This is a page from one of my father’s scrapbooks. I don’t know if any photos of Polly are among the stacks of photos that belonged to my parents. I only know the page is empty.
I wonder about Polly. She was part of his life from 1941 to 1945. In 1944, he shipped out to land at Normandy on June 6. I know what D Day was like from research and photos. I can’t watch war movies at all because I don’t want to see what he saw even through the lens of Hollywood.
He later moved into Holland and Germany and I know about a few of his experiences from that time. I can only imagine how war changed him. Is that why there was only one more photo? Did she send it to him while he was in Europe? Was she part of a more innocent time forever lost?
In 1947 he married my mother. They made each other laugh. They loved the same books and music. They danced their way through decades, but they also understood each other’s sorrows. She was the right one for him.
I hope Polly found the right one, too.
I hope she did too …