By Vern Holmquist
To those who attended the surprise birthday party held in my honor at the Bavarian Haus in May, and the lady responsible for it, I thank you. Now be Frank (it seems I have heard that name mentioned in the Bavarian before), be truthful: was it really my birthday you were celebrating, or was it just another excuse to have a party in this partying town?
All I can think of is that I have lived this long time, stayed out of trouble and led an interesting life while keeping it as free of stress as possible. I learned early that stress can cause unbearable back pain. Yep, whenever it got stressful, I moved on. Sort of like my friend Don’t-give-a-damn Jones.
In my 88 years, along with the war to end all wars, WWII, I’ve led an interesting life, some of which I’ve shared with you through this column. There was the Arabian horse ranch job in Montana, collecting pregnant mares’ urine for estrogen hormones. Bet you ladies didn’t know where those shots come from.
I worked in the oil fields, sold and raced sports cars, was a machinist in the Silicon Valley and went broke in three pipe tobacco shops (I enjoyed all three of them), sold real estate on our Oregon Coast… These are just the jobs that lasted over a few weeks.
War has lasting effects on all who volunteer or are forced to participate. For me it was not the trauma of being wounded, or shot at, or going down with a wing blown off. I think what the greatest effect on me was that I did not have to worry about where my next meal was coming from, who was going to do my laundry, or how I was going to get to my next destination. It was a mostly carefree but interesting life.
You’ve heard the expression, “There are no atheists in foxholes,” and I must admit there were times both in and out of the service when I was prompted to beg for a little heavenly assistance. But for the most part, it has been a life of small, interesting experiences with little responsibility connected to it. I never did learn to do my own laundry.
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So, in a couple of weeks we will again celebrate the birth of our country and again we will honor those who gave their all to protect the freedom our forefathers established. I’ll shed a tear with you as our flag passes in review. I’ll salute all in the service of this great country. As some of you know, I do not always salute those who make the big decisions in the White House, and it is my freedom to do so, but until proven wrong, I believe we must all support our president. It is time for a united front against war and our economy.
