An American Family Saga

By Jerry Harrison

This author skillfully introduces you to the captivating, wide-ranging experiences of his family in this nontraditional saga. Beginning with the hilarious misadventures of his children, he provides spellbinding insights into the antics of individuals in his family. You'll learn about a Fruit Loop cannon, the tooth fairy that gave rise to a mummy, a latrine queen, a hand that would fit through a ring, a chain sparking off into the distance, and too many other adventures to cover in this short paragraph. He even brings to life an unforgettable family dog, Julio, who gave his family a lesson on how to live.

In stories about himself, you'll laugh at his effort to buy a mink coat, his football fan encounter, an organ concert at Boys Town, wiggling wieners, and other extraordinary occurrences. You'll ride with him on an aerobatic jet ride, be mesmerized by unforgettable visions from his past, and be fascinated by what he did after returning from a trip to Corregidor Island in the Philippines.

The recounting of his father's exposure to snipers, General Patton, buzz bombs, and more during WWII will transport you back to a time when young men shipped off to Europe, not knowing if they'd ever return to their homes.

No matter your age, this book will leave you wondering what adventures await in your future because there are no limits to the possibilities.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fulton Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887312828

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Introduction

Chapter 1: Adventures and Misadventures of Our Children

First Child: Philip

Potty Training

Contrarian Extraordinaire

Thumb Sucking

Fruit Loops

Nightmares

Where's the East?

High Jumper

The Volunteer

The Scales

Second Child: Stephen

Tooth Fairy

Roller Coasters

Top of Schoolhouse

Stick 'Em Up, Cowboy!

The Sprinter

Wardrobe

Third Child: Vicki

Bathroom

Peacocks

Birthday Party

The Fairmont

Young Driver

Tiny Granddaughter

Dog: Julio

Chapter 2: Spousal Adventures and Misadventures

Husband (Me): Jerry

Don't Play in the Water

The Magic Wand

The Mink Coat

The Pencil Eraser

Removing a U-Joint

Towing Jerry

Georgia Football Fans

Boys Town Concert

Beer Drinking Capital of the World

Historical Marker

No Sarcasm

A Hot Dog at Last!

The Petrified Forest

The Razorback Fan

Acceptable Technical Reports

Wife: Linda

The Pulley Bone

Garage Events

Blue-Collar Roots

Chapter 3: Adventures and Misadventures of Relatives

Fathers

Fathers and Trees

Super Mouse

The Other Cow

The Cat and the Snake

Alzheimer's Diagnosis

Brothers

Shore Leave in Cuba

Brotherly Superlatives

Chapter 4: Dad's World War II Stories

Buzz Bombs

The Tunnel

The Luftwaffe (German Air Force)

General Patton

Suicide Mission

Danger after War's End

Chapter 5: Coping with Tragedy

Prayer for Vicki

Vicki

Communication at Last!

I Didn't Know

Chapter 6: Scenes and Experiences while Flying

Flying Among the Clouds

Flying out of Korea

Golden Chicago

Songs and Scenes in Hawaii

Lava Rivers

Chapter 7: The Korean Culture

Surnames

Old Habits Are Hard to Give Up

How Old Are You?

Chinese Language

Chairs Are Not a Necessity

No Shoes in the House!

Hotels Deep in Korea

No Washcloth?

Gasoline Stations

Voting Day

How About a Drink?

Breakfast Foods

Seaweed Soup

Korean Taxis

Don't Leave Before Your Boss!

Parking in Seoul

A Pleasant Good Evening to You!

Street Names and Numbers

Warm Floors

Ladies: Single versus Married

Who Needs a Cane?

Tall Korean Youth

Parents' Day

Korean Names

Korea's Written Language

Poem to Korea

Chapter 8: Corregidor

Introduction

Trip to Corregidor

Oh Corregidor

About the Author

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An American Family Saga

Jerry Harrison

Copyright © 2023 Jerry Harrison

All rights reserved

First Edition

Fulton Books

Meadville, PA

Published by Fulton Books 2023

ISBN 979-8-88731-281-1 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88982-050-5 (hardcover)

ISBN 979-8-88731-282-8 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Introduction

My life has been a continuous stream of moments that have been filled with emotions: pride, embarrassment, happiness, anger, hair-raising terror, amazement, disappointment, sorrow, and many others. This book truthfully documents many memorable events that occurred during my life. I assure you that every story is true; not one of them is the result of my imagination.

