Gitter Dunn - 1st Half In Text - Plus Full Audio Version
This is the 1st Half - sorry, this is the only way to get my long pieces posted - 2nd HALF is posted
Times were hard when I was young, and - tryin’ to help with bills - when I turned twelve I made a vow to find some part time work.
Turned out Mr. Wilkenson had just put out the word that - startin’ June - the Whippy-Dip would need a soda jerk,
But I was thinkin’ more along the lines o’ lookin’ into an opening I’d heard about at Leroy’s 66.
Havin’ helped my daddy in his shop fer a couple years, weren’t that many simple things on cars I couldn’t fix!
Knowin’ I was lookin’ - when the rumor got to Dad - thinkin’ I was qualified,
he called about the job.
Leroy told my father he'd ‘ve given me a try, but - just a couple days before - he’d hired his nephew, Bob.
Weren’t no other jobs around. The Whippy-Dip was it. But I was tickled pink when Mr. Wilkenson said, “Son…
All you had to do was tell me who your daddy is. Ain’t no finer man I know than good ol’ Gitter Dunn!
“Gitter’s been there many times to help the folks ‘round here make it through the toughest times that some of them have faced.
Like me, the folks whose lives he’s touched will argue fairly hard your dad’s the sort that - when he’s gone - can never be replaced!
“Close to twenty years ago, the two of us were miners. Gitter was the ‘point man’…more or less a human mole!
An unexpected detonation caused a massive cave-in, and nine of us were trapped beneath a thousand feet o’ coal.
“All of us were positive we’d heard some fella holler -- ‘fire in the hole’ -- before the signal had been given…
But thanks to Gitter’s expertise that nearly fateful day…he an’ me an’ seven other miners went on livin’!
“Thinkin' we were gone for good, eight of us were positive weren’t no way the bunch of us was gettin’ out alive.
Gitter - on the other hand - a genius with explosives - still possessed some dynamite, and took his final five,
“Twisted in a fuse real good - buried them just so…then calmly led his group of nonbelievers in a prayer.
Only one man’s lantern hadn’t failed, which meant - of course - that all of us were very close to - running out o’ air!
“But once the smoke had fin’ly cleared, the breath of life returned…and all us other fellas’ kids -- and all us fellas’ wives --
Think the world of your old man…and see him as a hero…‘cause, ain’t no doubt about it, son…your daddy saved our lives!
“And here’s another story where your daddy made an effort to help somebody make it through a really awful time.
And, by the way…he did these things to help this couple out despite he didn’t know them…and he never took a dime!
“Around eleven years ago, a twister came a callin’…an’ Merlin Willard’s house ‘n’ all his barns were torn to shreds!
The only things it didn’t rip to ribbons were - their chimney - the clothesline poles - the cellar door…an’ two old scruffy sheds!
“Really poor…the Willards - with no kin - and no insurance - and in their later eighties - were completely unprepared
To cope with such destruction, but the town was not surprised when good ol’ Gitter - true to form - was quick to show he cared.
“Promptly rounding up a group of willing volunteers, they gathered up some lumber and the products they would need
To resurrect - along with what was left - a makeshift home…proving once again that he’s a very special breed.
“Then - next Sunday service - once the plate had made the rounds - standing up, he asked the congregation how they felt.
‘How about we take these funds an’ give ‘em to the Willards, to aid them in recovering from the blow that they’ve been dealt?’
Now...I hope you'll read the 2nd HALF at "Mark Stellinga" on Soup, it's a great story...or listen to the audio version.
Cheers, Mark
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