What I Recall from Patmos

Image by ddzphoto at pixabay.

George. Smoked since he was nine. Died when I was eight.

Paul. Grandma’s second husband. Mechanical engineer. Retired to The Price is Right and hand-held slot machines. Master of devices.

Vince. Autodidact ESL. Power tools and magnets, oversized editions of Italian masters.

George. Had started college.

Paul. Said he invented doo-wop.

Vince. Organized school walk-out, 1937. Ninth-grade education.

George. A minute late to Germany.

Paul. Enlisted, saw no action.

Vince. Manilla. Okinawa. Leyte. Seventh Fleet.

George. Hide-and-seek with pennies in hardwood patterns on the floor.

Paul. Only one who hit me. Never helped with trig.

Vince. Did everything he could.