JANE and JIM
I had a great afternoon today! My friend of 70 years - Jim Leslie - and his daughter Jane Brown, stopped by to see Marie and I. I am really flattered - that anyone, who will be 85 on December 7th, said that he wanted to see Marie and I - this was the primary reason that he flew out from Detroit.
Jim has been a loyal friend since July, 1937. My Dad had been transferred from the New York Central Railroad’s Cleveland office to their Detroit office. This was at the tail end of the Great Depression, and the Railroad was consolidating their District offices. I met Jim shortly after we moved from Berea to Ypsilanti. He was in my brother Bob’s high school class of 1940. Bob was a good athlete with a great sense of humor. He made friends easily.
I was working at the International Radio Company in Ann Arbor at the time. The few people I met were my fellow workers. So, I started hanging out with my brother Bob and his friends. Jim was among those friends. Of course their acceptance of me might have been influenced by the second hand Model A Ford that I had just bought. Subsequently, I played a lot of golf with Bob and Jim. (Bob was on the Ypsilanti high school- golf team.) Jim and I played about the same caliber of golf so it was always challenging and interesting. We also did a lot of bowling, pitching pennies and playing cards together.
I am very proud of my three daughters - Mary, Joan and Sue. They really stepped up to the plate today when I needed them. They responded to my request that they join Jane, Jim and I for lunch. (Marie was sick and couldn’t make it.) They added a lot to the occasion, and helped me entertain my friend. They made our get-together that much more enjoyable.
Jim has been a very loyal and supportive friend through the years. He attended my brothers Bob’s and Jack’s weddings. He was always there, supporting the family, when my Dad, Mom, sister Jeanne and brother Bob died.
So, thanks Jim, and Jane, for coming to see us. We appreciate your thoughtfulness. Thanks, too, Mary ,Joan and Sue for all of your support and friendliness to my friend Jim, and his daughter Jane.
After lunch at the Front Room, Jim removed his University of Michigan “maize and blue” tie and gave it to me for an early 89th -birthday present! Thank you very much, Jim.
After we returned home, Jane brought out Jim’s Argus C-3 camera. It brought back memories when I worked in Ann Arbor assembling Argus cameras. I used to put in the shutter- release pin assembly
when I worked at the radio factory in Ann Arbor - before WWII.
Parting was quite emotional for me, as they left for Reno. When I said “Goodbye Jim”, I suddenly realized that this is probably the last time that Jim and I will see each other.
(Note: For more on Jim, see “My Friend Jim” on page 217 of my book.)
I had a great afternoon today! My friend of 70 years - Jim Leslie - and his daughter Jane Brown, stopped by to see Marie and I. I am really flattered - that anyone, who will be 85 on December 7th, said that he wanted to see Marie and I - this was the primary reason that he flew out from Detroit.
Jim has been a loyal friend since July, 1937. My Dad had been transferred from the New York Central Railroad’s Cleveland office to their Detroit office. This was at the tail end of the Great Depression, and the Railroad was consolidating their District offices. I met Jim shortly after we moved from Berea to Ypsilanti. He was in my brother Bob’s high school class of 1940. Bob was a good athlete with a great sense of humor. He made friends easily.
I was working at the International Radio Company in Ann Arbor at the time. The few people I met were my fellow workers. So, I started hanging out with my brother Bob and his friends. Jim was among those friends. Of course their acceptance of me might have been influenced by the second hand Model A Ford that I had just bought. Subsequently, I played a lot of golf with Bob and Jim. (Bob was on the Ypsilanti high school- golf team.) Jim and I played about the same caliber of golf so it was always challenging and interesting. We also did a lot of bowling, pitching pennies and playing cards together.
I am very proud of my three daughters - Mary, Joan and Sue. They really stepped up to the plate today when I needed them. They responded to my request that they join Jane, Jim and I for lunch. (Marie was sick and couldn’t make it.) They added a lot to the occasion, and helped me entertain my friend. They made our get-together that much more enjoyable.
Jim has been a very loyal and supportive friend through the years. He attended my brothers Bob’s and Jack’s weddings. He was always there, supporting the family, when my Dad, Mom, sister Jeanne and brother Bob died.
So, thanks Jim, and Jane, for coming to see us. We appreciate your thoughtfulness. Thanks, too, Mary ,Joan and Sue for all of your support and friendliness to my friend Jim, and his daughter Jane.
After lunch at the Front Room, Jim removed his University of Michigan “maize and blue” tie and gave it to me for an early 89th -birthday present! Thank you very much, Jim.
After we returned home, Jane brought out Jim’s Argus C-3 camera. It brought back memories when I worked in Ann Arbor assembling Argus cameras. I used to put in the shutter- release pin assembly
when I worked at the radio factory in Ann Arbor - before WWII.
Parting was quite emotional for me, as they left for Reno. When I said “Goodbye Jim”, I suddenly realized that this is probably the last time that Jim and I will see each other.
(Note: For more on Jim, see “My Friend Jim” on page 217 of my book.)
1 comment:
Dad, Thank You for inviting me to lunch. I enjoyed it tremendously listening to the great stories from you and Jim and meeting Jane.
Post a Comment