JESUS: He's My Friend

Not one for CHURCH, or HOLY ROLLIN', ya see…

Always came by my Soul-Power naturally

Tho' I've always felt a kinship with ole J.C.

'Cuz he seems like a pretty nice dude

To me.

* * * * * *

On February 18, 2011, it was a Full Moon and I had a dream about Jesus.  I know this because I kept a dream journal and it states quite plainly on the page:

"* February 18, 2011 - Full Moon * I see JESUS.  His face appears, glowing & shining, emitting love.  I find all sorts of "Jesus-like sayings" (scripture?) popping into my head…."

Anyhow, the dream goes on and it's this intense vision of me and Chris going thru some kind of disaster: The walls of our bedroom melting, the room quaking, fuses blowing, sketches of my own terrified face appearing on our bathroom wall…. In short, a real freak-show.

I actually woke from that dream because of the powerful sensation of our bed vibrating. (ßI know, I know.  Linda Blair territory, you're thinking.  But no - this was something different.  I don't really know what it was.  But it went pretty far beyond my usual LUCID DREAM adventure.)

So I guess it was around 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning when this dream woke me, and I got up quick and scuttled into the bathroom to write it down.  I remember I kept double-checking the wall to see if there was indeed a sketch of my face up beside the mirror - somehow fully expecting it to still be there, like it was in my dream - and relieved that it wasn't.

* * * * * *

Ok, so this next part is NOT a dream.  

It's the next day and me, Chris, Ellie (ßshe was still alive and would be for another 4 months) and Herman take a drive to CVS for a prescription. 

I'm online at the prescription desk and a black woman approaches me, she's perhaps in her early 70's but it's hard to tell.  Very down-home Southern accent.  She has her grandson with her, and he looks to be about 10 years old. 

She puts her hand on my arm and goes: "Jesus wants me to bless you, child."

I just look at her, thunder-struck.  The store is crowded as all hell but suddenly it feels like nobody else is anywhere near us - altho' I definitely sense people starting to stare, as she raises her voice:

"Jesus tells me that you are needing him to come into your heart STRONG, my girl."  

And without even giving it a THOUGHT, I find myself blurting out MY DREAM to this woman.  I tell her: "I SAW Jesus last nite, Ma'am.  He came to me in my dream.  It was very intense.  I don't think I've ever had a Jesus-Dream in my life until last nite…"

She tightens her grip on my arm and just starts SPEAKING IN TONGUES - her eyes are rolling back in her head, the works.   She does this for like 2 full  minutes or something, getting louder all the while.  The sensation in my arm reminds me of my bed vibrating in the dream…

And then she's finished - POOF - she lets go of my arm.  I'm stunned.  I look at her grandson and say: "Does she do this a lot?"

He looks bored, goes: "Sometimes.  Not a lot."

The woman grabs a pad of hot-pink  Post-it notes from her shoulder bag.  Jots down her name and telephone number.  Hands it to me.  She's some kind of pastor.  Calls herself   Apostle _____.

"You call me any time my girl.  If you need me, I am a phone call away.  Jesus is with you.  He will never leave you, you are his beloved child.  Remember that in the days to come."

And spontaneously, (for me, anyhow) we give one another a mighty hug.  I smile at her grandson and he gives a shy little grin back.  And then they're gone - making their way down the crowded CVS aisle together, and it's my turn on the prescription line and then soon I'm gone, too.

* * * * * *

Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody. 

Love, Light and Jesus is Just Alright.

 

 

 

HITLER WAS THE NICEST GUY I EVER MET - Father Witting Chronicles Vol. 2



* ~  Regarding this conclusion of the (somewhat) election-themed interview session with my father-in-law,  please keep in mind that this segment was recorded just a few days prior to our most recent presidential election.~ L

* * * * * *

Father Witting:  "The next thing is really not an ELECTION theme.  It's really just about our family:   Reactions and interactions with our backgrounds…

My mother was born in Denmark.  My father's father (Charlie Witting) was born in Germany:   He had 6 brothers, but my grandfather was the only one who immigrated to the United States.  The rest of them went to South Africa."

Me: "Was there a reason for that?"

FW: "Well, (the famous) Boer War  was fought against England in South Africa.   This was all the Germans that settled in South Africa.   The Germans and the Afrikaners - not blacks, the white natives -   fought against the British because the British controlled their colony in South Africa.    Winston Churchill was a war correspondent.  He covered the war and was captured by the Boer - which were mainly Germans.  He escaped, but it was a pretty famous story at the time.

