Thursday, August 17, 2023

Memories of 2008

 


                I know that before Dad's passing he didn't want me to remember him as he appeared then, but as he was when he and I were younger.  The really funny thing about that is that when Dad passed, even in his eighties, he still had the broad shoulders and muscular arms he's always had.  He also still had the mind like a steel trap.  From the ICU he wrote and signed four checks he said would need to be paid in the month after his passing, before a death certificate would be issued.  He was exactly right.  No other bills came due.

                  Even in those stressful and sad last days, he was always the person he had been before.  I know he wanted me to forget those moments, but I won't. I will remember that he was the strong, intelligent, capable and sometimes funny person he had always been. He could also type faster than anyone I knew, but then, he could think faster than many of us also.

                 I think of you often Dad, anytime I am near the sea. I also think a lot about what you and Matthew and Daniel do there when you see one another.  In a sense, I am lucky that my two sons who are gone from Earth have my father there to guide them.

 

 

 





Friday, July 28, 2023

The Apple May Not Have Fallen Too Far From the Tree

               


                      In this picture, Matthew has Dad's expression when he is listening.

 

 

 

       When LD, known at my home as Papa Lawrence by the grandchildren, visited, everyone had a grand time. He brought books and photographs, and told stories of his adventures, and they asked questions and told him of their own adventures and things they had done and would like to do.  In retrospect, we had no way of knowing that Dad would depart in 2008, and that grandson Daniel, 12, would die thirty days later, the presumed result of a sudden arrhythmic death syndrome.  Fifteen years later, the loss of grandson Matthew at 32, following an influenza vaccine is equally shocking.

                  I never thought that any of my children (the five) looked like my Dad. Our children don't come from us, but through us, and they are likely to have characteristics of grandparents, great grands, aunts, uncles, as well as having talents and physical looks that might just be uniquely themselves.

                 In the process of making online memorials for both the boys I have had to look through a great many pictures. I don't know why I didn't notice it before,  but in some pictures Matthew looks very much like my father.  I would imagine that Daniel might have had similarities too.  I suppose this comes from the fact that I knew my father as an adult and then as an older man. Since I never saw him as a child or teen, I just might not have noticed the similarities.

                   The above is a picture of Matthew at 32.  I look at it and I see so much of my father LD.

I am consoled only by the fact that Dad, Daniel and Matthew are together now, likely laughing, sharing stories, and possibly laughing about some of the things that I and other family members did.

      

 

 

Thursday, May 25, 2023

Imagined As A Picture from Heaven

 

     Lawrence DeWolfe Kelsey Jr., his grandson Matthew, and grandson Daniel who all occupy Heaven now.


                        Some theologians tell us that once in Heaven, we receive new bodies. This will be a relief to so many of us who need everything from better teeth to a back that is less sore. I must admit that I take great comfort in this thought from time to time. 

                 Some faiths tell us that in Heaven, many of us look as we did in our thirties. The painting above shows my father at the far left at about thirty. It shows my son Matthew in his early thirties, as he was when he passed. It shows my son Daniel,  before he died before 13.  I will admit that it is hard to imagine Daniel as being an adult now.

                 It does help sometimes to imagine the three of them working together, laughing and recalling times they spent together. It helps to make my own time here with Matthew and Daniel's siblings and their Dad, and their nephews and niece, just a little bit easier. 

 

 

 

Sunday, March 26, 2023

The Passing of Bob Dodson, a Dear Friend

               


 

                    Robert "Bob" H.T. Dodson

 

        One of the sorrowful things about having lost my son Matthew in late November of last year, is that I haven't really been very functional until about this week.  I learned today that one of  Lawrence's  (Dad's) most longstanding and dearest friends had passed in December, 2022.

                  Robert H.T. Dodson, known to most of the world as Bob Dodson, and Dad first became acquainted on the Finn Ronne Antarctic Expedition in 1947-1948. They maintained a friendship and had occasional lunches together throughout their lifetimes, regardless of where each of them were living, from then on. Dad and I also thought very highly of Gertrude "Robbie" Dodson, Bob's wife, who was gracious, educated and capable.

