December, 1941
In December of '41, America was finally recovering from the Great Depression, in which thousands, if not millions of men and their families had been displaced. Thanks to Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, many would find new jobs....In the meantime, during the 30's...some had not been affected by the Depression and managed to hold on to a job and thrive...One such man was Merced Mendias, he was an auto mechanic at a Ford dealership in Tulare, California.
He was a tall, lean and strong man, with a base sense of humor, he was also a very generous man....He married a simple woman who had a kind heart, they had four kids, Arthur, Robert, Carmen, and Sally....
During the Depression times in the 30's, when many had lost their jobs, Merced would take them in, many sleeping on the floor of his home...he would feed them, but would always be after them to find new jobs...any job...sometimes he would put them work himself....he was in the position to do such things.
One day, he caught his oldest son Arthur, somewhat of a bully, swinging his little sister Sally by the arm and leg, threatening to toss her into the rose bushes. "Put your sister down! NOW! or I'll throw YOU in there!" he bellowed....Arthur put her down with a grin of defiance, while Carmen looked on with a smirk....Sally and Robert just sat on the front porch, and looked at each other with bemusement. Merced was a smart man when it came to his kids...One day he put his oldest sons in charge of their youngest sister, Sally....she became lost, and wandered back to the Ford Garage where he worked. He told her to climb into the back seat of the car he was working on, so she did, and fell asleep...Later, her two older brothers, Arthur and Robert showed up at the garage, "We can't find her! we've looked all over!"
Their father bellowed at them, "Well you go out and FIND HER! And don't come back until you do!!
A few years later, little Sally was playing hopscotch on the front sidewalk when a neighbor ran up, "Turn on your radio! we're being attacked! The Japs bombed Pearl Harbor! We're at War!"...
Upon hearing this news, Merced shuddered....
Arthur signed up, he was old enough, and joined the Army Air Corps (which is now the Air Force)...but his younger brother Robert was too young to join, and his love of books and history and engineering always pre-occupied him, he always had his nose in a book...until one night when his father was so frustrated that he slapped the book away from him. "Your brother is out there fighting this war! And what do you do? just sit there and read your stupid books?"
Robert didn't say a word, he sat there with his eyes welling with tears....he later told his younger sister that he would leave home as soon as he graduated from high school.
He was a tall, lean and strong man, with a base sense of humor, he was also a very generous man....He married a simple woman who had a kind heart, they had four kids, Arthur, Robert, Carmen, and Sally....
During the Depression times in the 30's, when many had lost their jobs, Merced would take them in, many sleeping on the floor of his home...he would feed them, but would always be after them to find new jobs...any job...sometimes he would put them work himself....he was in the position to do such things.
One day, he caught his oldest son Arthur, somewhat of a bully, swinging his little sister Sally by the arm and leg, threatening to toss her into the rose bushes. "Put your sister down! NOW! or I'll throw YOU in there!" he bellowed....Arthur put her down with a grin of defiance, while Carmen looked on with a smirk....Sally and Robert just sat on the front porch, and looked at each other with bemusement. Merced was a smart man when it came to his kids...One day he put his oldest sons in charge of their youngest sister, Sally....she became lost, and wandered back to the Ford Garage where he worked. He told her to climb into the back seat of the car he was working on, so she did, and fell asleep...Later, her two older brothers, Arthur and Robert showed up at the garage, "We can't find her! we've looked all over!"
Their father bellowed at them, "Well you go out and FIND HER! And don't come back until you do!!
A few years later, little Sally was playing hopscotch on the front sidewalk when a neighbor ran up, "Turn on your radio! we're being attacked! The Japs bombed Pearl Harbor! We're at War!"...
Upon hearing this news, Merced shuddered....
Arthur signed up, he was old enough, and joined the Army Air Corps (which is now the Air Force)...but his younger brother Robert was too young to join, and his love of books and history and engineering always pre-occupied him, he always had his nose in a book...until one night when his father was so frustrated that he slapped the book away from him. "Your brother is out there fighting this war! And what do you do? just sit there and read your stupid books?"
Robert didn't say a word, he sat there with his eyes welling with tears....he later told his younger sister that he would leave home as soon as he graduated from high school.
posted by Olias at 11:52 PM
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