I'm sure that readers will recognize that some of my experiences correlate with things that have happened in their own lives. In chapters 1 through 3, I describe some of the many humorous adventures that my relatives and I have experienced plus the story of a remarkable family dog. I hope you enjoy these true stories as much as I love repeating them to family members during holiday gatherings.

Unfortunately, not all life events are humorous. I debated with myself long and hard about whether or not to include chapters 4 and 5 of this book. Chapter 4 contains stories from my father's WWII experiences and are included to help preserve some of the real-life experiences of the greatest generation (born from 1901–1927 in the USA) during WWII. My personal favorite is the one about what happened to him after the war had ended.

Chapter 5 contains writings reflecting the thoughts of a parent (me) who has lost a child. They are a testimony to the truth that all of us will encounter grief sooner or later. It's as much a part of life as the happy times.

Chapter 6 contains descriptions of visions and an experience that are engraved into my memory. Those who love travel and adventure will enjoy this chapter!

In chapter 7, I describe some of the many cultural traits of Korean life that you will find to be very different from the culture here in the USA. I was well received in Korea, and I still have many friends there. The traits are described because I think you will find them very interesting; they warmly remind me of the time I spent there. I added a poem to Korea at the end of the chapter to celebrate some of the sights I had seen there.

Chapter 8 tells the story behind the poem Oh Corregidor, which I wrote to describe the horrendous ordeal of the Americans and Filipinos who defended the island during the Japanese siege in WWII. My father had served there on an antiaircraft crew before the war and had told me fascinating stories from his time there. While there are still scars from the bombings and shellings, the island is quite beautiful today with many flowers and scenic views of nearby islands.

If you are in the early stages of your life, I have one piece of advice: buckle your seat belt—you are in for one heck of a ride!

Jerry Harrison

Chapter 1

Adventures and Misadventures of Our Children

My wife Linda and I were blessed with three children: Philip was born in 1964, Stephen was born in 1967, and Vicki was born in 1972. These stories are grouped by individual. They are not always in chronological order, so I hope you don't suffer any mental whiplash.

Jerry and Linda Harrison with their three children.

First Child: Philip

Potty Training

For Phil, potty training was a terrifying experience. The primary reason was the toilet itself. It was big, had swirling water, and made a loud sucking noise. No child in his right mind would go anywhere near that thing. To lessen his fears, Linda bought an apparatus designed for small children that sat on the lid and had a much smaller opening. It didn't fool Phil. He knew that the swirling water and sucking noise was right below him, and he cried until Linda would take him off.

Phil began feeling societal pressure on the subject. If he messed his pants up, his mother would fuss at him. If he told her he needed to go, she would take him into the bathroom with the thing! What was a child to do?

One day I came home, kissed my wife, hugged my son, and settled down in my favorite chair to read the paper. I was soon disturbed by an aroma. It wasn't a pleasant smell, so I began to look for the source. I found what I was looking for…a small pile of excrement, hidden discretely behind my chair. Phil's newfound solution to his dilemma landed him in a world of trouble.

Contrarian Extraordinaire

In my life to date, I have never met a person who took issue with every idea which was not his own as much as Phil did when he was two years old. The terrible twos is a common expression today, and everyone knows what it means. In those days, Linda and I were young and new to parenthood; we had never heard of the terrible twos. It took us completely by surprise.

Phil's drive to impose his will reached the point that, when we decided to go somewhere, we tried to conceal the destination from Phil. We'd get his little jacket and try to skip the topic of where we were going. Phil would have no part of that, of course. First, he wouldn't want to put the jacket on, then he'd begin demanding to know where we were going. He only wanted to know so that he could oppose going there. If we said K-Mart, he'd cry out that he didn't want to go to K-Mart and pitch a fit. Any destination we picked would elicit the same response. I'd have to carry him to the car crying. Then (if I'm lying, I'm dying) he'd pitch a fit at every intersection. If I turned right, he'd cry loudly and point left. If I turned left, he'd cry out