                  After Dad passed, Bob Dodson visited us here in Virginia a couple of times. It was a joy to talk to him and hear of the Antarctic days and of his discussions with Dad since then. Our kids were especially fond of Bob, although he never did have the chance to meet Daniel.

                   When I was cleaning Matthew's room this month, I found an amazing calendar of the Antarctic that Bob had autographed for Matthew and had written a paragraph. Matthew had kept it with his treasured possessions.  

                    Bob also read  my book Lawrence D Kelsey: The Life of the Explorer before it was published. I was particularly lucky to get his input and approval on the chapters which concerned the Finn Ronne Antarctic Expedition.

                    The world likely knows Robert H.T. Dodson as an educated man, a geologist, a world traveler, and as many other things, as well as a husband and father.  We were lucky to know him as a beloved friend of Dad's and also as a friend who cared enough to look out for his dear friend's daughter and her family after his passing.  I hope Dad, Bob, "Robbie" and Daniel and Matthew spend some time together now.  We certainly miss all of them.


                    These are interesting links on Robert H.T. "Bob" Dodson, a truly fine man. 

 We send condolences, love and best wishes to Bob and Robbie's sons who remain here on Earth, their grandchildren and their great grandchildren.


More entries concerning Bob Dodson:


https://ubique.americangeo.org/society-news/remembering-geographer-bob-dodson/

 

 https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/vnews/name/robert-dodson-obituary?id=38399486

 

https://kb.osu.edu/bitstream/handle/1811/6066/Dodson_Robert_transcript.pdf?sequence=1

 

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodson_Peninsula

 




The Loss of a Grandson of Lawrence DeWolfe Kelsey

               


 

          It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Lawrence's grandson Matthew.

Matthew passed in late November in his sleep just 38-39 hours following an influenza vaccine that was not supposed to have been of mRNA origin. Matthew had not been given the COVID vaccine series, and had no known ongoing medical issues.   I have waited to post this news here because we have still been waiting for a final cause of death and for a full report from the Chief Medical Examiner.  So far, we know that Matthew passed peacefully in his sleep, and that he was quite well the night before. His toxicology was completely negative, and that his passing is felt to have been due to a sudden heart rhythm disturbance of unknown origin.

                 This is the second grandson of Lawrence's to have passed following Lawrence's own passing.  Matthew's brother Daniel, aged 12 1/2, died just thirty days after Dad in 2008. Dad would be very proud of the man Matthew became, and what he achieved since Dad's passing.

                 I am comforted only in that Dad, Daniel and Matthew are together, and would have much to discuss and to explore together.

 

https://www.forevermissed.com/matthew-d-krehbiel/about

 

 

Monday, February 13, 2023

Simas Kudirka Has Passed

           

         This is Simas Kudirka with Giedre Zickyte, who produced the award winning documentary about Kudirka called, "The Jump"


 

 It is with sorrow that I relate that Dad's friend, and my own friend, Simas Kudirka, 92, has passed.   I should have called him again, but I have been distracted by the sudden death of my 32 year old son and settling his estate recently.   Kudirka was a brave and kind man who loved freedom and wasn't afraid to say so.

            I am sad this evening, and so I will add more here at a later date.


https://baltics.news/2023/02/12/the-sailor-simas-kudirka-immortalized-in-the-movie-jump-has-died/?unapproved=129&moderation-hash=63cea06a0b9cbe90eba714175055ce5c#comment-129

 

 

 

Saturday, January 21, 2023

An Additional Perspective

                                                   

       This was taken during the period mentioned in the book by Paul S. Jones.

 

        One of the best things about having written a particular book about a genuine person, is that once in a while someone contacts you with a letter or an e-mail, with an additional perspective or additional information.  This week I was most fortunate to have received an e-mail from a gentleman named Mike Parwana.

