See that handsome young man in his
deep purple shirt and his deep purple car?
Who wouldn't be attracted to a man that looks
like that? Sure glad my mother was attracted to him.
I saw this picture of Dad and all I said was,
"It isn't my fault! See?!! That's why I love purple!!!"
I think purple was bred into my veins before
I even came to earth!
Real men wear purple and Dad was a real man!
He has been gone for over 20 years now and
Mother has been gone for over 25. I have started
writing his life story.
When we cleaned out their house my brother took
all of the old slides and he painstakingly transferred
them to the computer for us. These are treasures
that no one had seen for years since they were slides.
What a labor of love this is. I have felt them both
so close as I work on their story, especially Dad's as
Mother wrote hers down but we typed it up before
digital cameras and computers and so I am going to
work on it and add photos.
They were a beautiful couple who married right before
WWII ended. He had been injured 10 days after landing
on the beaches of Normandy and was sent stateside but
instead of being let off in Chicago close to his home, he was
sent out to Utah where he met her at a USO type dance.
She aspired to be a writer when they were first married
and although I had known that, I had never read anything
she wrote or knew anything about her writing career.
Buried in the things my other brother brought home
from their house are her short stories and articles
and information on her publishing and her earnings.
The last treasure is a stack of their letters to one another.
(Dad's 1949 Ford Deluxe 2 Door Sedan as Ford said it, "The car that saved Ford."
See what you can learn on the internet and include in your story? He was a Ford man
all of his life.)
Write your own life story now. Add photos and letters
and personal touches. Write the stories of those you love.
I read this wonderful quote and included it in his story -
"What is left of me is what is written in the hearts and
minds of those who knew and loved me most. They wanted my
memory to live on for others who come trailing clouds of glory
into this world."
EVERYONE HAS A STORY!
Take the time to remember your loved ones
and write their stories. Write your own story
for there will be generations who treasure it
and find out why they loved this or that
through what you leave in your story.
Posting with
tears in my eyes. What a LOVEly post. They must be so proud of you and your love for them... and purple of course.
ReplyDeleteThey were both absolutely beautiful. But there's something more in your Dad. WOW. Gorgeous doesn't even touches the half of his looks. I love how his eyes smiled.
You're Blessed for descending from such good, gorgeous people.
Do write the Story and History. The ones coming along will enjoy you, and your family and what you have, even more.
Happy Easter!
Teresa
This brought a tear to my eye.
ReplyDeleteThey were a beautiful couple:) Both....You must be feeling full of love and warmth doing this..I know when I go through old things..there is an indescribable depth to my feelings.
♥
Jacqueline, this is proof positive! How special that you have these incredible photos, the letters your parents exchanged, and the stories your mom wrote. I admire you for writing their story and know it will be a fun project.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, jackie! I love your post and their stories....I am working on my own story. Your "Blog Books" are a great addition to your story for your family. I am sure they love your blog and their books of each year of your blog.
ReplyDeletehugs,
Betsy
Yep, it does appear you came by your love for purple naturally. I agree that writing our stories is important and I'm trying to do that to leave for my children and grandchildren and who knows who else.
ReplyDeleteImagine finding purple roots in the old photos brought to life on your computer! :-) How nice to be able to enjoy the photos and I hope your story is successful.
ReplyDeleteThe purple gene was passed on by my mother who loved the colour too and now so does one of our granddaughters.
Of course that is why I am so good looking. Love the purple car photos. Dad was such a car man. He was disappointed when I bought a Toyota for my first car; such a Ford man. You are doing good work. They deserve to be remembered. Love you, Joni
ReplyDeleteYour parents have the glamour of film stars! What a lovely and moving tribute.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
It is just incredible that you have valuable saved memories from your parents, and their actual letters! I admire you for writing their stories, your words will be treasured for generations and your mother's heart is surely bursting with pride that you are writing in her footsteps~ amazing fun about the PURPLE! I look forward to hearing more about your project~
ReplyDeleteJenna
What a wonderful story! Love the photos of your dad with the car and your mom. What a wonderful surprise it must have been to learn about her writing and publishing! I think it's wonderful that you are writing about their story. Does my heart good seeing that '49 Ford and that your dad always bought Ford. My father worked for Ford for 42 years and raised his family on it. I'm terrible about writing my thoughts like for a diary. I always abandoned any attempts! This blog is as close as I get to sharing some things about me. XX, Liz
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that you're doing this!! Your parents are beautiful & the stories of their life are even more so.
ReplyDeleteI was SO happy that I'd kept almost all the cards & letters my sweet Ernie ever gave me. I cried & cried, as I read after his death but many also made me laugh...his funny signatures..."Big Daddy"..."Irving"...just being silly. He once gave a an IOU for a pair of shoelaces AND his undying love. So sweet!! I treasure every note, just like you are doing with your parents things now.
Hugs,
Rett
Good Afternoon Jacqueline, How wonderful to read the story about your mum and dad.... and what a beautiful couple. To think that they met because your dad was not taken to Chicago, but Utah.... their love was meant to be.
ReplyDelete.... and I have to say, your dad looked very handsome in purple.
Best Wishes to you.
Daphne
Loved reading this, and I really loved reading the love letters! They were so cute together! Thanks for sharing it with us! And I really love the pictures, they were such good looking people! It makes me sad that I didn't really get to know them, but those letters give me the chance to see what they were really like!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to share this post with Fred. Brian Berkan looks so much like Uncle Fritz. Thank you for sharing about his WWII time. Happy Easter!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful, wonderful, and loving tribute to your parents. They were indeed a handsome couple.
ReplyDeleteSuch a loving post with special memories. It does bring tears to one's eyes, reading all about your precious mom and dad, I love these stories and we should all embrace our family's memories and special writings. I have love letters from my Grandfather to my Grandmother and some old photos of them all dressed up. Thanks for sharing Jackie. xo
ReplyDeleteThese photos are fantastic; so beautiful! What a legacy they have left behind...
ReplyDeleteWhat a good looking couple! They look so happy and kudos to you for keeping the tradition of writing alive.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. Beautiful people, story, family, colour.
ReplyDeleteAnd I do. I write some every day.
rachel