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Bottom Gun BBS | |||
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At random: Habitability is heavily stressed in the construction of modern submarines. Specially designed color schemes, mechanical conveniences, air conditioning, and the best chow in the Navy are supplied to make the vessels more livable. A full time staff is maintained by Electric Boat Division to work out 'human engineering' problems. |
From the email attic - something about Old Gringo Moderators: Jump to page : 1 Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page] | |
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Sid Harrison |
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Great Sage of the Sea Posts: 590 Location: Colton, NY | Subject: From the email attic - something about Old Gringo I was recently culling and reorganizing my e-mail files and came across this one. Thought I better pass it along now before I forget it. Sid ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Begin email ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: 6/19/2005 8:58 PM jimmy@thekollective.com Hi to you gents. My name is James Thomas Parks. I am Tom Parks, a man more affectionately known around this deck as Old Gringo's #1 Grandson. I was born in August of 1968. 36 years later I am a father of 3, married 13 years. My Father, Tom’s oldest son, lives 40 minutes north of me in Ogden, Utah. Growing older and wiser (hopefully) I think back to the old salty fellow who took me for trips with his love Corrine out to the Mojave desert. A quiet man, he was often mistaken as being a grumpy bastard. I was always drawn to his strong character in my youth, and would often break uncomfortable silences in the old pickup by saying,” Grandpa?" ........... "Grandpa?"........."GRANDPA?" WHAT!!!! I'm listening! You can imagine what an 8 year olds reaction would be to a response such as that. But in my mid years now it makes me crack a smile. I remember when I was about 18 getting a heart felt letter from Old Gringo about life’s lessons learned, and advice about how I may become a better man. It was PAGES. I remember taking it for granted and putting it away in some old box. Years went by, I grew apart from both my Father and Old Gringo. Tom's one time sweetheart passed of Breast Cancer. He began spending a lot more time in what had been his home away from home, Mexico, Tijuana, etc. then ever before. Later on Tom met his second love in Mexico City and they married. Eventually The Parks family had decided to have their first EVER family reunion out of the blue and all of the Parks' came to San Diego to gather as a family of people who had been doing their own thing, living their own lives and yet for these few days we shared each other together and I got to sit with Old Gringo for several days in comfortable silence. The pictures in our minds and our albums and on our walls we treasure of the time we spent together as a family born of this Sailor and his bride. We left each other at the end happy and in love with our name "Parks" like never before, not knowing that this last Tacate scented hug would be the last great hug I was ever to have from the salty son of a gun. Remarkable. Last year my Father Jim and I were conversing about old Tom and his laugh which we would miss a whole lot more if it were not that our laughs themselves had a familiar ring to the original. My Father asked if I would come upstairs with him to his study for a moment so I obliged. He wanted to share with me how revered the Old Gringo was with pages of old sailor’s messages to my Father about his. They all had the most amazing stories of this mystery fellow I knew as Grandpa Tom and what a character he was and what a man was supposed to be. He showed me Toms medals he had earned being a P boat sailor. He told me about his brother and how he used to go AWOL when he was not given permission to leave just so he could see his brother Jim. He told ma about the loss of Jim on his ship during WWII and how heart breaking it was for Old Gringo. Lastly he handed me a gift he said belonged to me. He reached into his old cigar box full of medals, clippings, and other treasures and he pulled out something gold. It was a ring. I had seen this ring on my Grandpa Tom several times and looked at it with curiosity often but had never wanted to bother him by asking if I could hold it. Nor had I ever asked him about the significance of the 1910 Indian Head $5 Gold coin which was mounted flush inside the signet shaped bezel. And now, here it was being presented to me from Father to Son. I have a son. He is my #1 son, only 12 1/2 years old. His name is Thomas Ray Parks after his Great Grandpa who all of you call Old Gringo. On this Fathers Day, I pay tribute to my Grandpa Tom, His son Jim Parks, and Toms Great Grandson who shall receive the gold ring which belonged to the best God Damned sailor which ever lived....Tom Parks. Your #1 Grandson, Jimmy Parks --------------------------------------------------- End --------------------------------------------------- | ||
RCK |
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Master and Commander Posts: 1431 | Subject: RE: From the email attic - something about Old Gringo There are many many things that could be learned from our grandparents. Sometimes the values of the past are the richest treasures we could hold in a world where those values are lost or ignored by revisionists who haven't a clue of there real meaning. | ||
BlackBeard |
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Great Sage of the Sea Posts: 566 Location: Inyokern, Ca. | Subject: RE: From the email attic - something about Old Gringo THis just brought a tear to my remembering how much I used to love reading Old Gringo's posts. I can just imagine that Old Gringo and Cowboy are up there now at a poker table stacking the deck and waiting for a few more players. BB | ||
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