What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever found (and kept)? – Asks the daily writing prompt. In my answer last year, I focused on some seashells in a post called Things Kept
This year I’ll share another thing. In going through some of dad’s things many years ago after he passed and I found two postcards that I keep over my desk. They were addressed to me when I was barely a year old. They were from my dad when he was in St Albans Naval hospital in New York.
My mom must have tucked them away after he passed. The ink is fading badly on one. It’s one of the few things I have with his writing to me. On the address he wrote out my full name with middle initial. But started the card with – Mike, this is your first postcard. I love you and your wonderful mommy. Don’t get in bed with Mommy. – And he signed it, Jim.
The second says – Dear Mike, Daddy is thinking of you and hope you are being a good fella for your mommy. Kiss mommy and little Lorri for me. Be a good little boy and lots of love. Dad
I’m not even sure why they have come to mean so much to me. Maybe it’s the time we didn’t have when I was an infant and toddler and then at 9, he was gone. The time we had after that was the most difficult time in his life. And that is saying something being he grew up in the depression, enlisted in the Navy a year before WWII started and was also in the Korean War and went on Operation Deep Freeze.
I know postcards don’t sound cool. But to me it’s kind of special, sort of like a connection to him from the start.
I’ve also found several ribbons and medals and photos of his years in service. But I found an old box also that I believe was his father’s because it had things from WWI in it including a Purple Heart.