When my father's father (Charlie) came to this country he joined the American Navy.  He was a Chief Petty Officer, the equivalent to a Master Sargent (the highest ranking enlisted man).   Not an officer, but he was on ships that fought in the Spanish-American war in the Philippines with Admiral Dewey.   Dewey was the head of the Navy during this war, which famously started because of YELLOW DOG JOURNALISM, by the publisher of the Journal American:  William Randolph Hearst.   

There was a tremendous explosion on the Battleship Maine in Havana Harbor, (resulting in) a lot of American soldiers being killed.  There were always suspicions - to this day they really don't know if it was bombed of what.  Either way, it was used to start the war against the Spanish and for the Americans to kick the Spanish out of Cuba. Also used for the Americans to take over the Philippines, which was under Spanish control. 

My grandfather served honorably in the battles in the Manila Bay to win the Spanish-American War.  In Cuba, Teddy Roosevelt led the Rough Riders.  They trained out in Montauk."

Me: "Who were The Rough Riders?"

FW: "Teddy Roosevelt organized The Rough Riders.  They were soldiers, under his control.  And they fought a big battle in Cuba."

Me: "How'd they get that name?"

FW: "Well, because they were on horseback.  And Teddy Roosevelt was a very frail young man.  And he went out to Wyoming and lived with cowboys to build himself up.   He knew cowboys and he respected them, so when the war started he organized The Rough Riders: Soldiers who were good on horseback.  They stormed up San Juan Hill and defeated the Spanish.  

But getting back to Charlie Witting - he was in that same war.  When he left the Navy, he met my grandmother. "

Me:  "How did they meet?"

FW: "They met in Newport, Rhode Island.  He was stationed there at the time.  It was at a fancy naval dance.  Her name was Jenny Pipe.  And they married and had 4 sons and one daughter - their youngest. Jenny Pipe was Scottish, Irish and English, born in this country.  My father was the 2nd oldest boy and of all the children, he knew more about the family.

The oldest boy - Edward Witting was a physicist who worked on the Atomic Bomb down in Oakridge Tennessee (Note:  This was known as The Manhattan Project).

Me: "Now, I know a little about this.  Edward Witting was actually instrumental in fashioning the Atomic Bomb?"

FW: "Oh yes - he was absolutely instrumental.  He became Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Army.   And even when the H-Bomb was developed, and when they set them off in the Pacific, he took care of all the radio transmissions and communications, monitored how the tests went, all of that.

On the History Channel, I saw him one day, sitting in his undershirt.  They had pictures of him, ya know.   This was after he died, maybe about 10 years ago.  I questioned his wife about it - Mary Witting - she was still alive.   And she DIDN'T WANNA TALK ABOUT IT.   Because he was connected to the H-Bomb and the A-Bomb, and all of the connotations that go with that.   

So, when my father was 18 years old - he was a young carpenter and he built his mother and father a house in Centerport, Long Island.  They had bought land on the water and the house is beautiful.  Then the next brother, Harold Witting, worked for Republic Aircraft out on the Island.   This was the factory that built the Thunder Bolts (a P48 interceptor/one-man fighter plane).  These flew alongside and protected the bombers while fighting off the German Messerschmitt.

Harold Witting was also a volunteer fireman and he talked my father into also becoming a volunteer fireman when he lived out in Centerport.  And volunteer fireman LOVE TO SET FIRES.  They have a record of doing that.

Me: "Excuse me, what do you mean they SET FIRES?"

FW:  "Well, they're YOUNG GUYS, and crazy, they want some action."

Me: "Ok, so this sounds like a pyro of some sort…"

FW:  "ExACTLY.  ExACTLY.  So I think he said that they were involved in setting fire to some restaurant: LINK'S LOG CABIN."

Me: "The place went up?"

FW: "Oh, yeah!  And then the volunteer firemen - they went ahead and put it out.  They were big heroes and everything because of that.  So that was a little shady." 

Me: "…Um….yeah…?"

FW:  "Then their youngest boy, Alfred Witting, he had infantile paralysis.   This was before there was a vaccine to cure it.  So he was crippled for the rest of his life, and his mother (Jenny Pipe) was a strong woman.  She sent him to jewelry school in Pennsylvania, where he met his wife.  They ended up working together, setting up a very successful jewelry store in Floral Park. 

Then they had 2 sons,  and both of their sons had asthma.  So Alfred sold his business in Floral Park and they moved out to Arizona,  had a nice house with a pool and everything.  But instead of buying another jewelry store, he opens up a LAUNDROMAT.  So now he's fixing laundry machines - has all that headache to deal with.  AND HE FAILS.  It was a dumb thing to do."

