Far from Home: Memories of World War II and Afterward

15. A New Beginning

15 A New Beginning 174 Warm golden letters all the tablet fill, Nor lose their luster, Till the heart stands still. Daniel Webster, “A Page More Glowing” WELL, this is the year of our Lord, nineteen hundred and fiftyfive . I was still in Iron Mine, but living a very different life. Eunice and Jimmy returned from Detroit and built themselves a nice brick ranch-style home in Pender County. Bennie and Frank also built new homes. Bennie’s home was a few miles down the road from Eunice’s. Frank built one on the eastern edge of our farm. Willie and Lucille married and made their home in Buffalo, New York. Sam and I both married—he to a pretty girl named Sylvia from North Carolina’s western hills, and I to James Wright, the boy who’d saved Edgar from drowning that long-ago summer afternoon. Though we came from different regions and backgrounds, we had some things in common, in particular, our love for Iron Mine and farm life. I loved all four of my sisters-in-law; however Lucille (Willie’s wife) and Sylvia (Sam’s wife) were more my age, and we had more in common. While Willie was in college at A&T, Lucille and their two children lived with us in order to be near him. They’d married shortly after his discharge from military service. It was fun having three little ones in the house—Billy and Diane and Red, my little girl. Money was scarce, so Lucille and I got most of our pleasure from our babies, playing with the dogs, and catching a ride with Papa to town whenever we had extra money. We spent it on treats for our children if we could stay in the stores long enough. As always, Papa was in a hurry to get to town and in a hurry to get back to his farming, hunting, or whatever. After tending to his own business, he’d look us up to get in the truck. “I got to go,” he’d say. After we got in, he’d look to be sure we were safely inside the truck, then he’d say he would be right back. He’d take off down My sister-in-law Lucille. A New Beginning 175 176 FAR FROM HOME the street, and we would see him in busy conversation with someone . He’d finally break away, get the truck started, and then stop at every wayside store between Wallace and home. He knew everybody, and they knew him. In fact, my whole family was well known in the town, with me being the exception. One warm sunny afternoon Lucille and I were outside with the kids when Subud and James asked us if we’d like to ride with them to Wrightsville Beach to pick up my Cousin Janie’s husband . “Subud” was a nickname for Robert Henry, another boy Mama and Papa had taken in. He’d gone down there to do some fall fishing, and after staying there for a few days, he wanted someone to come get him. Lu and I looked at each other. I know our eyes were gleaming with thoughts of a ride to somewhere other than Wallace. They told us to just hop in, that they would only be picking Bubba up and coming right back. We needed no My eldest daughter Linda (“Red”). A New Beginning 177 more urging. We just grabbed our baby bottles and an extra diaper and jumped in. The sun was still high, the air balmy, and we were sure we’d be back well before dark. So we set out, with Lu, the kids, and I in back, looking at everything we passed, laughing and chatting as though we’d never been outside of Iron Mine before. It was fun, and we were as happy as larks. Upon reaching the beach, we saw lots of people, boats, and so on, but no Bubba. The boys got out and went to look for him, but they came back alone. The sun was getting low by this time, and I began to think of home. We headed back. Somewhere between the beach and Wilmington the car began acting up a bit. Subud had to stop and tinker with it. In the back seat, Lucille, the kids, and I were much quieter. The boys tinkered , the car started, traveled a...