Random Thoughts XI (Eleven Pipers Piping)

[carvers4math]

may want to type up the letters anyway just because of fading

for the medals - what about a shadow box type display?

The letters haven't faded at all yet. They were in a closet in a trunk in the dark. None of us knew they existed until both parents were gone. They were mostly love letters in a chaste 1940's way, with some war info that's pretty interesting, and the censoring is kind of cool too. Sometimes they used black marker, sometimes they actually cut out places. I would like to get a lot of acid free sheet protectors. Need to keep the envelopes too as he didn't date the letters.

I've thought about the display box, but that just wasn't him. They are currently in a drawer in a cigar box. Maybe get a nicer box at a minimum.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

I debate whether I should do anything fancy with my dad's military medals.

He didn't get some of them when he got back to the US, because there was a line for sorting out your medals and a line to get on a train, and he took the train.

He never cared to get his other medals over the years. They never meant much to him. Unlike Bob Dole, he didn't parade around in his Purple Heart because so many of his friends paid a higher price.

Right now they sit in a drawer where they have sat for decades. I guess I'm tempted just to leave it at that, maybe do a journal or video with his thoughts about them.

I do need to preserve the war letters between my parents though. Most are his, not hers, for obvious reasons. I feel like maybe I should type them up too though, as not sure the grandkids could read his writing.

You could always look at donating the medals to a museum. I know museums may only display 5% of what they get, but it may be worth asking. The WWI museum in KC has uniforms, medals, etc and I was very interested in everything I saw.

 

[carvers4math]

I'm struggling to find what about this girl is a manipulative witch from this story.

Also to note: your boys aren't stupid. They know if they're being used for math help. They're also likely using the girls for something or another as well. It sure ain't a one way street.

I can't decide if her comment about husband looking way younger than his workout shaming brother was manipulative or not. I also think husband looks younger. BIL lives in desert area and his skin is really wrinkly. Son's girlfriend also made fun of his Captain America shirt, which was a plus.

 

[VeloClone]

Mrs. Velo's brother is named executor in her parents' will. He has already announced that when they go he will be ordering a roll off dumpster and nobody can save anything - all of the house's contents are going into the trash. He already has Mrs. Velo worked up about it. Neither of Mrs. Velo's parents have commented on this announcement...

 

[SCyclone]

I debate whether I should do anything fancy with my dad's military medals.

He didn't get some of them when he got back to the US, because there was a line for sorting out your medals and a line to get on a train, and he took the train.

He never cared to get his other medals over the years. They never meant much to him. Unlike Bob Dole, he didn't parade around in his Purple Heart because so many of his friends paid a higher price.

Right now they sit in a drawer where they have sat for decades. I guess I'm tempted just to leave it at that, maybe do a journal or video with his thoughts about them.

I do need to preserve the war letters between my parents though. Most are his, not hers, for obvious reasons. I feel like maybe I should type them up too though, as not sure the grandkids could read his writing.

Your dad came from a generation where men didn't brag about what they did, they just did it. It could have been that he simply didn't want to talk about it - there are hellish things in any war, and I'm sure his was no exception. My son-in-law (Ryan, he married Alana) was in the Rangers in Afghanistan, and he doesn't talk about it. At all.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

Mrs. Velo's brother is named executor in her parents' will. He has already announced that when they go he will be ordering a roll off dumpster and nobody can save anything - all of the house's contents are going into the trash. He already has Mrs. Velo worked up about it. Neither of Mrs. Velo's parents have commented on this announcement...

He sounds like a gem. Better make sure her parents' will is detailed if there are things she wants.

 

[carvers4math]

Your dad came from a generation where men didn't brag about what they did, they just did it. It could have been that he simply didn't want to talk about it - there are hellish things in any war, and I'm sure his was no exception. My son-in-law (Ryan, he married Alana) was in the Rangers in Afghanistan, and he doesn't talk about it. At all.

You nailed it. We got little bits and pieces of it in the year before he died. It was over four years of his life too, as he got shot right before his four years would have been over and was in an evac hospital a while too.

 

[VeloClone]

He sounds like a gem. Better make sure her parents' will is detailed if there are things she wants.

The kicker is they have relatively new furniture - which her other brother certainly doesn't have and it is even much newer and better than ours. Even if it was pragmatic about not fighting over keepsakes, why not look out for your little brother who doesn't have a brand new house and all new furnishings.

I guess we'll see if he goes through with it when the rubber meets the road.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

Once my mom was asking me if there was anything specific I wanted. I told her no and she kept asking and saying there had to be something so I said something and she told me one of my sisters wanted that. After about 3 more things that one of my sisters had laid claim to I told her "See, That's why I'm not going to worry about it"

 

[CloneLawman]

Mrs. Velo's brother is named executor in her parents' will. He has already announced that when they go he will be ordering a roll off dumpster and nobody can save anything - all of the house's contents are going into the trash. He already has Mrs. Velo worked up about it. Neither of Mrs. Velo's parents have commented on this announcement...

I think perhaps we should kindly advise Mrs. Velo's brother regarding his potential future fiduciary duties (assuming he is appointed as Executor) to the other beneficiaries and especially about his potential liability for breaching said duties! This in addition to suggesting to the parental units that they should be specific about what they want to happen to items of personal property.



Edit. Followup ?- where are Mrs. Velo's parents domiciled?

