The other, was history. My father was the smartest man that I have ever known. He went to The University of Tulsa, Oklahoma and he even ran track and field there as well as his studies, but he left when the Korean War, broke out, and joined the Navy.
He was a self-taught man. He read encyclopedias everyday. From A-Z, and when the next year's volumes came out, he'd start right all over again. He knew so much about history and he would share it with me, and not that history we "learned," in school, he taught me REAL history. True history, for at that times, the encyclopedias did mostly write about the true history of everything.
I went to the library nearly everyday and I checked out really big, fat books about history, and a lot at one time. The librarians knew me well, so they always let me check out more than the limit and let me go to the older young readers section, before I reached that age. I read about everything, history, religion, archeology, astronomy, whatever I could get my hands on.
The first book that I bought for myself with my self-earned money, was, by H.G. Wells, "A Short History of the World." It was a big, fat blue, hard covered book, and I read it from beginning to end. I think I was about ten years old when I bought it and I was so proud! After that, I started to build my own personal library.
My father, besides being, a veteran of the Korean War,( because of his experience of war, he taught me peace, that war solves nothing and only kills) and as Union Labor Leader his work took him to many states and in the summer, he would take us, his children with him. One year, we traveled to Toronto, Canada. We often went in the summer to see his family in Oklahoma. During these travels, he took us to as many National Parks as he could. He loved to travel, even up to about six months before his death. He taught me to love travel, and travel I do.
As a Union Leader for 60 years of his life, Unions kept health care alive, Union Members, had some of the best heath care coverage. And, also, because Unions fought for the rights of workers, it affected the entire country, big corporations and small business, that were non-union, the majority, at that time, also had good health care coverage. We can thank Unions for this and people like my father. Whether what one thinks of Unions, be grateful, well, at least during the times, before the 80's (I added this part because I just watched a movie, true story, John Q, and how today's health system works, based on money and greed) and I plan to write a piece on this after I post this one.
Robert Terrance Beam, was also a very creative man, when it came to construction. He designed a Spanish Style, Winchester type Mystery House, https://winchestermysteryhouse.com in the middle of no where, well at that time, Coppperopolis, CA, and every weekend, for over the course, of ten years I would go with him, to help with the construction. He was a genius. He was always adding on to that house, and it had six entrances, for a two story house. My father loved adding on more entrances!
He was always tinkering, especially after his semi- Retirement. He taught my sons so much about construction and how to be so creative, and determined. This was so helpful for me, for after their father passed away when they were young, my father was a great role model for them.
I believe that he was in his sixties when he had a stroke, did that stop my father from continuous and endless projects, no. Eventually, due to the stroke he had his right arm amputated. Did this stop him from his tinkering and projects...absolutely not! He even became more creative. With the right arm gone, he began to adapt his tools, work benches, and the such, so that he could still construct. It was incredible. There was nothing that my father could not invent so that he could do a project for the house.
Even as he got into his late 70's and his COPD, (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder) and his frequent boughts, of serious pneumonia, put him into the hospital several times per month, this still did not keep my father down. No matter how hard we tried to get him to rest, we could always find him in his big workshop, "up to something."
My mother died before my father did, and between my sons, a beautiful cousin and her husband Uncle Bob, we took care of her and my father. But, after my father died, I was unable to continue to care for him due to my epilepsy and so my brother took over until his death. He died in St. Francis Convalescent Hospital in Oakland, California.
It was not my father wish, nor mine, for him to die in a nursing home, but he did. I was not able to visit him when he was living with my brother, nor at the convalescent hospital. I was too ill myself. I had bought him a cell phone so that we could talk everyday, but it "somehow," got lost.
I was always at his side, every time he was in the hospital. Yet, before his death, I was not by his side, and I never was able to say, "goodbye," to my father, and give him a sweet kiss on his forehead, like I always did every night. This still makes me so very sad. I wasn't even able to attend his funeral, nor my sons, for several reasons, which I choose not to write about. This broke my heart and it broke their hearts as well. Why families fight over money and property after parents have died is so far beyond my comprehension. I hope that your family never does.
I may have not been able to have said "goodbye," to my father, but he is imprinted in my mind with these memories and within my heart with his love.
I love and I miss you "pops." Thank you for teaching me everything that you did...
Love always,
Your only daughter, Maria
Musical Selection: "Heaven was Needing a Hero"
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