฏิบัติ, Mir in bivanje,
Dr. T. C. Saxe, DD, RSISHE
Some immediate needs. On a volunteer basis for now, we need a WEBMASTER who can work on the ITAD-NAO website, we need a person skilled in “Crowd-Funding” and “Director of Charitable Giving”, we need an attorney to help in the legal matters for ITAD_NAO, including setting us up as a tax-exempt “Church”, we need a Certified CPA to insure the financial integrity of the ITAD-NAO organization, we need a “Chief of Security”, we need a film-maker, first for YouTube, eventually for larger platforms, plus a few other positions. We believe that somewhere down the road, a Billionaire will step up to the plate and write a check for $50 Million or so, which will turn those volunteer positions into paid positions.
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Brilliant writing ⚡️