Shipslog: Tuesday... Ben Came along... Things that tickle your fancy 6

Monday, March 2, 2026

Tuesday... Ben Came along... Things that tickle your fancy 6

Picture of the day:

SOME OF HIS FIRST STEPS
?? Yes the twins are very close still, They appear as "The Darnell Brothers" for singing music gigs most weeks. All our Grands are with in 25 mi of each other. in North Carolina.

Now for today’s stuff:

Corey came into our lives and not too much longer along came Benjamin Aaron. Ben was born to Carol & Jack Jr. at Walter Reed Hospital Bethesda, Maryland. He was born co-patients with presidents, ;-) so you know that dude is important. His mother was stationed at the Pentagon.

Before Ben came home, Corey and I went to McDonalds. He could not decide what he wanted so we just order everything on the menu (There was not a lot on the menu back then). So he got a kick out of the order. We just took home what we didn’t eat. He never forgot that.

Carol brought Ben home, WOW what a fine boy. I knew he would walk in my shoes a little when I saw this:

(I would have held him tighter had I known he would disappear in a few weeks.

I took him to work with me. I sat him in my pickup with all the necessities, including diapers, for the day and took off. Days were a pleasure with him. Like all the grands after him, he was the perfect child. Never a ‘fusser’, always pleasant.

There was a sad period of 2-3 years. In a well planned act, just after Jack Jr left their apartment for work; a moving van pulled up. Carol took furniture, Ben and Corey and departed for parts unknown. We did not HEAR from them for over a year, then did not see them for a couple years. Those times may not be exact, but it was a few years. Every day of that time I talked to Ben and Corey on my tape recorder.

Keeping the tapes, hoping I would see him soon. Later in life Benjamin (12) and I drove the RV from NC to Utah. He listened to the tapes as we traveled. He would say over and over, “I can’t believe you thought you would never see me again?” But after a few years of no contact you begin to wonder. Once, maybe twice after a year we got a letter post marked from different states. Saying Ben and Corey were doing fine.

Now for all the animosity between Carol and our family, I must say Joan and Dick ( the Grandparents in Utah) gave Corey some great basics in manners, etc. Carol did the same with Corey and Ben. But the mysterious departure and no contact was heart breaking.