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I am a retired English teacher and department head, the mother of three grand mother of four, and have been married to the same man for 52 years. I subscribe to Dr. PM Forni's concept of Civility. I was born in South Philadelphia and grew up in the 'burbs. I love soft pretzels and cheesesteaks, the Phillies, the Eagles, and San Diego. I love being Mom, Aunt Kathy, Nona Kathy, and Teacher. I spend a lot of time in my gardens in the spring and summer, and in the winter I plan what I'm going to plant. I also am an avid reader and photographer.

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Thursday, April 21, 2011

Rockfish and Flying Tigers

There are three things I must add in reference to the last post:

1. Daughter is exceedingly fit, but the muscle you see in that right arm is due to her holding up her end of the palate on which all those fish rest.

2. I don't eat rock fish. Sorry, just don't like it. I prefer 'thin' filets like sole, tilapia, flounder, and salmon that's been butterflied for me.

3. All of that fish, split evenly among the group, gets eaten. Friends 'line up' to get their fresh filets.
                                                                                                               

It rained for three of the days we spent in San Diego. So on one of them, we visted the Air and Space Museum in Balboa Park. Fittingly, this museum is directly under the approach path for the airport and we snapped a few pics of arriving flights.  We love planes!


Inside we found quite a surprise.  Oftentimes, little attention is given to the Army Air Corps' theater in China Burma, where my dad was stationed during WWII.  He was a radio operator on C-47's.  So when we saw this display, I felt like I was visiting with my dad.

 Incidentally, the day my dad died, on June 1 in 1998, our youngest brother, Jay, was in Florida.  He would fly to Philadelphia  to join us the next day.  Jay, when he learned of my dad's death, walked down to the beach for a couple of minutes of solitude.  As he sat there he thought he heard the engines of a prop plane.   He looked up and right above him flew a C-47.  One last mission...

12 comments:

Lena said...

You brought tears to my eyes about that one last mission.

I am so glad you got to visit that museum and feel close to your dad.

That alone must have been worth the trip.

TAG said...

We all need that "one last mission" moment.

Thanks for sharing.

TAG

Sally Wessely said...

What a sweet post. I love this story. I liked the photo of the display. I'm glad that these men and these missions they had during the war are remembered and honored.

Gilly said...

Burma and the Far East was a very grim theatre of war, for both UK and American troops. Good to see a memorial.

Glad everyone enjoyed the fish!!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Oh Kathy, How incredible... One last flight of that C47, huh???? AWESOME... Glad you and your family have great memories of your Dad. He obviously did so much --as all of our military does -- to protect us and give us the freedom we enjoy.

Glad you visited the Air and Space Museum while in San Diego.

George said...

I think it's neat that you found a part of the museum dedicated to C-47s and could especially remember your father as a result. The men who flew in the China-Burma theater were all heroes as far as I'm concerned.
It was very moving that your brother saw a C-47 the day your Dad died.

Tracy said...

Kathy,
What a magnificent post and I'm certain your brother was seeing an angel...very cool!
Happy Easter!

Janette said...

When we lived in Hong Kong (1990) we traveled into China often. My husband is obviously Caucasian, but was fluent in Chinese. The "interior" people often came up to him and thanked him for being a Flying Tiger! They knew HE wasn't one- but they LOVED him because he was from the country of Flying Tigers. Many places in China credit this flying group with saving their countrymen- thousands, maybe millions of them. One city, in particular was under a brutal slaughter and just having the Americans fly overhead stopped the sword attack.
As an Army wife I take my hat off to those who fought an unsung campaign to save a country that is so grateful today.
I am sorry you lost your father. He walked with the greatest in my book.

Anonymous said...

Lovely post. I'm sure the spirit of your Dad is soaring high and proud.

Kay said...

This is so sad, beautiful, poignant. One last flight...

A Slice of My Life said...

Oh Kathy...that's just beautiful.

Mage said...

G works at the Automotive museum right nest door to the Air and Space. :) G's was a mechanic for the planes that flew the hump. I wonder if they might have known each other.

RYN: Yes, we buy Trader Joes no sugar chocolate bars all the time. Three squares are 1 WW Point. Yes, we eat at a lot of places at Liberty Station. Now I'm going to WW there too. LOL