BE Inspired

Letter #7 in a series...

Lesson #7: Ask questions.

Dear Future Grandchildren,

In honor of Father’s Day, I’m going to tell you the story of my dad, your great-grandfather who your mom/dad called ‘Pops’.

Pops was, and still is, the smartest person I’ve ever known. He was the valedictorian of his high school class and was a lifelong member of Mensa {google it}. He was the oldest of six siblings and I remember fondly the stories my aunts and uncles would tell about being distraught whenever they were assigned to one of ‘Jimmy’s’ teachers because that meant they were sure to hear a comment like, “Why aren’t you as smart as your older brother?”

His parents held blue collar jobs and the family lived in a tiny house in a small town in Pennsylvania. There weren’t many job prospects for Pops when he graduated and his family had no money to send him to college. So, he did what many young men of his generation did - he joined the U.S. Army. After serving for a few years, he would qualify for the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act- aka the G.I. Bill {google it} which would pay his tuition at college. It was his only choice if he wanted to get a college education and have a brighter future.

Now before the Army allows you to serve, you have to pass both a physical and an IQ test. Pops passed both, but he scored so high on the IQ test that he was assigned the elite role of becoming a foreign language interpreter. He was almost immediately flown to Monterrey, California to attend a full-immersion (as in, they won’t ever speak English there… at all!) Russian language training camp. Can you imagine what a shock that must have been for him? He was only 18, had never been outside of his small town in Pennsylvania, had never flown in an airplane, and certainly had never spoken Russian before! I wish I knew if he was scared, excited, overwhelmed?

Well, after several weeks learning Russian, Pops was flown to Germany to serve as a Russian interpreter for the U.S. Army. He translated letters, radio transmissions, newspapers, and official documents. He didn’t discuss his time in the army much and I wish I knew why…was his work classified? Did he not want to talk about it? Did we just not ask? IDK, but the only story I do remember is that he converted to Catholicism while he was abroad. Apparently, many of his army friends were Catholic and no matter how much “fun 🍻” they had on a Saturday night, they always got up early, got dressed nicely, and went to church. This amazed him! He asked them once if he could tag along and, as the story goes, after that he was hooked. He converted and became a loyal and practicing Catholic for the rest of his life.

Upon returning from the army Pops found himself back in Pennsylvania and ready to use that G.I. Bill to go to college. He took a bus down to Philadelphia and walked right into the admissions office at Drexel University. He asked to be enrolled and the people in the office looked at him like he was crazy. They explained to him that that is not how things worked, that he had to fill out the application, get recommendations, transfer his records, etc. but, Pops was persistent. He said he wasn’t leaving until he spoke directly with the Dean of Admissions.

Ultimately, the assistant gave in and Pops found himself in the Dean’s office. He calmly explained his situation to the Dean, but the Dean just reiterated what the assistant had said- that he’d have to at least provide his academic records. Remember, this was before the internet so Pops would have to take the bus home, walk to the school, ask for the records (which would be in storage), mail them to Drexel, and then wait for a decision. It could take weeks and the next semester started in just a few days! So, he did some quick thinking and asked the Dean if John Smith (not the real name…I don’t recall the real one!) was a student at Drexel. The Dean had his assistant confirm that yes Mr. Smith was, in fact, a student in excellent standing. Then Pops said, “Well, John was ranked 10th in our high school class and I was ranked 1st”. MIC DROP! With that information, the Dean enrolled him on the spot in part because of his intelligence, but maybe more so because of his tenacity.

At Drexel, Pops earned both his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Business Administration in less than 5 years while working at a bank for extra money. I remember him telling me that he ate lunch at the same diner everyday for years- always getting a cup of coffee and a bowl of soup because those were the cheapest things on the menu. He worked at the bank for a few years after graduating too and that is where he met my mom- your great grandmother ,Nana Phyllis.

After they married, Pops began to look for a better job which he found at a company then called UNIVAC (later changed to Sperry Rand and, as of this writing, known as UNISYS). UNIVAC was the creator of the first general-purpose computer for commercial use (yes, before Apple and Microsoft!) and, more importantly to the story, created the computer systems first used by the U.S. Government. After Pops passed away, one of our neighbors told me that prior to getting the job offer at UNIVAC, two men in black suits and in a government car visited our house to interview Nana Phyllis and all of our direct neighbors. Apparently, Pops needed top level clearance to get this job!

All I remember from those years was that he travelled internationally a lot. But, sadly I don’t exactly know what he did for the company. Even the neighbors said he was always vague about what he did back then, but that at parties when he drank a little too much he would start talking in Russian or German and the whole gang thought he was spewing top secret info - LOL! Why didn’t he ever tell us what he did? Was it, in fact, top secret? Did we never ask?

Eventually, Pops transitioned to desk jobs with less mystery and less traveling. He worked in auditing, information management, and quality control. He ultimately retired in 1990, spending his few retirement years prior to his early death in 1999, golfing, reading, watching sports, traveling, and doing crossword puzzles.

Pops had an interesting and challenging life. I’m happy to have many memories of him, but I’m also super sad that I don’t know the details of his time in California at the Russian language camp; in the U.S. Army while in Germany; or of his first, top-secret job with UNIVAC to name a few. Surely, knowing more about those experiences would help me understand the man he became, but his early death prevents me now from ever getting those answers. I’m sure I missed out on some amazing stories and life lessons and so my lack of asking more questions will remain one of my biggest regrets.

When I was young, Pops and I often spent rainy or snowy weekend days by completing huge puzzles together. He taught me to always start by finding the end pieces and creating the frame before moving on to fill in the center section. Think of your life as a giant puzzle…the frame is composed of the life stories of your ancestors and the center is your story. With a complete and solid frame, you’ll be able to fill in your center pieces with a lot more clarity, purpose, and insight.

So, grandkids…ask questions, ask lots and lots of questions! Since we can’t control how long we have together on this earth, don’t hesitate to interview your grandparents now because you don’t want to have regrets later on as I do. Every person in your family has interesting stories to share and the more you know the more you’ll be able to understand your heritage, your personality, your upbringing, and simply…why you are how you are.

Love,

Nana XOXO

P.S.: Do some puzzles too! They are fun and give your brain a good workout.

P.P.S.: Here I am with Pops at my wedding in 1993. Some say we looked alike...what do you think?