by Amy Lane
In some cases, the photography was automated. In some cases, special equipment was needed, and so the pilot would have been assigned to transport a photographer. I assumed that Grandpa would be in the latter situation, since he’d never touted his skills as a pilot, and, as far as I know, of the four plane crashes he lived through (four!), he was not flying during any one of them.
But I don’t know for certain.
Just like when Grandma told me that she was in the office of dirty tricks, and then actually recounted what some of the tricks were, I have no idea of knowing how much of that was true and how much was Grandma, who loved a good story. Was her tale of using covert radio lines to tell POWs to sabotage their captors before Allied attacks real, or did she watch Hogan’s Heroes and like that story better than what she actually did accomplish during the war? (Given that she had me believing that a story straight from The Godfather was actually a part of her childhood, I do have the right to be a little skeptical.)
Again, I do not know—not for certain.
But I know she worked for the OSS, and I know that her work was only recently declassified, and I know that in civilian life, she was a gutsy, determined, creative woman, so I will choose to believe that her stories were true.
And speaking of stories that might be true: one night, as I was stumbling through the internet on autopilot, I ran across a story about how a certain church in New York chimed its bells on New Year’s Eve when the soldiers were away at war. I read the article, was inspired by it, and then lost it—literally could find no trace of it again.
So I shall do what I have practice doing—choose to believe it was true.
And I will choose to believe that WWII was one of the last unambiguous times in our world’s history, where there was, for all intents and purposes, a clear good and a clear evil.
And I will choose to believe that we didn’t learn nearly enough from that horrible destruction of life, and that the state of our world now is proof.
So when I think about Grandma and Grandpa being spies in the war (as my aunts and uncle and I tell ourselves), I also think about how they left a better world for us, but like Nate’s grandson, it is our job to take that better world and to continue to move it into the future.
Thanks to my grandparents, I’ll keep hope that we can do just that.
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I’d like to thank Del Kostka for answering my questions after I read his online article, Damon Suede for giving me a few brief lessons on Jewish history in New York, Jay from Joyfully Jay, who helped me not offend anybody, and Gloria, who told me that Nate’s voice in her head reminded me of her grandparents, which I took to be an amazing compliment.
And Sarah and Rachel, of course, who said, “Tragic gay holiday story? Of course we’ll publish that!”
With Aleksandr Voinov
Country Mouse
City Mouse
Christmas Kitsch
Bolt-Hole
Clear Water
Gambling Men: The Novel
The Locker Room
Mourning Heaven
Racing for the Sun
Sidecar
A Solid Core of Alpha
Under the Rushes
Talker series
Talker
Talker’s Redemption
Talker’s Graduation
The Johnnies series
Super Sock Man
Chase in Shadow
Dex in Blue
Ethan in Gold
The Keeping Promise Rock series
Keeping Promise Rock
Making Promises
Living Promises
Forever Promised
Green’s Hill
Litha’s Constant Whim
Guarding the Vampire’s Ghost
I Love You, Asshole!
For a complete booklist, please visit: www.greenshill.com
Amy Lane exists happily with her noisy family in a crumbling suburban crapmansion, and equally happily with the surprisingly demanding voices who live in her head.
She loves cats, movies, yarn, pretty colors, pretty men, shiny things, and Twu Wuv, and despises housecleaning, low-fat granola bars, and vainglorious prickweenies.
She can be found at her computer, dodging housework, or simultaneously reading, watching television, and knitting, because she likes to freak people out by proving it can be done.
Connect with Amy:
Website: greenshill.com
Blog: writerslane.blogspot.com
Twitter: @amymaclane
Facebook group: Amy Lane Anonymous
Goodreads: goodreads.com/amymaclane
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