 

[CloneLawman]

He sounds like a gem. Better make sure her parents' will is detailed if there are things she wants.

Also, most states allow the Will (or Trust) to incorporate by reference a "laundry list" of personal items that the owner can make, date and sign. e.g. "
my Heisman trophy goes to Velo, he's such a nice young man.

The couch goes to Mrs. Velo's brother

etc.

Signed Mrs. Velo's Mom, 9/6/17"

So if the Will or Trust refers to the option of leaving such a writing, and the writing is found after the person's death, then the list is just as enforceable as any other part of the will (generally speaking).

 

[ImJustKCClone]

OK, here's a pic from the second daughter's wedding (Hannah).....that's me on the right, her real dad on the left. Long story - but it's all good. Hannah calls me Dad, and if she needs something she calls me. I love her like my own!!!!
View attachment 49666
And yes, I'm well aware I don't have any hair!!!!

Blended families take on an identity of their own at weddings, don't they? Been there - bought a LOT of dresses.

 

[VeloClone]

I think perhaps we should kindly advise Mrs. Velo's brother regarding his potential future fiduciary duties (assuming he is appointed as Executor) to the other beneficiaries and especially about his potential liability for breaching said duties! This in addition to suggesting to the parental units that they should be specific about what they want to happen to items of personal property.



Edit. Followup ?- where are Mrs. Velo's parents domiciled?

 

[jcyclonee]

OK, here's a pic from the second daughter's wedding (Hannah).....that's me on the right, her real dad on the left. Long story - but it's all good. Hannah calls me Dad, and if she needs something she calls me. I love her like my own!!!!
View attachment 49666
And yes, I'm well aware I don't have any hair!!!!

Nothing wrong with bald guys

 

[ImJustKCClone]

I debate whether I should do anything fancy with my dad's military medals.

He didn't get some of them when he got back to the US, because there was a line for sorting out your medals and a line to get on a train, and he took the train.

He never cared to get his other medals over the years. They never meant much to him. Unlike Bob Dole, he didn't parade around in his Purple Heart because so many of his friends paid a higher price.

Right now they sit in a drawer where they have sat for decades. I guess I'm tempted just to leave it at that, maybe do a journal or video with his thoughts about them.

I do need to preserve the war letters between my parents though. Most are his, not hers, for obvious reasons. I feel like maybe I should type them up too though, as not sure the grandkids could read his writing.

For my father's 80th birthday, we transcribed all of his letters home & to my mother, and all of their letters to him. We started with the day he went to A&M (the financial accountings are amazing!) and went all the way through to when we moved to Washington, where they petered out as the ranch finally had a phone that they didn't share with 12 other families.
My sisters did all the typing; I merged the files and changed fonts for the different authors so that you could read the back & forth in the order they were sent/received. We added scanned pictures in collages from the time frame for "chapter headings" (the early A&M years, the war years, the later A&M years, the California years, etc). I was able to find a binder in the department, and the owner showed me how to feed the machine so that we produced about 10 books - one for each daughter, one for each grandchild, one for him, and one for his brother that was still living at the time. We titled it "The Clarence Chronicles - Tales of a Traveling Texan".

From all of that, @carvers4math - what I'm saying is DO IT! Your kids may not think much about it now, but they will probably appreciate the history in the future.

Fun fact - putting that book together where I learned that the original "Reveille" - the collie mascot of A&M (a border collie mix then, now a standard collie) - had a fondness for sleeping on his bed. And per the code for the cadets in the corps at A&M, if Reveille wanted YOUR bed, YOU slept on the floor. And man, did he ever complain about it to his folks!

 

[ImJustKCClone]

My father's medals from WWII are stored in a box that my sister has along with many other small items that couldn't fit when he downsized from his house to an apartment in an independent living facility. Last Christmas he got out the medals he was most proud of, and gave them to his oldest great-grandson, an active scout who plans to pursue the rank of Eagle scout that my father achieved:



Namely, his scouting badges & medals...

 

[ImJustKCClone]

Once my mom was asking me if there was anything specific I wanted. I told her no and she kept asking and saying there had to be something so I said something and she told me one of my sisters wanted that. After about 3 more things that one of my sisters had laid claim to I told her "See, That's why I'm not going to worry about it"

When my grandfather died, there were a pair of portraits of him and my grandmother (circa 1916, 1917 - he was in his WWI uniform) that had been promised to me by my grandmother, and subsequently by him. They were the first place I went every time we went to the ranch, and my first chore would always be to clean the curved glass and the ornate frames. My aunt (wife of oldest son) didn't know about that, and took the portraits and hung them in their home. When I found out I was hurt, but didn't say anything because I felt she & my uncle really had the better claim, and they have always been my favorite aunt & uncle. A few years later I mentioned it to my sister who still lives down there. She must have said something, because about five years ago I received a huge, fragile shipment (sent to my office for safety purposes). When I opened it, there were the two framed portraits, with a letter from my aunt who said she had heard that they were supposed to be mine, and that she was now moving to a smaller space, and thought I should have them. She also thanked me for letting her "store them" for me. *snif*
They will be going to her oldest grand child (who is also the oldest great-grandchild of my grandparents) when it comes time for them to leave the space above my mantel.

 

[ImJustKCClone]

Dang, I'm longwinded today! Lunch hour...

 

[CloneLawman]

Aha! Well, I know a thing or two about the laws of that state!

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

Nothing wrong with bald guys