Unexpected Gifts

I had a lovely phone conservation with an old old friend yesterday.  He said "I mailed all my Christmas Cards but I cannot remember if I sent one to you or not so I am calling you instead!"
He talked to Far Guy for a long time and then asked to talk to me.

He shared a bit of an old secret with me.  He has a son he never knew about.  He was contacted earlier this year and had a very nice reunion with his long lost son.  I was just thrilled for him.  He says his son calls him every week.  What a wonderful gift for a lonely old man. He said the visit was just perfect and that he cried like a baby when his son left.

Years ago his second wife asked me to find the children he had with his first wife...they wanted nothing to do with their Dad...she was so disappointed...she wanted that so desperately for her husband ...and then she died.

For the rest of the story.  My friend spent some time in prison because he shot at his first wife and another fellow during one of their rendezvous.    He served his time, his wife divorced him and took the two children; a boy and a girl and moved back near her home town.  Shortly after that my friend took up with some  gal...apparently they had a rendezvous of their own.  Her father found out about his prison time and grabbed him one night and told him to never come near his daughter again.  So he didn't.  Turns out that she was pregnant and her father gave the baby away for adoption in Iowa.

The baby was adopted and now is a grown man and he lives in Santa Rosa California, and  has a successful business there and calls his Dad weekly.  He has tried to contact his mother but she wants nothing to do with him.

I can only imagine the joy that this child brings to his father and my friends second wife would be just thrilled....it was what she wanted so desperately for him years ago.

I have many more questions...was he found through an Ancestry site...a DNA match to a close relative?  I watch that show Long Lost Family and enjoy how searches and reunions unfold.  However I was a good listener and didn't ask too many questions.

Far Side

Midway Memories: Hubert

Hubert called the other day.  He was real upbeat.  Most of the time he calls when he needs cheering up.  Lois died a few years back, he is lonely and can see the cemetery where she is from his home.  He has made all his final arrangements and we will be notified if he dies. He doesn’t like to talk about Carnival life anymore…but he does talk about Lois, his neices in Iowa, fishing and life in Oklahoma.

I understand that Hubert was different when he was younger.

He had a wife named Wanda and two children. One day Hubert caught his wife with another man. Hubert had a gun and he shot Wanda in the leg.  Hubert went to prison. They got divorced.  Hubert was estranged from his children…and as far as I know he still is.

Hubert married Lois after he got out of the slammer.  Hubert went back out on the road.  He was the best “Wheel Man” you could find.  Far Guy worked the top of the wheel for him, a very dangerous job.  They were with Merriams for years. Lois worked in the Office and was in charge of the Ticket Sellers.  They left Merriams in 1971.  They went over to Midway of Fun.  We went to vist them in Winter Quarters near Detroit Lakes Minnesota.

After a few years they bought a Swinging Gym and went independent.  I am not quite sure what happened next…somehow they were bilked out of a bunch of money.  They retreated to Oklahoma.  I lost touch with them for a number of years.  Then one day I wrote a letter to the Cafe in a small town near where I thought they lived, the mailman happened to be in the Cafe and dropped the letter off for them…the phone rang later that day.  We had a wonderful phone visit…and many more after that!

Lois asked me to help locate Hubert’s children.  I helped to locate them, they wanted nothing to do with their father.  That made me sad, and it made Lois sad too…but there was nothing we could do about it…we never told Hubert of the search or the outcome.

In my opinion those kids are missing out on knowing a better version of their Dad.  Time is getting short as Hubert is now in his 80’s.

A photo I took from on top of the Slide in 1970 or 1971.   The Trabant is out in front. The Boss is at the controls.  On the left is a Side Show, Swingin Gym and the Wheel.  On the right is the Office Trailer, Kenny’s Joint (Darts), unknown joint and the Hot Wagon. This photo was taken in Schuyler Nebraska with a little Swinger Polaroid Camera.