Here are some stories about my father and his friend Bunky, which were told to me by my Aunt Helene:

"I remember so well going shopping with your father. He would roam the aisles looking for items on our list, only he would be on his hands, and if he found an item we needed, he would leap over onto his feet, grab the can or whatever, toss it to me, and get back on his hands to finish the list. I was always so bent over laughing, I probably looked like I was walking on my hands too. When we got to the housewares department, he would lift a broom onto his nose and balance it with no hands at all and walk around the store like nothing was odd. I laughed and laughed.

"When we all went over to Poplar Grove Avenue, I think, to wallpaper for either your mom or Bootsie, or somebody, he laid out planks on sawhorses, just like everybody does, but then he would issue the command "mount" and we all had to leap aboard at the same time (easy for him) and then stay up there until he called out "dismount". We could hardly get the walls papered for carrying on like that, and dissolving in tears from laughing so hard.

"I have so many memories of traveling on the weekends with Paul and your mom and his partner to fairs, like in York, Pa. where they would demonstrate their lifts, and Jeannie was really good in her Angel Lift and others. Those were days of such innocence -- I don't think we even knew it.

"Did you know that Bunky needed a candidate to enter the airport contest? It had to be a girl and she had to have soloed. Well, he did not have an entrant, so he volunteered to teach me to fly. We started out in a yellow Piper Cub J3 with fabric covered wings, and before anything else, you did a "walk around" and inspected that there were no tears or flaws in the fabric. Well, I was blind as a bat in those days, pre-contacts, and rarely wore my glasses so I was not much good at this part of the checkout. I was far too young to realize my life hung in the balance every time I went up with him, and especially when I went up alone my one and only time and haircut a tree on the landing. I kept my flight log book for some years but eventually gave it to a neighbor who was just starting flying and wanted it. I do not remember anything more about the contest like who won or if it even took place. I do remember there had to be a minimum number of girl entrants and they were scarce.

"I used to have a picture of Bunky and me on Easter Sunday in front of the church out Edgewood Road, not our church St. Stephens on North Avenue, maybe this was Bunky's church, although that seems an oxymoron. Anyway, we were dressed up totally, me, hat, gloves and peplum jacket, long skirt and teetery heels, Bunky in a light suit and tie, gleaming shoes and smile. I remember my outfit well -- it was navy blue with pink silk trim, and my hat and gloves were pink with navy trim."

Thank you, Auntie Helene, for sharing these great stories!