Ex Soldiers Never Die, They Just Fade Away

After the veteran trade school was built it  next to the bus station in Marietta itwas a busy place.  It was located at the edge of the Clay Homes.

   Which meant a lot of people hung around  in the parking lot, which attracted us local street kids. 

A man started coming everyday who on a motor scooter.  He was never lost for words,.  He was clever, a good speaker with a country accent, and from his tales he told us kids he was a war hero.  He was one of those people that made you wonder why they needed the other soldiers for?

I grew up to be a young man and the whole time, up until I went on active duty I think occasionally I would see Gene over on the side of road sitting on his motor scooter  with a bunch of adolescents around him as he spun them another war story.

Gene never held a job after he left WWII.  Gene was a casualty of WWII, he was shell shocked.

He  reminds me of  Luke Wilson playing Dink Jenkins     in the movie MY DOG SKIP.

Also, while on the subject of the veterans trade school and hanging out in the parking lot what Cherry Bombs are.  Once some students let the fuse of a cherry bomb, put a can upside down on top of it and ran.  It exploded and the can went flying straight up in the air.  

And another, more daring student, blew up one in the front entrance hall and we all ran.