In Chapter 1 of my book "Gibbon's Secrets" I introduce the reader to my "Five Friends Forever", and today I was invited to have lunch in Gibbon with two of them. I am going to give you the same description I used when introducing them to my readers.
Duncan McGregor, the tallest of Bud's friends always seemed to be more serious than the rest of the boys. Duncan lived relatively close to Wally, and had become friends with Bud, Donny, and Stanley, starting in 1st grade.
Duncan called me last week and said that Wally was driving from Grant to Grand Island for an appointment at the VA Hospital and was stopping in Gibbon on the way for a short visit. Duncan said he had invited Wally to have lunch and wanted to know if I could join them.
Wally Buchanan, with his face full of freckles always seemed to have a mischievous grin.
Wally had been living in Florida since his discharge from the Air Force with his bride of 60 plus years and just last year had moved back to (Grant) Nebraska to be near his son.
Absent was Donny Hawke who lived on the west coast (Oregon) and Stanley who had passed away earlier - so the original "Five Friends Forever" was reduced to "Three Friends Forever" for our get-together on this bright clear day in February 2011.
Gibbon is about 125 miles from Lincoln so I left close to 9:30am to arrive in Gibbon near the 11:30am appointed time. Duncan called me on my cell, just as I was driving into Gibbon, wanting to make sure that I was going to be there on time. Duncan still likes to spend time (even though he says he's retired) at his company, the Central Nebraska Telephone Company in Gibbon and so we met there in his conference room.
Duncan saw me come in and waved for me to come on down to the conference room. Wouldn't you know - that mischievous Wally started right in on me. It was great, as time slipped away - here were three buddies back together laughing and swapping stories like it was 65+ years earlier. As usual, Wally and I were digging at each other and Duncan was just sitting there with a big grin on his face and enjoying every minute of it. Like I said earlier, Duncan was always more serious than Wally and I.
Each of us did have an opportunity to share some of the things that had been going on in our lives and believe me it was a very special time just to be together again. Wally has probably had more serious health problems than Duncan or I but his attitude was great and he didn't really dwell on it very much.
We went to Duncan's home where his wife Janice had prepared lunch for us. We enjoyed a leisure paced lunch, again just sharing anything that came into our heads. Wally told about some of the places he was stationed at during his Air Force career and it was great to hear about all of his varied world travels and experiences. I shared some of my experiences while in the Navy aboard the aircraft carrier the USS Valley Forge. Duncan didn't have a chance, with Wally and I doing most of the talking.
After lunch Duncan gave us a tour of their home and finally if was his turn to do some of the talking and to share some of the experiences during the building process. Duncan showed us his extensive library in the basement of their home as well as some of his collectibles (trains and telephone memorabilia), Wally and I enjoyed the tour as it gave us a glimpse into Duncan's accumulation of interesting items over the years.
Three old friends had just spent a very enjoyable and interesting mid-day in Gibbon Nebraska and were buoyed by this experience. Now, I can reflect back to the memories of the three of us growing up during the 1940's while World War II took center stage. My book, "Gibbon's Secrets", is more than just a Boy's Memories of the 40's - it is the story about the development of a friendships that has lasted 65+ years, and is just as strong today as it was in 1944.
Thank you Duncan for this special day. Thank you Wally for this special day. You guys will always be my "Favorite Friends Forever".
Duncan McGregor, the tallest of Bud's friends always seemed to be more serious than the rest of the boys. Duncan lived relatively close to Wally, and had become friends with Bud, Donny, and Stanley, starting in 1st grade.
Duncan called me last week and said that Wally was driving from Grant to Grand Island for an appointment at the VA Hospital and was stopping in Gibbon on the way for a short visit. Duncan said he had invited Wally to have lunch and wanted to know if I could join them.
Wally Buchanan, with his face full of freckles always seemed to have a mischievous grin.
Wally had been living in Florida since his discharge from the Air Force with his bride of 60 plus years and just last year had moved back to (Grant) Nebraska to be near his son.
Absent was Donny Hawke who lived on the west coast (Oregon) and Stanley who had passed away earlier - so the original "Five Friends Forever" was reduced to "Three Friends Forever" for our get-together on this bright clear day in February 2011.
Gibbon is about 125 miles from Lincoln so I left close to 9:30am to arrive in Gibbon near the 11:30am appointed time. Duncan called me on my cell, just as I was driving into Gibbon, wanting to make sure that I was going to be there on time. Duncan still likes to spend time (even though he says he's retired) at his company, the Central Nebraska Telephone Company in Gibbon and so we met there in his conference room.
Duncan saw me come in and waved for me to come on down to the conference room. Wouldn't you know - that mischievous Wally started right in on me. It was great, as time slipped away - here were three buddies back together laughing and swapping stories like it was 65+ years earlier. As usual, Wally and I were digging at each other and Duncan was just sitting there with a big grin on his face and enjoying every minute of it. Like I said earlier, Duncan was always more serious than Wally and I.
Each of us did have an opportunity to share some of the things that had been going on in our lives and believe me it was a very special time just to be together again. Wally has probably had more serious health problems than Duncan or I but his attitude was great and he didn't really dwell on it very much.
We went to Duncan's home where his wife Janice had prepared lunch for us. We enjoyed a leisure paced lunch, again just sharing anything that came into our heads. Wally told about some of the places he was stationed at during his Air Force career and it was great to hear about all of his varied world travels and experiences. I shared some of my experiences while in the Navy aboard the aircraft carrier the USS Valley Forge. Duncan didn't have a chance, with Wally and I doing most of the talking.
After lunch Duncan gave us a tour of their home and finally if was his turn to do some of the talking and to share some of the experiences during the building process. Duncan showed us his extensive library in the basement of their home as well as some of his collectibles (trains and telephone memorabilia), Wally and I enjoyed the tour as it gave us a glimpse into Duncan's accumulation of interesting items over the years.
Three old friends had just spent a very enjoyable and interesting mid-day in Gibbon Nebraska and were buoyed by this experience. Now, I can reflect back to the memories of the three of us growing up during the 1940's while World War II took center stage. My book, "Gibbon's Secrets", is more than just a Boy's Memories of the 40's - it is the story about the development of a friendships that has lasted 65+ years, and is just as strong today as it was in 1944.
Thank you Duncan for this special day. Thank you Wally for this special day. You guys will always be my "Favorite Friends Forever".
