My Uncle Joe (mom's only brother) served in the Navy in both World Wars.  He was a Chief Petty Officer and in the Invasion of Sicily during WW 2. He brought me back a coral necklace and bracelet made of Italian coins...which I have lost over these sixty plus years....but I remember the family stories told about my uncle by his sisters (my mother and aunts) and my cousin Marvin, a big fan of his.

When he was 16, Joe left home and joined the Navy. He'd had an argument with my grandfather who, like him, had a very quick temper. He got so homesick that he went A.W.O.L. ; but a U.S. Navy military policemen traced and found him back home again in Indiana!. This officer had a big heart and told the teenager he could finish eating his supper with his family before being escorted back to the naval base. For this kindness, the military policeman was invited to join the family for the home cooked meal. After this little episode, Joe returned to his duty in the Navy and became a responsible sailor and served his country admirably for the duration of the war and   afterward. While on shore leave in Italy he got his picture taken with his very tall friend before seeing the sights and buying souvenirs and gifts. I remember a pretty beaded purse and two tapestries he'd purchased there for my grandma. I wonder what ever happened to them. For as long as I could remember, the tapestry was displayed on the walls of her parlor.

Joe was a good baseball player. He played some professional ball for the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League as a reserve catcher behind the famous Ray Schalk but didn't get enough playing time so he left to join the barnstorming "House of David" baseball team. He was young so found it very difficult to grow the necessary trademark beard all the team members sported. I remember grandma showing me the House of David team picture, and pointing to Joe said , "Doesn't he look just like Jesus?"  Most of the Jesus paintings my grandma had seen showed a blue eyed wavy haired fellow. By that time I knew my Uncle Joe had been married three times so didn't really see how he was like Jesus; but he was handsome. I think he looked more like Paul Newman with wavy hair than like Christ.

Uncle Joe was the regular catcher and part time outfielder for the House of David team; but finally he  decided to go back home where he became a policeman and played baseball on summer Sunday afternoons with the local city team. Back in the late 1920's and thirties almost all towns of any size at all had their own city baseball teams.  He played several games against the famous pitcher Satchel Paige of the Kansas City Monarchs.....which never lost when playing Uncle Joe's team! The Monarchs were a little like the Harlem Globe Trotters in that they would put on some razzle dazzle warm-up displays to entertain the crowd before the games began. During the winter months, Uncle Joe played ice hockey.

While serving as a  motorcycle policeman, Joe once chased infamous criminal, John Dillinger, as he  was fleeing out of town. I remember my dad later asking him what he would have done if he'd caught Dillinger. (He would have been famous, dad!) Another time Joe was shot in the arm. He joked about it saying he should have been standing behind a much larger tree.

Joe was quite an accomplished artist; although I didn't care for the painting he did of me from a photograph. I was 13 and like a lot of teenagers was self-conscious about my looks, and in the painting I didn't look as pretty as I wanted. I must, however, confess it really looked just like me with my before braces crooked teeth...he was really good.

One of the things I remember most about my uncle was the lovely large rose tatoo, another of his WW1 acquisitions. This lovely blossom seemed to have a life of its own and danced on his upper arm as he'd sharpen his straight razor on the old leather strap hanging by the sink in the pantry where the men of my family conducted their daily shaving ritual. This was almost as good as a moving picture for this young niece who, at age six, stood quite spellbound--fascinated by the undulating movement of this flower.

Uncle Joe was the only person who ever paid me for getting A's on my report card...10 cents for each one! The day I got straight A's (seven of them) I ran the five blocks home so fast and hard that I fell and got the wind knocked out of me......just looking forward to the 70 cents I'd get that night. Joe had a reputation for posessing a quick temper and at times would cuss like a sailor (of course) but was always very gentle and kind to this niece he'd nicknamed "Red on the Head."