Tell Me A Story: HAPPY FATHER'S DAY 2018: THE WISDOM OF THE CARPENTER

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A Short Story from the
STORYTELLER GIFT BOOK

FLY AWAY

By
Marcia Norwood

I love two carpenters.

Both were bruised and beaten, yet they chose gifts of love.

Jesus, The Carpenter

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=mcafee&va=jesus+carpenter+scripture

     I begged Dad for stories from his childhood. My father, Jewell Edward Bush, was born March 18, 1922, the ninth of eleven children.    He rarely talked about his family. When he was two years old his father died while working in the coal mines. His mother was pregnant. She remarried and had more children.

     Dad’s stepfather made living very difficult for him.

I asked Dad what games he played when he was a child. He remembered many times his stepfather gave him a lighted match and told him to run up a hill and back down. If the match went out Dad got a beating.

Dad left home when he was five years old and went to live with his Aunt Maude and Uncle John. His first job was working a couple blocks from their home at Aunt Carrie’s restaurant.

Aunt Carrie wasn’t related, but everybody called her Aunt Carrie. She had no children of her own. Her restaurant was part of First Monday Sales, an auction house in Liberty, Missouri.

Dad walked to work after school, and on Saturdays. He sold hot dogs and soda pop and swept the floors when he was seven years old. He earned 50 cents a week.

He was forced to quit school when he was 12 years old because there just wasn’t enough money for him to continue. He cut up onions and various other jobs at restaurants in Liberty.

No wonder he joined the Army before he was 18. His mother signed papers (he was under-age) and gave him permission to go to war. Dad fought horrific, hand-to-hand combat battles as a teenager with the 128th Infantry in Australia, Panama, Philippines and New Guinea, during World War II.

     The 128th, as part of the 32d Division, was called to federal service on 15 October 1940. After training in Louisiana, the unit was moved by convoy to Port Adelaide, Australia.

     The 128th, as part of the 32d, broke through the Japanese lines at Buna ("Bloody Buna") New Guinea; defeated Japanese General Adachi's divisions at Saidor and Aitape, New Guinea; defeated the Japanese Imperial First Marines in Leyte (Imperial First Marines only loss in 200 years); and pierced the Yamashita Line in Luzon.

     The 128th Regiment and 32d Division were still in combat action when the cease fire order came on 15 Aug. 1945.

     The 32d Infantry Division had been in combat 654 days - more than any U.S. Division in any war.

Dad learned the skill of carpentry after returning from World War II. He made a living, and enjoyed his life as a carpenter. To this day the smell of sawdust brings back beautiful memories of the times I “helped” Dad in his basement workshop.

This is how I remember Dad coming home from work each day...through the side kitchen door. We all - four siblings (Marcia, Gloria, Bret and Terry) met Dad every day at the door. Here is my brother, Bret, greeting Daddy. Copyright 1958 Marcia Norwood.

Dad was infinitely patient with me as he taught me how to use every tool on his workbench...even the power tools. My younger brothers, Bret and Terry, screamed, as I cut a 2 x 4 and accidentally cut into Dad’s workbench with a jigsaw.

      Dad simply unplugged the cord from the outlet, which also stopped the blade from severing the electrical cord: “Try again, Marcia. You’ll get the hang of it.”

    Dad lost his childhood, yet he let me be a child when I needed it.    He was wise beyond his years in school, and loved beyond the example he was shown as a child.

   Christmas 1959, I was ten years old, and in the 4th grade. I cried because I thought I was too old to get a doll for Christmas.

Dad promised he would give me a doll every Christmas—until I had a baby of my own.

     He kept his promise.

     Even after I was married, Dad gave me a doll every Christmas from 1959 until 1972, when I gave birth to my first child.

     Mom said it was the only present Dad ever shopped for himself.

    I love two carpenters.

    Both were bruised and beaten, yet they chose gifts of love.

Wisdom of the Carpenter

A Short Story from

FLY AWAY

A STORYTELLER Gift Booklet

Gifts of Inspiration That Encourage and Inspire

I still have Poor Pitiful Pearl, one of the dolls Dad gave to me in the late 50's. She was based on a cartoon character created by William Steig, American cartoonist, sculptor, illustrator and children's author, who is best known as the creator of Shrek.