Often Wrong, but Never in Doubt
A look back at a life greatly blessed
by
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One night around two in the morning, a short wiry Irishman came rolling into
our barracks. He was drunk as a skunk.
“Piss call, piss call,” He shouted.
“Shut up!” someone yelled.
“Come down and make me,” was the drunk’s reply.
Now this went on for several minutes. Finally I made a decision.
“If he says ‘make me’ one more time, I will,” I thought.
“Piss call.”
“Aw, shut up and let us sleep.”
“Come down and make me.”
That did it. My Irish temper got the better of me and I dropped from my top
bunk and walked up to him. Without saying a word, I hit him with all I had.
He stood a moment, blinked and then proceeded to mop the floor with my body.
He hurt me so badly others had to take me to the infirmary to get patched
up.
“What on earth happened to you?” the medic asked.
“Fell down the barrack stairs.”
“Some fall! You’re sticking with the story, right?”
“Right.”
The following Sunday, going out of the barracks’ door, the “make me” drunk
happened to be coming in the same door.
“Care to try for two?” he said with a ‘kiss-my-ass smile’.
Without a word I swung again (did I mention I was a slow learner?). This
time he caught my fist with his hand and proceeded to kick my butt again.
“Fall down the Barrack steps again? Asked the same medic.
“Indeed,” was my response.
Fortunately I would never meet this very short wiry tough guy again. I doubt
I could have survived a third encounter.
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About the Book
"Often Wrong, but Never in Doubt" chronicals the author's life before WW II and takes us back to the horse-drawn milk wagon days and simpler times. It then brings us through the war that changed his neighborhood forever and into the post war years, the moves his family made and the lasting impact this conversation with his mother had on him and his future family: "Well, in that case you need to ask that girl Barbara Gruhn.” “Why?” “Because she asked you out a few months ago.” “But we didn’t go.” “I know, Richard, but the proper thing to do is return the invitation. If she says, ‘No.’ then your obligation is ended.” Then he quickly takes us through his junior high and high school days, his year in a Catholic seminary, his Army and college years and his business career; then shares some golf sagas that anyone who has played the game will see themselves in and finaly shows us the depth of his feelings and faith as he talks about what a special friend taught him about a God who loves us where we are and not where we aught to be.
About the Author
Mr. Finnick currently lives in Aurora, OH with his wife Barb where he fills much of his time preparing and teaching adult Bible study programs. He also enjoys visiting with family members and friends, reading and relaxing on the deck with his wife of almost 56 years. For over 40 years he was actively involved in developing family histories for all of his and his wife’s family lines, some of which trace back to 1250 AD. This, his first attempt at writing, shows his sense of humor along with his deep feeling for family. It’s a memoir that leaves his children and their generations to come a sense of who he was; what life was like in those pre-world war two years and the road he has traveled both with his faith journey and his physical set-backs. When asked, he said, “As a kid, I always wondered what my folks were like when they were young, but in those days they simply didn’t discuss it. If this memoir achieves its aim, readers will have a chuckle or two and need a tissue or two. And when their read is done, they should have a better understanding that their mom and dad, their Memaw and Pa, were human, hence, flawed and that at least two secrets to happiness are a good sense of humor and a partner who truly cares. Come to think of it, having four wonderful children doesn’t hurt either.”