Good Morning All!
You may heard of the saying that “everything is connected to everything else”…a quote from Barry Commoner’s book “The Closing Circle. Well, “Boy, Howdy!” is that ever true! I was having dinner with my mom and tablemates at Courtland Place last night and met a new resident by the name of Carol. Come to find out, Carol’s husband, Francis (Fran), served in the 101st Airborne in World War II and parachuted into France behind the “Band Of Brothers” of Easy Company…the group whose story is told in the book and subsequent HBO movie called “Band Of Brothers.” We talked about my recent trip to Belgium, France & Germany and had a grand old time conversing. There are so many fascinating aspects of history and often times you come to realize just how small our world really is. Carol told us that here husband was from the Detroit area and working as a Tool & Die specialist for General Motors when Pearl Harbor occurred. He wanted to sign up for the army in the worst way, but his two other brothers were accepted for service and he was told that his services as a tool & die specialist were needed for the war effort. Well, he quit his job and immediately enlisted. He thought he would sign up to be a parachutist, as they received better pay and, as Carol explained, he wondered why he did that when he went on his first jump! Fran served in Italy, France & Germany and was wounded twice. It was quite a story about Fran and his life with Carol after the war! Talking with Carol last night reminded me of another qreat quote from the movie “Forrest Gump”…”Life is like a box of chocolates…you never know what you’re going to get.” And so it is when you get to talking to people…so many fascinating stories just waiting to be told!
Happy Birthday to our good friend, Leonard, veterinarian extraordinaire and all-around great guy, who celebrates his birthday today! And Happy Birthday wishes go to my high school classmate, Dan, who celebrates his birthday tomorrow (June 21st) and our lovely friend in Christ, Lori, fellow member of Christ The Redeemer Church (CTR) and spouse, mother, grandmother, mentor, encourager, servant and copy editor extraordinaire, who celebrates her birthday this Saturday, June 22nd! Here’s to all of you!
Here’s some more from my recent World War II-related adventure with my friend Harold Voltz:
May 22, 2019
I just love the village of Houffalize (Who-Fa-Lees), Belgium! The more I stay here, the more I love it! I went for a morning run today and the great thing about running in the morning is that you see things that you won’t ever get to see in the middle of the day…like fresh bread baking and the smell of fresh bread. I happened upon a little bakery on one of the streets of Houffalize and it was something special…loaves upon loaves of freshly baked bread. I took it to be a commercial bakery that supplies local stores and restaurants in the area. They didn’t have a retail outlet there…they just had their garage doors opened so that you could look into the bakery and see all of the good things they had to offer…lots of loaves of bread on cooling racks. It was quite a sight! The small river that runs through Houffalize makes this a special place…like something out of a fairy tale. This village was an important location during World War II, as five roads come together here…truly a crossroads. Houffalize has two retail bakeries and a great looking butcher shop full of all kinds of different meats (and cheeses). If I’d had more time here I would have bought some meats & cheeses from the butcher shop, some dessert from one of the bakeries and a bottle of wine or some good Belgian beer. Speaking of Belgian beer, I came upon a pub with great outdoor sidewalk tables near the village church that displayed a huge Stella Artois sign…I took a picture of it for my son, Jake, who is a confirmed Stella Artois fan. Not only that, but Houffalize has a terrific miniature golf course situated right along their beautiful little river. You’d be hard pressed to find a more lovely village in all of Belgium (although there a lot of lovely villages in Belgium!). An unusual thing about Houffalize is that they have a “Nite Shop” where you can obtain alcoholic beverages at any time of the day or night, but they obviously cater to the “Nite” crowd, don’t you think? How come we don’t have shops like this named “Nite Shop”??? On my morning run this day, I happened upon a senior retirement center on one of the hills overlooking Houffalize…I could read the sign on the building enough to know that this center and the adjoining cottages were built on land donated by a fellow by the name of Louis Palange, a local farmer who it appears gave his fortune to this cause of providing a place for the elderly of Houffalize to live….and it’s a great looking place! It even has it’s own chicken coop providing fresh eggs for the residents. A little piece of heaven here, for sure, thanks to the generosity of one man.
