It Couldn't Happen
Buffalo Gal
In 1961 or 62, I went into a small cafe north of Denver on the old highway to Brighton---sat at the counter for a cup of coffee. Two women were sitting in a booth. I glanced at them---and then took a closer look. One I thought I knew but I wasn't sure---then it clicked---this woman was a girl from Buffalo, Wyoming that I had dated a few times in 1941. I went over and talked with her for a few minutes, paid for my coffee and left. Why after all those years??
Strange Reunion
1963---Denver, Colorado. I had this pontoon boat that we used as a base to water ski from.
It did not have enough flotation and I decided to convert it into a flat, steel-bottomed barge. I had a customer in Englewood that owned a steel fabricating shop. He agreed to do the work but I had
to be there all day, every day, to answer questions that came up as the work progressed. The man assigned to do this steel forming and welding was someone I thought I knew---he thought he knew me
also. We talked back and forth trying to decide where we knew each other. Then we hit on the place---in the spring of 1943, we were both stationed at Sioux City Air Base and assigned to work on the
gunnery range.
A Knock on the
Door
1949---Cheyenne, Wyoming. A middle aged couple named Trosper with a teenage daughter were
providing daily child care for our son GP.
1979-80---Mesa, Arizona. A woman rings the front door bell. Norma opens the door. The woman
explains that she is a real estate agent and she wondered if Norma would be interested in selling our house. If we were, she would like to handle the listing. During the conversation Norma tells the
woman her name---she says she used to know some people in Cheyenne, Wyoming with that name. It turns out that this woman is the daughter of the Trospers and now lives in Mesa. Her parents were in
town and she invited us over to her house the next evening. We had a very nice time going over past happenings. We had gone trout fishing with this family one weekend on the Platte River near
Saratoga, Wyoming. We had to travel through a private ranch (the A-A Ranch) to get to the stream---the government had just recently forced the ranch owners to allow access to the stream and we were
one of the first to take advantage of fishing this part of the river. The fishing was good and so was the experience. We lost contact again and I guess they must have left Cheyenne???
Why So Long???
February 1942---Sheridan, Wyoming. World War II had just begun. I was 17 years old---a
senior in high school---my best friend for the past two years was Robert Walker. We talked about the possibility of being drafted and we didn't like that (the draft at that time was for 20 to 38
years olds). An Army Air Corp recruiter was in town enlisting 18 year olds for the Air Cadet program. We both decided that being a pilot was a much better way to serve so we both went down to the
Post Office and ended up taking the mental examination for the Air Cadet program. We both passed but we would wait until we graduated in June.
November 1942---University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming. The draft situation was going to
change---Congress was talking about lowering the draft age to include 18 & 19 year olds. I went to Denver and retook the mental exam and was given a physical exam and enlisted in the Air Cadet
program. I was told that I would not have to report for at least 6 months. I went back and withdrew from the U of W---back to Sheridan---2 months later received orders to report for basic training.
After graduation I had not seen my friend Bob---gone our separate ways.
July 1995---Sheridan, Wyoming. I had often wondered what happened to my friend Robert
Walker, but never found out. That day in the public library I picked up a copy of the Sheridan Press. I found a section entitled ON THIS DATE---5, 10, 15, 25, and the item 50 years ago---1st Lt
Robert Walker---A flight instructor in El Paso, Texas, was killed today when his plane crashed during a training flight.
Why did I read that paper---that section---on that date---50 years later?????
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