07 January 2014

Chicago People

My daughter Angela posted the item below to her to her Facebook page. She received it from her good friend Ashley. It was captioned "I think Grandma and Grandpa Mrotek would have liked this post. Happy New Year to some of my favorite Chicagoans."

The Grandma and Grandpa that she is writing about are, of course, my parents, George and Armella, who are now in Heaven and to whom I owe so much. They are part of the generation that came of age during the Great Depression, served their their country during the dark days of World War II and the Korean Conflict, built the Interstate Highway System, and put a man on the moon. That generation deserves a great debt of gratitude which will never be paid in full.

One of the hallmarks of the people in those days was their ability to take things in stride. I believe it was called backbone and common sense. The cold and snowy weather may have been a nuisance at times but was never allowed to be an excuse. When I was a lad in the 1950's they just bundled us up well against the cold and sent us to school and the schools never closed for bad weather. The only time that I can remember my school being closed was for the death of President JFK.

God bless you Mom and Dad, and I hope this gives you a chuckle.


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4 comments:

Babs said...

I remember walking to school in Chicago, down the middle of the street because the snow was so high. Oh, and often, truly it was 15 below. We didn't think anything about it. Of course I left when I was 10!
My father was the hardest working man I've ever known as was my mother.
That Midwest work ethic carried over to my brothers and sister and myself as well. I too am proud of my heritage and the values I was raised to uphold.

norm said...

Pretty funny Bob.

Bob Mrotek said...

I knew that you would like it Norm :)

norm said...

I'm in Guatemala for the winter, missing the vortex and all. The winter of 78 was so bad in
Ohio that I carried a survival kit in my car trunk for twenty years. The rivers we skated on in my twenties don't even freeze now.

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I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. I have been living in Mexico since January 6th, 1999. I am continually studying to improve my knowledge of the Spanish language and Mexican history and culture. I am also a student of Mandarin Chinese.