Fourth Lake, Chapter 14

On Tuesday  morning, August 6, 1974, Judy and Phil were sharing a breakfast of cold cereal and hot coffee.  The cottage was very still as Phil was intently listening to the news on the radio, while Judy was deep in thought about her plans for visiting Dollar Island.  A CBS journalist reported that after a morning Cabinet meeting at the White House, Undersecretary of the Treasury, William Simon, was quoted as saying, “The President sincerely believes he has not committed any impeachable offense.  He intends to stay.” 

“After yesterday’s admission (the smoking gun), I’m not sure Nixon has enough political support in Congress to stick it out,” said Phil.

Judy said nothing, just staring at the other side of the cottage, what ever was directly in front of her.

“Judy, the fate of the nation is at stake and you are not paying attention.”

“Oh, the fate of the nation will take care of itself.  Later, I want us to get into our canoe and go for a ride.  Ok?”

“Ok.  We’ll go.  Whatever you want.”

So, some hours later, they shoved off and headed directly for Dollar Island.  It was Judy’s idea to circle the island to check it out, to see it as up close as possible before the actual landing she planned for the following day.  After their first time around, Judy said they should do it again.  She especially noted the area just by the mansion, but also the rest of the island as well.  Judy was looking for the best landing area, preferably on the far side, away from prying eyes.  She thought she found what she was looking for.

Finally, Judy consented to heading back to dry land.  Phil suggested going to the Laughing Loon for a well-earned drink and Judy agreed.  After tying up the canoe by a nearby dock, they entered the bar.  It was quiet inside.  Only one other couple was there, sitting at the far end of the bar.  Once again, Mitch Riley was on duty.  Before sitting down on the stools by the bar, Phil headed to the men’s room (in the opposite direction from the bar) and asked Judy to order him an ice cold Genesee beer.     

“Welcome back, Judy.  What would you like to drink?”  Mitch was still thinking of what he saw of Judy late Saturday night.  He hadn’t been disappointed.

Again, Judy was deep in thought and this time not about Dollar Island nor about their drink order.  She felt an irresistable impulse and had to react to it.  She looked at Mitch.

“Can you see the door to the men’s room from here?”  (Judy couldn’t.)

“Sure!  Why?”

“Has anybody entered since my husband did?”

“No!”

Looking at the other couple to her left, she replied, “Tell me when either my husband or someone else comes in or out of the men’s room.  In the mean time, a Genesee for my husband and a cosmopolitan for me.”

An eerie feeling had came over Judy, a kind of a premonition which she didn’t quite understand.  When Mitch delivered the drinks, he mentioned that a man he didn’t know had just entered the Laughing Loon from the same door as Judy had and had gone directly into the men’s room.  Judy got off her stool and also headed for the men’s room.  She wasn’t sure why, but she had to find something out that was nagging at her.  After a moment’s hesitation, she entered the men’s room.  There were six urinals and two stalls.  The door to one of the stalls was ajar indicating it was empty.  Judy saw nobody.  This was not good.  According to Mitch, there were two men in there and it seemed as if they were both in the same stall. 

After waiting for some seconds, Judy called out her husband’s name, but got no response.  She called out again.

“Judy, what are you doing?” came Phil’s voice from behind the closed door of the toilet.  “Get out of here!”

“Who’s in there with you, Phil?”

“Nobody!  Now, get out of here.”

“I know there’s somebody else in there with you.  Who’s with you and what are you doing?”

Phil screamed, “Get out of here...now!”

Judy finally walked out of the men’s room and headed straight for the bar.  The other couple in the bar and Mitch had obviously heard Phil screaming and were starring at her.  Judy stepped up on the stool as far as she could and leaned over towards Mitch.  She grabbed his shirt and pulled him towards her.  Judy gave him a hard kiss on the mouth before walking out of the bar.  Mitch was stunned, but very pleased. 

Judy walked all the way back to the cottage.  She was in shock at her discovery and was trying to make sense of it.  She was angry and was looking for a way to deal with her anger.  Instead of entering her cottage, she went to Joe’s.  When Judy entered the cottage, Joe was sitting on the sofa watching television and drinking beer.