                  Mr. Parwana had read a book called "Afghanistan Venture: The Life, Contacts and Adventures of an American Civil Engineer During His Two Year Sojourn in the Kingdom of Afghanistan", by Paul S. Jones.   In the book, he mentions Lawrence Kelsey, a number of times.  Passages from his book helps to provide an additional voice, information and perspective in addition to the chapters relating to Afghanistan in my own book.   I also can't help but think that since Dad's father, grandfather and great grandfather had all been Civil Engineers, that Dad may have enjoyed a kinship with Mr. Jones who was also a Civil Engineer. Certainly, the varied, unusual and sometimes rocky terrain of Afghanistan would have been a challenging place to which to provide roads and bridges. Interestingly, the original publisher of Mr. Jones book was the University of California which coincidentally is the institution that granted Dad's father and forefathers their Civil Engineering degrees.  I can't help but wonder if Mr. Jones himself had also studied there.

                So I am happy to include the excerpts sent to me of Paul S. Jones book, and also to provide information on it, should anyone like to obtain either an electronic copy, a hardcover version or perhaps even a first edition signed copy, which I noticed is for sale. I also plan to buy one as soon as I can.

 

   These pages can also be enlarged by clicking on them.

 


 


 


 




  

 

              Although there were no copies of "Afghanistan Venture" for sale on Amazon, this is the Bibliographic information:

One should be able to get a copy by googling the title, from other used book sources.  I hope you enjoy these excerpts and windows into Afghanistan in that day, as much as I did. 

               Many thanks to Mike Parwana for this information.

  

  Title: Afghanistan Adventure: Discovering the Afghan People:

            The Life, Contacts and Adventures of an American Civil Engineer During His Two Year Sojourn in the Kingdom of Afghanistan.

By:   Paul S. Jones

Publisher: Naylor Company, 1956

Originally from: The University of California

Digitized: October 10, 2007

Length:  454 pages.


Saturday, April 17, 2021

A Call to Simas Kudirka

                  

 


 

   I was very lucky this morning to talk, by phone, with Simas Kudirka, now celebrating his ninety-first birthday. You might remember Kudirka as the Lithuanian seaman and radio operator of the Soviet ship Sovietskaya Litva, who jumped ship at Martha's Vineyard in 1970, seeking to defect, and then through a comedy of egregious errors was sent back to the Soviet ship to be beaten, brutalized and nearly killed. He was subsequently tried and sent to a variety of Russian prison camps or gulags. My father was particularly upset about this when it happened, perhaps because both men were about the same age, both had been radio operators, and had other similarities.   Dad worked tirelessly with others to help to effect Mr. Kudirka's release, which ultimately involved both President Nixon and Henry Kissinger (who is in the film below). Through that work and many miracles including what looks an awful lot like divine providence, Kudirka and his wife and children were sent by the Russians, to the US.  I remember the celebratory party as if it were the day before yesterday.   Kudirka spent many years in the US, and returned to rural Lithuania as an older man.  The documentary, The Jump, tells his life story and is quite compelling.  Today, he is probably more up to date on current news and the world's state of affairs, than I am, which I consider quite remarkable.

                   Since his release, I have always been fond of  Simas. His courage, decency and sensitivity will never be forgotten. Speaking to him also, for just a moment, allows me to have a connection with a contemporary of my father's, which is also welcome. Today, I send prayers that the remainder of Simas Kudirka's life, however long this might be, is as peaceful as this man truly deserves.

               

 

    https://www.docnyc.net/film/the-jump/   

 

 

 

Friday, February 19, 2021

A Remarkable Seventy Year Old Photograph

            


 

      Janu Fairservis, who was married to Professor Walter Fairservis and who made immeasurably contributions herself to his work, and well as raising their wonderful family, gave me this picture as a gift. It hung in the Professor's office for years, and I am very grateful to have it now.

