Houston had two newspapers in 1958. This didn't occur to me until last summer when I was doing some research on the death of my father (birth). I had a copy of the news report from the Houston Chronicle for about ten years. I couldn't find that copy, so I went to the downtown library in Houston to make another copy from the microfilm. This is when it dawned on me about the possibility of there being two reports. What I found in the Houston Post had a very different angle than the Chronicle. The Chronicle reported that a father of three was out Christmas shopping, and had a one car accident. The problem with this story was that it was late on a Sunday night. Most stores did not open in Texas on Sundays until years later. The report in the Post increased my suspicions that my father died to payoff my grandmother. I think my father had a "George Bailey moment." He may have thought that he was worth more dead than alive. Where was "Clarence," or even more to the core, "Where was God?"
From his October 14th letter: Regardless of whether or not you can make me this loan, I am going to take out an insurance policy on myself with you as the beneficiary with a large enough amount to cover how much I owe you. I'll send you the policy when I get it all taken out.
THE HOUSTON POST
Monday, December 22, 1958
Man Killed When Car Hits Post
Ronald B. Hutchinson, 28, of 5618 Woodgreen St, was fatally injured at 10:50 PM Sunday when his car rammed a signpost on the Gulf Freeway at the Almeda-Genoa Road cutoff.
He was dead on arrival at the Pasadena General Hospital with multiple head and chest injuries and both his legs and arms broken.
Accident Investigator J. M. Sherrod said Hutchinson was traveling inbound and apparently missed the turn off on the Almeda-Genoa Road.
The car was apparently going at a high rate of speed, was demolished in striking the concrete post supporting the overhead signs, he said.
There were no skid marks leading to the sign, Sherrod said.
Hutchinson's death was the 77th traffic fatality In Houston so far this year compared with 95 fatalities for the same period last year.
Next Post: "A Letter to my Father"
June 18, 2005
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About Me
- David Michael
- Katy, Texas, United States
- Being a husband and a father is the greatest blessing in my life. I am also a Special Educator to students with an autism spectrum disorder.
4 comments:
Reading your blog makes me want to stop what I'm doing and hug my daughter. She's tired of me going into the room and hugging her. So I guess I will pass on a hug to you as well. My uncle drunk himself to death when he was laid off from a job he had for over thirty years. We knew him to be a Christian, but we don't know why he wouldn't ask for help or for prayers for his spiritual renewal. I miss him very much.
Dee,
Thank you for the hug! I don't think you can ever love your kids too much. (: Keep hugging!
It is sad to hear about your uncle. Depression is a very powerful force. I think that is what David was talking about when he referred to being in the pit.
It still amazes me that a single event taking only seconds can alter the lives of so many in the years that follow.
Thank you very much for sharing these letters, David. I know I talk about myself a lot, but I want you to know that your recent posts have allowed me to consider my own situation in a different light. There is fantastic power in sharing real experiences.
My life isn't just about me. It's about C, and his future kids and their kids and even their kids. It's about my mom and my dad. It's about the people in my past, present and future. And even though I FEEL worthless, it doesn't mean I AM worthless.
OMG that is just too sad. I lost my brother, at 24, and we think it was suicide. He had kept a log in which he wrote what he owed people, christmas and birthday presents missed when he was broke. He died three weeks before christmas in 1989. His first paycheck at a good job arrived at his home the very day his body was discovered. Coincidence? I don't think so. He had bought christmas presents for everyone for the first time in years. I am so sorry for your very young and very lost father, and for the little boy that was you, your whole family, and the man who is you now.
I don't know what it is like to lose a father. But I know what it is like to lose a baby brother, one's heart, when they are a young young man. hugs.
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