Me: "Wow.  Guess he got tired of being a SUCCESSFUL JEWELER."

FW: "I guess so!   But anyway, after he sold the Laundromat he just retired.  He had enough money left over from the jewelry store.  They had a nice life, and that was it.  The only sister married a volunteer fireman.  He was the Chief of the Babylon Fire Dept.  He was a little wacky.  He was a D-Day Survivor, and I never forgot the story he told me…

 "The day after D-Day, he was on patrol with his Sergeant and they were fighting Germans behind the beach.  They captured about 7 Germans.  And their Captain told them: "Take these Germans back to the beach."  And as soon as they got out of sight, his Sergeant said: "Let's get rid of 'em."  And they mowed them down and killed them and just went back to their men.  So he was a real tough guy.  A real tough guy.   But then, it ended up he got Alzheimer's.  He had a sad ending."

But now, regarding HITLER…

My grandmother (as mentioned) was from Denmark, which was one of the first countries that the Nazi's over-ran right away.  So my grandmother really held it against Hitler.   So based on HER feelings, I was really against the Nazi's in a big way.  ANYHOW, we had pictures in the scrapbook we worked on together (reference FW Chronicles Pt. 1)…

…These pictures were from The Holocaust - photos of Eisenhower and the British storming the concentration camps and freeing prisoners, these poor people who were near death and who looked like skeletons.  Eisenhower went to these camps, and he did this so that PEOPLE WOULD KNOW THAT the Holocaust was indeed FACTUAL.    Many, many photos of him traveling thru the camps, witnessing all of these horrible things.  

When he left office, Eisenhower pointed out what was called: THE DEFENSE MECHANISM', in that all defense companies have such tremendous power and control over the government, that they get just about anything that they want when it comes to defense spending.  And it's rampant today!  You can see Romney doesn't want to reduce the spending on defense.   And Eisenhower spoke about this: During his farewell address, he warned everybody to watch out for that.  But other presidents and politicians since then haven't taken heed to it.   

But getting back to Hitler…

I would continually talk about the Holocaust.  Constantly:  I'd talk about the Germans.  I'd talk against the Nazi's.  And my father never said too much about it, but I guess one day he just got fed up to here with me always BLURTING IT OUT to the family,  BLURTING IT OUT to anyone who would listen, all the time.  And he got so mad at me one day, that he said: 

"HITLER WAS THE NICEST GUY I EVER MET."

Even tho' he was never in Germany in his life, up until the day he died. 

But he said that,  and then he just stormed out of the room.  

So that was me and my father.

* * * * * *

And the last thing - Roosevelt / Dewey 1944 -  I was 8 years old.  My grandmother (Jenny Pipe) was still living out in the house that my father built for them.   We were living in Hollis at the time. 

Election Eve 1944 - Dewey against Roosevelt - it was the 4th (and last) time he was running for re-election.  No president had ever run that many times.  It was always "two and you're done".   But it wasn't in the constitution that you HAD to leave.

So during the depression, Roosevelt was successful in his first election.    He ran against hoover in 1932 and won.  Then in 1936 he ran against Alf Landon (Gov. from Kansas) and they called it Land-Slide Landon.     People were recovering from the Depression, and the NRA: The National Recovery Act (was implemented). 

They put people to work:   The sidewalks out in front of this house here, NRA made those.  Those walks are made of stones and thick concrete.  They're good to this day.  The concrete by the (Forest Park) tennis courts?  NRA made that! 

So then in 1940 - and again this is the first time a president ran for a THIRD time - Roosevelt ran against Wendell Willkie and Willkie was pretty liberal;  not conservative like Hoover and Alf Landon.   So a lot of people didn't like a president running for a third time.  BUT - it was the middle of a war, and it was (the mindset of) "don't change horses in mid-stream".  The results were closer this time, but Roosevelt won again.

Then, in 1944  - I was 8 years old - and I was really interested in politics, a lot of it because of my grandmother with whom I covered the whole war.  She'd be knitting wool socks for all the soldiers - she did it every day - and sent them off.   And she'd be knitting and talking.  

Thomas Dewey was the governor of New York State.  He had a little moustache and one of the jokes that was made at the time was that he looked like the little bride-groom that stands on top of a wedding cake.   He was pretty confident and was also the DA before he became governor and he hit really hard on organized crime, so that's how he got his start.  But still Roosevelt was a favorite.  Not a close election (like Romney/Obama). 

