A Letter

Aged paper in a yellowed envelope, Postage dated in 1951 (nearly a decade before my birth). The letter is from my father to his grandmother in-law. Thoughtful, tender, kind --hard to believe it was written during a difficult time in his life. He was taken from his young wife and stationed by mistake in North Korea, serving in the Army's Engineering Corp, and helping build bridges for the war effort there.

The letter intrigues me with handwriting that I recognize but that would become less fluid by the time I would take notice of his penmanship. He asks tenderly about her health which is what prompted the letter for she had suffered a stroke. He promises her he will help her with the garden when he returns. It would be six months before his missing paperwork that proves his four-year stint in Europe during World War 2 would be found, consulted and give him leave to come home.

The letter is an artifact that I cherish. It's part of my story because it connects me to him. Part of the landscape of continuity and resonance that I never tire of exploring. Although he has been gone for over twenty years.