Something happens when the sun goes down. As December closes in, doors begin to open here in Vallejo. Open houses and dinner parties. Cocktails and desserts. Laughter, conviviality, and a smack of drama just for fun. This week alone I have had conversations about tattoos, eccentric neighbors, sailing, Spruce our little pop-up shop, Callaghan Construction, the mispronunciation of sandwiches as sang-wiches. Stories of grandfathers topped the bill as did Iberian singers, concrete beaches, clowning for a children’s dance troupe in Russia and riding brooms to Las Vegas. I was even gifted a scarecrow for my winter garden. I have eaten shrimp and cheese, Continue reading “RESOLUTION”
A MEMORABLE WEEKEND
In 1951 my father shipped out from Mare Island. In Korea, at the age of 23, Second Lieutenant Vernon Judt was assigned to a Battalion Aid station. My father only ever told me two stories about the war. One, “When I first went over, when it was quiet, the doc and I would put an inch of whiskey in our canteen cups then fill it with water. By the end we would fill them with whiskey, no water.” The other was darker and more suggestive than inclusive with detail. “Some nights there would be so many wounded that the Doc could not handle them all. On those nights I would have to triage. Some, the ones you knew would not make it, I would give extra morphine to them and tell them that everything would be okay.” Continue reading “A MEMORABLE WEEKEND”