 My father's family were all Black Republicans.  My mother went to Brooklyn College, which was a hotbed of liberals and democrats .   Really, my mother taught me to be tolerant of black people.  She rooted for Joe Lewis and Jackie Robinson when they came into sports.  It was my grandmother who taught me to be tolerant, to be liberal and to be a Democrat.   (Even tho' I voted for Nelson Rockefeller).

My grandmother invited the whole family out to see the election returns at her house in Centerport.   We had a nice cold supper, watching the returns, and Roosevelt of course is WINNING right away, big-time. 

So - now again, I'm 8 years old - I'm chirping away: "FDR!  FDR!"  running around the house, being a pest…

Me: "Amazing how politically-charged you were from such a young age…"

FW: "Oh, yeah.  Oh, yeah.  I was TOO involved.  Because after THAT, my grandmother NEVER GAVE ME A GIFT AGAIN FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE.   I'm serious.  She held it against me, you better believe it."

* * * * * *

 

 

 

 

Father Witting Chronicles - Vol. 1

My father-in-law, Ted Witting, is a charming man who loves to tell a story.  Recently over dinner, when I tentatively asked him if he'd be interested in sitting down for a series of interviews with me, his immediate reaction was: "When would we start?  TOMORROW?"

And so we did!  Me: Armed with a tape recorder, pen and pad and Father Witting providing his presence, some neatly-written reference notes (!!) and a lovely bottle of wine:   We sat down together the very next day.
 

He gives great interview, and I'm honored and pleased to bring you my first blog installment of The Father Witting Chronicles. 

 Lindsay's Lancers

Father Witting:  "When John Lindsay was Mayor of New York City, his staff had a softball team.   I was playing the Wall Street League with the Home Insurance Company team.  We had a good team.   We never won the championship but we'd always come in 2nd place.    And we contacted the mayor's office and arranged a game,  to play against his team.

So my wife and our 3 boys came on a rainy day cross the Williamsburg Bridge and it was WINDY and it shook the bridge and of course my wife was a little frightened.  But the game was postponed, so that was it: We never played Lindsay's Lancers. 

But Lindsay had a lot of trouble in Queens.  Cuz they had a big snow storm and the streets weren't plowed.  But he was a very good mayor on important things, like the racial riots in the 60's.  He'd walk the streets of Harlem and calm down the crowd....

And so, this theme today is an ALL-ELECTION theme."

 

* * * * * *

"The next one I'd like to talk about today is Mayor Bill O'Dwyer.  He was a Colonel in World War II.   And he caught my fancy because I followed the war, so I was I guess 10 years old and I convinced my grandmother (my mother's mother) to vote for him.  My grandfather was a small businessman; he usually voted Republican and they never won the elections because the Democrats always controlled the city.  Which they still do, except for Bloomberg and Rudy.    

Because me and my grandmother, we followed WW II together.   (we made scrap-books about the War, I have them all upstairs).  There's one scrapbook of ALL CARTOONS - the Journal American and the World Telegram political cartoons - and they were vicious against the Nazi's and the Japs.  So I have a whole scrapbook of these cartoons upstairs.  And the others books are all factual coverage of the War.  A  lot of pictures.    We even have pictures of all the Nazis that were executed, as they're lying on a slab with ropes around their necks and blood coming out of their nostrils and mouths, after being hung.   Some great pictures.  BUT…

O'Dwyer was a Democrat and he was a Colonel in WW II so that caught my attention and I convinced my grandmother to vote for him.  After being in office for about a year, he was indicted and he ran away to Mexico with a babe, so of course my GRANDFATHER never forgot that, and whenever elections came up: "What're ya gonna do, convince your GRANDMOTHER to vote for SO-AND-SO…"

And my grandmother, who loved me very much, you know - she called me "LITTLE TEDDY" - and  I could do NO WRONG where she was concerned…  Well, that was one instance that she kinda held against me.   But she laughed about it...

* * * * * *

"...The other time me and my grandmother had a little run-in, it was about  CLEANING THE LOOKUM .   

'LOOKUM' is Danish for Out-House.   Out in Sound Beach (the family's summer cottage on Long Island), from 1929 until my oldest son, was born - 1957, we had only ever had a LOOKUM.   Then when my son was born, my grandfather put an extension on the house and for the first time since 1929, we had running water in kitchen and a real bathroom.   

My mother got insulted, because she'd had 3 children and we summered there and she had always had to pump water and clean the diapers.   Then when MY wife came along, my grandfather did that for her (put in a 'real' bathroom).   So my mother kinda held that against us.  Or held it against Jeanette (my wife).  Or - ACTUALLY, she probably held it against her FATHER.   