       Dad (Lawrence DeWolfe Kelsey, Jr.) stands in the center of the photograph.   This is the group photograph of the Second Fairservis Expedition in Afghanistan, headquartered in Quetta, Pakistan.

It was an amazing expedition from a standpoint of  archaeological and artistic discoveries, logistics, geology, and simply travel over this diverse and unusual land, much of which would not be possible today given the political climate in the world.  These individuals were lucky indeed to have been a part of this challenging expedition.


#WalterFairservisArchaeologicalExpedition, 


(You may click on photograph to enlarge, or as my dear daughter jokingly says, "Click to embiggen")


            

Thursday, December 3, 2020

You Should See The Documentary, "The Jump" and This is Why

              

 

 


 

 

        For those of you who read "Lawrence DeWolfe Kelsey: The Life of the Explorer", you may recall that Lawrence was most upset when in 1970, Simas Kudirka, a Lithuanian radio operator aboard the Russian ship Sovietskaya Litva, jumped ship to the US Coast Guard Vessel, the Vigilant, in an attempt to defect. In a litany of errors, the coast guard had allowed the Russian vessel to board their ship and take Kudirka back, but not before he was beaten into unconsciousness, had a rope placed around his neck, and was literally thrown into a vessel.   Our book's chapter fifty nine discusses Lawrence's journey to aid Kudirka and the other principles, Daiva Kezys, her husband Romas, Grazina Paegle and her husband Dr. Roland Paegle who worked hard to effect Kudirka's eventual release from the final Soviet prison camp in which he eventually was held.  Thanks to these individuals and assistance from some US government members also, Kudirka, his wife and his son and daughter come to the United States to live.

                Giedre Zickyte, the noted Lithuanian documentary filmmaker, has released this year an award winning documentary film on the subject of Kudirka, entitled "The Jump".  The film is a not to be missed version of what happened to Kudirka and why, and how he fared when he and his family came to the United States to live and to work. It's a sensitively done portrait of the Cold War, the situation at the time, and the man, and why he took such an action on that cold day off Martha's Vineyard. It also sensitively ponders some of the things Kudirka learned about freedom during his time here.  I highly recommend the documentary. I have seen it, and you can also, by going to NYC DOC where it is currently playing.  https://www.docnyc.net/   

                 Lawrence would have been pleased at the expert and sensitive treatment the story was given at the hands of Giedre Zickyte.  He would also be pleased that Simas Kudirka is happy and well at about age ninety this year !   I personally was very pleased to see the story sensitively portrayed as I last spoke to Simas Kudirka a couple of years ago when I provided him with a copy of the book on my father. Kudirka remains an intelligent, kind, decent man, and I am delighted that he has retained good health and his positive outlook. 


Additional links:

https://www.docnyc.net/film/the-jump/

 

https://www.facebook.com/thejumpdocumentary/

 

 https://artdocfest.com/en/movie/%C5%A1uolis_2020_85/?fbclid=IwAR08cK2WwI6iN3VhuyLqAvMC9bVxdBH8wklQfypHo3uKMa7qOIY66ZJdq4A

 

 https://www.cineuropa.org/en/video/393424/

 

 

 

Monday, October 19, 2020

The Value of Letters

        

My father, in the nineteen-sixties.


   If you've read my book,  "Lawrence DeWolfe Kelsey: The Life of the Explorer", then you would know that among many other things,  my father qualified at sixteen in a number of skills that enabled him to be a ship's radio officer in the Merchant Marines.  One of these skills was as a radio telegraphist. A cross over skill to this was that in life afterward, he would type faster than almost anyone. He occasionally joked that he could type faster than he could think.  I think this was one of his motivations behind getting me a typewriter when I was six and insisting that a percentage of my writing be done in this manner. The skill of typing very very fast did not come to him easily, nor did it to me. He worked very hard in order to develop the skill of typing at 155 words per minute.  One of the offshoots of this, is that he wrote a lot of very long letters. At first, these letters were written at sea to his father, his mother, and his dear cousin Adela.  Later, they were written to other relatives also, and then to friends he'd made in his travels around the world, or to people who became friends on the ships he had been on. He corresponded for the rest of his life to some of the people who had accompanied him on the Finn Ronne Antarctic Expedition.