“Judy, what do you...”

Before he could get the words out of his mouth, Judy grabbed him and pushed him down.  She got on top of him and they started having sex in an almost violent way.  Joe responded with no any questions asked.  Some minutes later, after they were finished, Judy left and went to her cottage, entered and locked the door.  Phil was nowhere to be seen.   

Judy sat there stunned.  She was trying to make sense of her discovery.  She felt almost numb, almost as if someone had died.  Had her marriage died?  Was it a sham?  How long had he been unfaithful?  Who was this other man?  She was waiting for Phil.  She knew he would come there eventually.  What would he say?  What could he say?  How should she react?  She was full of anger.  She had gotten some revenge, but was it enough?

Judy looked in the refrigerator and grabbed a couple of cans of beer.  She chugged them down quickly hoping they would bring her some relief from the pain she was feeling.  They didn’t.  Finally, sleep consumed her.  Maybe it was all a bad dream that she would wake up from.  Could her trip to Fourth Lake, which started so hopefully, end like this?  She thought of the words of her heroine, “Tomorrow is another day.”     

   

Abraham Lincoln

First, Happy Valentine's Day.
Second, I will be on vacation next Sunday.  See you in two weeks.
Third, I give you Abraham Lincoln.

I have always been fascinated with the image and story of Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States of America.  When I was seven years-old, my family was passing through Washington, D.C. on our way to visit my grandparents in Miami Beach, Florida.  I was looking forward to walking up the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to pay my respects.  Unfortunately, as a result of an infection in my right knee, I could not climb the steps of the Memorial on this particular trip.  Since then, I have made several trips to Washington and I remain in awe of the Lincoln Memorial and what it stands for, the man who preserved the United States of America.

Abraham Lincoln was born 207 years ago this month, in 1809.  As a direct result of his election as president (Republican candidate) in November 1860, seven southern states (South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas) seceded from the Union and formed a separate country, the Confederate States of America.  Lincoln was opposed to slavery, an integral part of the economy and culture of the above seven states.  However, he clearly stated that if elected president he could do nothing to end slavery since it was an issue of state law, not federal law.  Many southern slave-owners distrusted Lincoln and feared his position opposing slavery's expansion westward into the new territories.  The sitting president, James Buchanon, while waiting for Lincoln to be inaugurated in March 1861, declared that, while the so-called secession was illegal, there was nothing he could do to force the seven states to return to the fold.

When Lincoln was finally inaugurated, he faced the worst crisis in the history of the USA, an existential threat to its very existence.  I believe that, had he followed the advice of his predecessor and allowed the secession to proceed unabated, we would today be, like Europe, fifty independent nations in North America.  After all, if these seven states could leave whenever they chose, what was to prevent the remaining states from doing the same thing at some future date when so disposed.  Try to imagine Twentieth Century history with no USA, only a large number of mostly small, independent nations in its place.

However, Lincoln decided to initiate an armed struggle to bring an end to the rebellion, as he referred to it.  In the four years that followed, over 600,000 Americans were killed as a result of his decision and the decision of those to sever the southern states from the Union.  Hundreds of thousands more were injured.  Plus, there was a great amount of property devastation.

In the summer of 1864, when the number of casualties was rising and the war seemed to be at a stalemate, there was significant pressure on Lincoln from peace advocates within the Democratic Party (called Copperheads), including its presidential candidate, former Union General George McClellan, to end the bloodshed by ending the war at any price.  Lincoln resisted, won re-election in November, and the following April the rebellion collapsed, preserving the Union.  Unfortunately, he was assassinated by a southern sympathizer shortly thereafter.

I'm glad Lincoln did what he did and, with the support of millions of Americans who agreed with his desire to keep the Union together, was able to achieve such a noble goal.  As he stated in his remarks at the commemoration of the military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on November 19, 1863, "It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead (victims of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863) we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth."   