After a great breakfast at the hotel…everything you could want and more, we headed out toward Bastogne to visit the War Museum and the Belgian Army barracks, where the headquarters for the 101st Airborne during the siege of Bastogne was located. It was great to visit the museum again and take the audio tour, as there is so much to see there and the narration provided by the four people who told their stories about the battle of Bastogne (the school boy, the teacher who was with The Resistance, the German soldier and the American GI) was most worthwhile to listen to again. Harold was able to meet with the Museum Director to discuss the possibility of offering his book about his Dad’s war letters while serving in the 4th Armored Division. It looks like something will come of it, as the museum doesn’t have much about the 4th Armored Division and yet it was they who came to the relief of Bastogne literally in the nick of time and played a key role in the Battle of Bastogne. I really hope they will offer Harold’s book about his Dad and the 4th Armored Division. It would be a great addition to their collection and their book store, in my humble opinion…
After visiting the War Museum and the Memorial to the American soldiers who served in The Battle of The Bulge, we toured the foxholes where Easy Company of the “Band of Brothers” fame spent that awful winter of 1944 fighting the German army. It’s hard to imagine in the Spring of 2019 what it must have been like in the dead of winter of 1944 holed up in a foxhole with inadequate clothing and suffering from the extremely cold temperatures & the snow. Our soldiers gave so much and endured so many deprivations in the cause of freedom & liberation…
We then journeyed into town and I got to sample some of that famous Belgian beer. And “Boy, Howdy” was it ever good! Nothing like what we have in the States. I liked it so much I had two beers and it wasn’t long before I was “three sheets to the wind” as they say! I sat at a lovely sidewalk café (Le Nuts Café, what else?) in Bastogne’s town square. It was a lovely day filled with blue sky & sunshine. My beer of choice was Airborne beer—Biere brune, Bruine bier for you French language aficianados…the beer was made by Brasserie Lamborelle (Lamborelle Brewery) in Bastogne. It was started by a fellow who was a young boy during the war and noticed an American GI taking beer that he had poured into his helmet to his wounded fellow soldiers at the aid station located close to where he and his family were holed up in a basement during the battle. That made such an impression on him that he resolved to open a brewery of his own when he grew up and, lo and behold, he did just that! Airborne beer is also served in a distinctively crafted bottle…a must for all you beer lovers out there!
I found it interesting that the proprietor of the Le Nuts Café handled all the waiting on tables himself. That was some chore, given the number of people who frequent his establishment. A really nice guy, but a little slow on service! I had their veal special in a lemon crème sauce and it was delicious. You’ll want to stop by there and at least have a beer on their sidewalk café (weather permitting), but I imagine there are lots of other great little restaurants to check out that are a bit more off the beaten track. It was bit too “touristy” for me, but an enjoyable time nonetheless…
The tour of the Belgian Army barracks is a must see if you’re ever in Bastogne. The headquarter of Gen. Anthony McAuliffe of “Nuts” fame is located there…fascinating place. The biggest collection of World War II tanks, jeeps, armored cars, machine guns, mortars, pieces of shrapnel…you name it…that I’ve ever seen or heard of. Our guide was a Belgian army soldier who “knew his stuff” about the Battle of Bastogne…he was fond of saying that the situation confronting the Americans there was a “bull-shit situation”, in fact every aspect of what took place there in December, 1944 he described as a “bull-shit situation” and I certainly wouldn’t dispute his colorful analysis!
After our day in Bastogne (I love that city too!), we returned to our “Cocoon” Hotel for the night and enjoyed some comraderie (sp?) with our fellow tour friends before going to bed. I hit the hot tub again before going to sleep and it was terrific. This is a great place to stay, for sure!
To be continued…
I came across the 1969 Topps Football Card for W.K. Hicks, a defensive back or the American Football League’s (AFL’s) Houston Oilers and later for the NFL’s New York Jets. He was born in 1942 in Texarkana, Texas and played college football at Texas Southern University in Houston. I couldn’t find out much about him on the internet, but I did find out that he was an AFL All-Star in 1966. His Topps Football Card described him as “Possessing all the ingredients of a top notch pass defender…In 1965, he returned intercepted passes for 156 yards to top the American Football League (AFL)!” Wilmer Kenzie Hicks (or W.K. Hicks for short) led the AFL with 9 interceptions in 1965. While playing for the New York Jets, he lived in Harlem. After retiring from the NFL, he played one year for the World Football League (WFL) Florida Blazers in 1974, coached by former Washington Redskins’ great, Jack Pardee. Do any of you know the “rest of the story” about W.K. Hicks?
Here’s the fact for the day:
For a million years, the estimated human population of the Earth was less than 26,000.
Here’s the silly question for the day:
Q: Where do you take a cow on a date?
A: To the mooovies.
Here are some thoughts for the day:
“Every cliché about kids is true: they grow up so quickly, you blink and they’re gone, and you have to spend the time with them now. But that’s a joy.”
—Liam Neeson, Irish actor of “Rob Roy”, “Star Wars” & “Commuter” movie fame
“One can live in the shadow of an idea without grasping it.”
—Elizabeth Bowen, Irish novelist
“Is there anyone home in this house made of stone…Anyone inside know my name?
I’ve been around for a half of a hundred days, never saw a door shut so tight
Turn around, don’t look down, there’s a man behind you with a gun
Like any wandering child in the wilderness, wild and uncaged are your ways
I think I heard, someone stirred…
I think I heard, someone stirred…
There’s a light around you…I’ve come to switch it on
It will brighten every room…don’t be ashamed if you feel a whole lot warmer in your heart,
You got that feelin’ in your soul…”
—Gordon Lightfoot, “Is There Anyone Home”
“If I find in myself desires which nothing in the world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”
—C.S. Lewis, “Mere Christianity”, as quoted in “C.S. Lewis’ Little Book of Wisdom: Meditations on Faith, Life, Love & Literature” (2018)
Here’s to a great Thursday and lots of love always!
Press on,
Papa ‘a (Dad, Uncle Mark, etc.)