           When I was a child, e-mail did not yet exist, and so letter writing was something most people did, whether it was thanking our grandparents for birthday gifts sent, or writing friends we had made on summer vacation. Most people wrote letters, but I was unusual in that I kept many of them, and sometimes cataloged them. 

           When I was a child my father had a job as a prototyper for a large electronics company, and occasionally had to write a letter or some technical writing to describe what he had been doing.  His office actually had a secretary. When something was urgent or when something he needed had a number of errors, he used to send the secretary on an errand in the building, and on her return, he would have the letter or the document typed and complete. This used to amuse her.

            When I was sixteen, my father returned to sea as a Head Ship's Radio Officer in the Merchant Marine. Although our family was a little reticent about this, he was delighted and returned headlong into the career he had first known.  His first voyages were long term international ones. He hadn't been gone very long when the letters started.  My mother wasn't too pleased with the long letters as she struggled to maintain cars in our rural home, take trash cans down the very long driveway, and then collect them again. I remember she mumbled something about not having the time to send six typewritten pages in response to his. I tried to respond, but at sixteen, I had started at college, and my time was taken by a number of courses that were to some degree, over my head. I might not have responded with very long letters but I did read the letters my father sent. In those first few years, I didn't realize what a gift they really were, and I did not save them all.

            As the years passed, and I became a registered nurse, married, moved away and became the mother of small children, I looked forward to my father's letters. After my departure from home, my parents had divorced, and so some of the time my father had spent writing letters to my mother, were now directed toward me. Most of the time I read every word. There were challenges in getting oil out of the Middle East. Sometimes, men died aboard ship, five days from port. Sometimes, in off time, Dad visited the pyramids in Egypt or ancient cities in Italy, and I got long letters telling of these places and these experiences.  Sometime in the nineteen-eighties, I began saving all of my father's letters. 

            Whenever I could I answered them.  Sometimes, I commented on something he'd said, or provided information as to side effects of medications doctors he may have seen in other nations had ordered for him.  Eventually, I had four young children, worked part-time as a nurse, and didn't have much time to respond, although I always read the letters he sent me.

            After his passing in two thousand and eight, I decided to buy heavy duty spiral notebooks and place the letters in acid free clear covers, and organize them sequentially.  I had some from the eighties, a number from the nineties, and after two thousand, they became longer, more organized and more detailed.  As I read through them, I realized that after the year two thousand, he was actually providing me with a guide for living. In each letter there was advice from his experiences.  There was advice for keeping real estate transactions smooth and for getting a survey. There was advice for buying life insurance. There was information on estate planning and on buying stocks. There was information on buying annuities. There was advice on raising children, some of which had changed a lot since I had been a child. I realize that I am very lucky to have been the recipient of a typewritten encyclopedia in letter form about life, his perspectives, and our family health history.  I have no idea as to how I might index such a large body of work.

            About a month after my father died, my youngest son died suddenly and joined him.  One of the few comforts I have is that my son has my father to guide him.

           If you, as a parent or a grandparent wish to give someone a lasting gift, or you wish to seriously impart your ideas in those you love, please consider writing them regular letters. I always appreciated them, but now I know just how priceless they are, as does my precious young grandson.






Sunday, June 14, 2020



                            The United States Merchant Marine Flag

Friday, June 12, 2020

A Birthday for the Merchant Marines

        





   The Merchant Marine is 245 years old today. According to the Association of Merchant Marine Veterans of WWII, they predate the existence of the US Navy and the US Coast Guard. On June 12, 1775, a group of merchant mariners captured a fully armed British Warship named the HMS Margaretta.