What a character

What a character contest

"So you're the famous writer B. E. Chapman?"

"I don't know about famous, but yes."

"I thought Chapman was a woman and you're not are you?"

"Last time I checked, no."

"How rich are you?  You're Aunt says you're filthy rich."

"I don't keep track.  My brother and brother-in-law handle all my affairs."

"You don't care how much money you have?"

"Not really.  I have enough to spend and enough to entertain my family."

"You're married?"

"No."

"Then what family are you talking about?  Do you have children?"

"No children.  My Aunts and Uncles, parents, cousins, siblings, you know."

"Why do you spend your money on them when you could be having the time of your life chasing women, partying?"

"I guess I'd have to say; to each his own.  You see, I owe my family at lot.  If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be what I am today."

"How or why do you owe your family?"

"Well, growing up I was always with my parents when they went visiting relatives.  It was during this time that I learned that I had Uncles that died during World War 2, two at Normandie and one at Bastogne.  I never knew that."

"Is that when you wrote Remembered on the Battlefield?"

"No.  I wrote that later, after I came home from Nam.  No. I owe them because they were my inspirations for my writings.  You see.  Many of my characters are really my family, individually, that is.  Not totally copied but outlines of how they acted or spoke or how they perceived life in general." 

"Is that all, It doesn't seem like it's worth spending so much money and time on them."

"Well, let me see if I can explain it this way.  I remember, as a small child, being carried in a downpour by one of my Uncles.  I remember my Aunt dressing me up in one of my Uncles shirts while she dried my clothes, and then make me a grilled cheese sandwich and soup before my parents came to pick me up.  I remember another Uncle, who had fought at Iwo and Guadalcanal, then after the war join the reserves only to be sent to Korea and was one of the Chosin few.  I didn't find any of this out until I was in high school and then my Uncles wouldn't talk about the war.  I remember going with my Uncle Lee to visit a friend of his that he knew during the war.  This man had been in the V.A. hospital since the end of the war, he lay there with no legs, but worst, he had no family at all.  We spent most of the day there, then we left and my Uncle just sat in the car and cried."

"What does this have to do with you treating them all to these expensive trips when you could be enjoying yourself and being waiting hand and foot by some or bunch of gorgeous women?"

"Remembering is another word for memories.    My family loves me, accepted me for what I was, maybe a little eccentric at times, but they were always there for me.  We call it unconditional love in some circles, but whatever it's called, I had it.  Our family wasn't rich by any means, they were blue-collar workers and vacations...well, they were visits to family who lived out of town, maybe a visit to the lake for a day, but always there was this smothering of love.  I had it.  May I didn't appreciate it then but I do now and now I have the opportunity to pay them back for all the wonderful memories they've given me.  Oh sure, there is a number of things I could be doing but I know this.  Life doesn't last forever and one day, my family won't be here, they'll pass on as we all do and all I'll have are the memories.  Why do I do this? Maybe I'm selfish, selfish in a way that I want to smother them with those material things that they couldn't have back then.  Maybe in my small way, I'm trying to tell them that I love them and how much they really mean to me.  I know , in the end, all I'll have are the memories, so in my selfishness, I want as many memories as I can get.  Can you understand this?"
"I do.  Thank you."


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