Me: "Well, had she asked for that ever?  For that luxury for herself?"

Father Witting: "No."

Me: "Oh! Well, maybe if she had asked…"

FW:  "Yeah, maybe.  I don't know.  Could be, could be.  Who knows…?    I mean, his WIFE - my grandmother - to the day she died (she was 88 when she died) SHE never had a washing machine.  She had severe arthritis, and to clean the clothes she had to go down the stairs and use a big, stone wash basin, and a washboard.  Big thing, where she'd put all the clothes in and have to hand-wash them…

…I mean, she even used that basin to make the…BATH-TUB GIN during The Prohibition.  And beer, she made.  And my father, who was an expert at the Speakeasies, he knew them ALL - all around the metropolitan area - I mean, he was an alcoholic, my father  - and he KNEW these places and he said she made the BEST home-made beer and wine of any speakeasy he ever went into.  She was good at it..."

Me: "So this home-made booze was just reserved for her family?  Or…"

FW: "Oh yeah, no - she didn't sell it or anything like that…"

Me: "You think she could have?"

FW: "I'm sure she could have."

Me: "Man!"

FW: "…But getting back to the LOOKUM, the out-house, I use to say:  Nanna, I'll clean the Lookum…

And she'd say:  'Oh, no no Little Teddy.  You can't do that.   That's not a job for you!'   Because my grandmother…for instance - if there was like a STICK OF BUTTER and I went to open it, to put it on the table - she'd be: 'Oh no, Little Teddy… don't touch that.  Your fingers will get ALL SMELLY.'  So that gives you an idea of how she treated me. "

Me: "And that was just with BUTTER."

FW: "Just butter."

Me: "So that's amazing, then, that the LOOKUM-cleaning thing was even a GO for you."

FW: "Yeah, you can see I kinda had to force the issue."

Me:  "Right.  So then, how often did that out-house/lookum have to be maintained?"

FW:  "I guess maybe…I'd say twice a season?  It wasn't a BIG deal but…"

Me: "…but not really something you'd LOOKUM forward to.."

FW: (Laughs) "Nooooo….  But I kept pushing my grandmother and finally I convinced her to let me do it.   And I did it.  And I did a good job, you know.   But then my grandfather, when he got there he said:  'Ho, hooo!  You get your Apprentice Card.  But you don't get a full Union Card until you've cleaned out the Lookum for an ENTIRE SEASON.'

But then my son was born, and they put in a nice bathroom, and that solved that problem."

* * * * * *

"When your husband, Chris, was - I guess 3 years old - Nelson Rockefeller ran against Averell Harriman.  Averell Harriman was the Democrat Governor of the State:   He was the Ambassador to Russia and he had a great resume`:  He was Assistant Secretary of State, a banker, a wealthy man.  He came from a railroad family - The Harriman Family - and his wife was the head of society in Washington D.C:   Just a family with a strong background.    And he was the governor.

He was a popular governor and Nelson Rockefeller decided to run against him and Rockefeller was really the last Liberal Republican in this country and when he was electioneering, he came to my mother's house in Hollis, Queens.   Me, my wife and three sons were living there at the time.  We lived there on the 2nd floor for a couple of years.   

Anyway, my grandfather and grandmother would visit and my grandmother would mind the boys and we'd go down to the - it was called  The  Triangle where Rockefeller was speaking.  And he had a bullhorn and it was a big crowd;    The Triangle was where Farmers Boulevard met the start of Liberty Avenue.   It was a rainy day and we listened to Rockefeller speak and I was kinda talking my grandfather into voting for him - and I'm pretty sure he did - I mean, he was Republican so there should be no problem, but he was a little bit too liberal for my grandfather's taste, I think. 

Me: "You really…as a KID, too...you really tried to RALLY your family into your personal political leanings."
FW:  "Sure, yeah.  Right. "

Me: "You don't hear that all the time, a kid doing that."

FW: (Laughs) " Right.  And my grandfather - I'll never forget his quote: LOOK at that damn guy (referring to Rockefeller) - he's got PAINT SPOTS on his hat!"  He had a fedora on, it was raining, but you'd think a MILLIONAIRE like that would have a decent fedora.  But he didn't.  He had these paint spots on it.   So my grandfather's all like:  What does he do, his OWN PAINTING?  What the hell.  JESUS CHRIST." 

So - Jeanette (my wife) remembered that.  The three of us were there."

* * * * * *

TO BE CONTINUED....