Saturday, January 18, 2014
Memories of George and Clothing Stores:
I won a competition and moved to Base Kingston Clothing Stores in about 1978, worked there as a civvie for a couple of years, then left to go to University. On my first day of work I was taken under the wings of 2 rascally reprobates: Wighty and George Katsumi. I had no idea that the next 2 years were to be 2 of the most fun-filled, mis-adventuresome, and looking back, poignant times of my life. Since then, I’ve lived in 4 provinces, had 30 jobs and worked with all types of people, but never had as good a time as those days in Clothing Stores, or met anyone quite like George.
Back then it was fun to work for the government. We worked hard (well some of us!) and played hard. The work got done, every day there was a laugh or two, and people seemed to genuinely care about each other. On Friday afternoons, after the boss had left, the QM and the Base Commander had left, George would go into the range out back where we kept a bottle or two hidden in a pair of size 13 combat boots. The young privates and corporals and the civvies would sit around and have a drink, and George would tell war stories.
George was a natural story teller and many of his stories depicted him as a hapless victim. He was never too proud to poke fun at himself. I also lived in the country, liked to hunt and fish, and I loved hearing about George’s misadventures in the woods. I still remember the story of his $50,000 hunting boat: George had bought a swamp boat and went duck hunting with his not-always-obedient lab. Well the lab jumped either in or out of the boat to retrieve a duck, and accidently stepped on the loaded rifle’s trigger. Bang! And a hole in the bottom of the brand new boat, in the middle of the swamp, with a dusting of snow on the ground and ice forming around the edges of the marsh. Well, after George waded to shore, soaking and freezing, he trudged on home in the near dusk, to get his ATV to get the boat off the bottom of the swamp – where it had sunk of course. Back to the swamp with his 4 wheeler, waded out again, hooked a line onto the boat, and started up the ATV. Have you ever tried to move a boat that’s full of water, and lying on the bottom of a swamp? The ATV gets stuck in the mud, engine quits, can’t get it freed out. George trudges on home again, gets his truck this time. Hooks the truck onto the ATV….and yes, you guessed it, the truck gets stuck. Can’t budge it. Sunk in mud up to the axels. Next day, George comes back with a tow truck and… you guessed it again! Well I don’t know if the story now is veering off into a bit of exaggeration but finally, with the use of a great big crane, George gets his boat out of the swamp. Hence the $50,000 swamp boat…
George had not had an easy life. His family was one of those who had their property confiscated during WW2 in British Columbia. He used to say he was a third generation Canadian – but still his family was interned. My family had also lost property through expropriation, and was never compensated fairly. So we’d talk and think about those injustices.
George would speak highly of his daughter and wife. He said his wife had been a beautiful ballerina, I remember, and his daughter had a successful career out west. He used to say his daughter was so smart, that she sure didn’t get her brains from him!
I moved back to this area 12 years ago and didn’t know George was still around. If I’d known, I’d for sure have visited him and we could have maybe talked and laughed over those old times.
Rest in peace old friend!