I

The Best Years of Our Lives

World War II is over and three US servicemen are returning to their hometown, Boone City (really Cincinnati, Ohio).  They meet for the first time on the military aircraft that will take them there.  Instead of feeling joy at the prospect of seeing their wives, girlfriends, and families for the first time in years, the three are filled with trepidation.  They fear that readapting to civilian life won’t be so easy.  Such is the theme of the acclaimed 1946 film, The Best Years of Our Lives, produced by Samuel Goldwyn, directed by William Wyler, and which starred Frederick March, Dana Andrews, Harold Russell, Myrna Loy, Teresa Wright, and Virginia Mayo.

The film won the following seven Academy Awards:  Best Motion Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (March), Best Writing (Screenplay), Best Supporting Actor (Russell), Best Film Editing, and Best Music (Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture). 

Al Stephenson (March) was an infantry platoon sergeant in the Pacific.  A banker before the war, he is returning to his wife, Milly (Loy), of twenty years, a daughter, Peggy (Wright), and a son in high school.  His boss at the bank can’t wait for him to get back to work.  Al would prefer resting and getting reacquainted with his wife and children.  However, when he does eventually return to the bank, he runs into conflicts with his boss over loans he has approved to returning servicemen like himself.

Fred Derry (Andrews) was a bombardier in the Army Air Corp in Europe.  Before the war, he worked In a drug store, including time spent as a soda jerk.  During basic training, he met and married his wife, Marie (Mayo), less than twenty days before shipping out.  Fred doesn’t want to return to the drug store, but there is not much call for a bombardier in civilian life.  He just wants a good job.  There is a powerful scene when, while looking for such a job, Fred climbs into one of the thousands of Army Air Corps bombers about to be turned into junk.  He sits in the nose of the plane where he used to work during the war.  However, he then begins to relive the horror he experienced in this position while droping bombs and being a target for anti-aircraft fire.    

Homer Parrish (Russell) was a seaman on an aircraft carrier also in the Pacific, who lost his hands in a fire when his ship was sunk.  He basically joined the Navy right out of high school.  He left behind his sweetheart, Wilma, the girl who lives next door.  The US government will provide a disability income to Homer for the rest of his life.  Wyler chose Russell, a non-actor, for the part after he had seen him in a US Army film about rehabilitating war veterans.  Russell, a US Army Instructor, lost his hands in an accident while making a training film for the Army.

After first going there separate ways upon arriving in their hometown, the three ex-GIs accidentally reunite that same evening at the bar of Homer’s Uncle Butch.  Al is with his wife, Milly, and daughter, Peggy, for a night on the town.  Fred has gotten drunk after being unable to find his wife who works at an unknown nightclub.  Homer is simply visiting his uncle.  A new factor is introduced: Fred meets Peggy, and the two eventually fall in love.

After he and his relatively unknown wife get reacquainted, Fred and Marie both realize they are not a good match.  As a matter of fact, they don’t like each other.  In the mean time, Peggy, who is falling for the married Fred, also realizes that Fred and his wife are not a happy couple.  Peggy tells her parents that she will try and break Fred and Marie up.  Al, a protective father, tells the former bombadier to stop seeing his daughter.  Fred, who is having a great deal of difficulty finding work, agrees to stop seeing Peggy. 

However, after Fred and Marie divorce, Fred and Peggy reunite.  Fred then tells Peggy his dim view of their future, “You know what it’ll be, don’t you, Peggy?  It may take us years to get anywhere.  We’ll have no money, no decent place to live.  We’ll have to work, get kicked around.”  Peggy greets this unhappy news with a big smile, for she has all that she wants, her man.

Homer suffers from being super sensitive about how his family and his girlfriend treat him.  He gets upset when they look at his hooks (hands) and when they look away from them as well.  They can’t win. 

Homer tries to frighten Wilma away as he fears she only pities him because of his disability.  He wants her to see that living with him as his wife will be too difficult for her to deal with.  However, one night after helping him prepare for bed without his hooks/hands, Wilma proves to herself and to Homer that what she feels for him is love, not pity. 

One of the many reasons I adore this movie is that it ends happily, with the marriage of Homer and Wilma and the reuniting of Fred and Peggy.  I hope you will enjoy it, too.