The Grape Vine
By PARKER JOHNSTON
The
other day while doing my usual Wednesday job at the Pensioner’s Club making
coffee and answering the phone. I got there about 8:30am and as usual BOB
SWANSON had already made the coffee (I don’t think he likes my coffee but I
know he likes the donuts). I went to get the mail. In the mail were the memoirs
and poems of all people GEORGE DALY and some of the BRADY BUNCH. I started
reading and couldn’t put it down. Having worked with GEORGE and a lot of his
relatives since the 1950’s. It brought back a lot of my own memories. I could
have added a chapter or two but some things are better left out of print. The
DALY’s were a hardy bunch, and it sounds like MOM was one of the hardiest.
South
Dakota was a good place to be from and the Seattle Waterfront was one of the best things
that ever happened to old GEORGE and some of the BRADY’s, GRIFFIN’s and
NEVILLE’s.
I
first met GEORGE in the 1950’s, we were working the North Star. The job lasted
2 – 3 weeks and we were on the sling together. That was when we had to stay on
the job 8 – 9 hours a day and you got to know the people you worked with. Well
it took GEORGE about 2 hours to pump my life story out of me (he was good at
that). The rest of the time we talked about GEORGE (talk about long days). After
about 15 to 20 days I felt like I knew the whole family. Thinking back the
Seattle Waterfront has been one of the best things that happened to most of us
Pensioners. The next Pensioners meeting I’m going to make a motion that old
GEORGE’s book be required reading.
And that’s the way I see it.
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