Publisher’s Note

A walk down memory lane

Recently my cousin, who lives in Colorado, reached out and asked if I would give him a call. We hadn’t spoken in a while, so there was lots to catch up on— brothers, sisters, family goings on , etc. Life is short, so it was great to see how everyone was doing.

The main reason he called was to see if I wanted my grandfather's WWII memorabilia for my archives. Without hesitation, I said, “Yeah man, send it on over.” My grandfather was a Lt. Colonel under General George Patton. He was a combat engineer who helped rebuild the bridges, etc., that were destroyed during battles by allies and enemies alike. When he came home, he ran the family's construction company, which has been in business since 1888. It is still going today—Mayor Pollock Steel. There was much construction and engineering to be done in Europe following the war. And I am proud to say that Lt. Colonel Sidney Pollock was the man for the job. I asked my cousin what had remained from the collection over the years. I wanted to be able to pass some down to my son and future generations. One of the most valuable items was the treasure trove of 8 MM movies that gave glimpses of life during and after the war, as well ones featuring our family’s history when we were growing up. These memories are priceless. I have not seen or thought about them in a long time and was excited to be able to watch them again. Best of all, I am going to transfer them to digital so they will be preserved and easily accessible.

To my surprise, he also said he had my first Indian motorcycle, which sported a bright yellow gas tank. He was going to ship that to me as well. To be honest, I was in tears to know that my old minibike was still around. The memories it brought back to me of all those years playing Evil Knievel with my cousins. It is amazing how time flies. It is amazing to be able to drift back to those memories of me learning to walk, ride a bike, skate, ski, etc. Each of those experiences made me the person I am today. I am excited to see all of these items and even plan on donating some to a local museum so others can experience some history, too. To the rest of us, here’s to a successful 2021. We look forward to seeing you at our monthly Virtual Retreats, which start the end of February, on our weekly Podcasts, and in our magazine. Also, we hope to see you in person soon. As always, keep the faith. CCR