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Steve Bennett (1970)
Hi Sandra
you mentioned your family is gone. Did you have a brother Eddie? I assume so because of your location, and my memory of riding bikes to your house. in the spirit of thanksgiving i have a grover-cleveland/John Muir thankful memory to share about the kindness of your mom, dad and Eddie (Ed) that i will never forget.
i think it was in 4th grade Miss Burton or 5th grade Mrs Rogers that Ed and i got connected through model cars from shopping at McReys novelty candy/toy store. He had created a beautiful model car (George Barris’s “ALA KART”) he painted expertly in a purple trim that i wanted to copy. I had bought the model and came to your house and became a fixture for several days while this was recreated. During that time i was invited to dinner and spent the night more than once. your mom and dad were so kind to me and your household welcoming (compared to my alcoholic one). Your dad woke us up early a couple of times i stayed over and took us to the san Leandro marina, and at another time to the Berkeley pier. They were fond memories as it was my rare experience of an active father doing stuff with sons. At the Berkeley Pier Eddie and I broke away from your dad and discovered the art of “Sea-gull fishing”: when you baited the hook and casted it the sea gulls would try to extract the bait. i had so much fun. However, when you dad came to get us we got into a lot of trouble. However, i shortly after his anger subsided i remember how gentle he was in explaining WHY we should not do that type of thing-we were there for fishing, not causing harm to the sea gulls. Again, this stuck in my memory because this type of relationship and exchange was lacking in my dysfunctional family. I am thankful for this memory because it imprinted on me of what a dad COULD be to their children: i remembered it with each my four kids growing up, and continue to reflect on it with my five grandkids today.
My last memory of Eddie was from 9th grade metal shop. One of the tasks we had to accomplish was to break down (and put back together) a small gasoline lawnmower engine. I do not remember who my partner was, but we failed. However, i do remember watching Eddie and Bill (?) Halverston breaking a school record, doing the maneuver in minutes. It was amazing seeing the reflex actions and teamwork from them from the perspective of an appreciation of how motors work. But then i remember, we would visit your dad at the 76 station on bikes and watch him in action. i gather there must have been a great deal of teamwork with your dad to help make his 9th grade achievement happen.
To sum up, one of important aspects of thanksgiving i remind myself about is that: 1) i should not forget about those who have made lasting contributions to my well being; 2) i should try to continue to emulate that which was given to me; and 3) unless you specifically say thank you, no one will ever know what impact their lives had on you.
Sandra, if Eddy was indeed your brother and his Dad you Father, i wanted to simply state that they made a lasting difference in my life at a time of need, for which i am eternally grateful. My one regret about getting out of contact with Eddie is never finding out what happened to him, and to give him my appreciation and thanks for sharing his family, for which it made for a long-lasting positive imprint on me.
best
steve
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