When I first met Mr. Summers, it became apparent that we would have a great relationship. He was a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University with a degree in electrical engineering, a member of the Army during the Korean War, a cherished employee of the Bell Telephone Company, and a Baltimore native. During our initial discussion, I discovered that he is a man of immense knowledge of the past and decided that a historical fiction novel would be the best choice to read with him, so I started my search. I had always been interested on the effects of war at home so my choice of Marge Piercy's Gone For Soldiers was a good one.
During our first solo interaction, Mr. Summers and I simply read the novel to each other, but quickly realized that this was far from beneficial and entertaining. I told him that we should simply read it on our own time (if possible) and we can just discuss the themes when we are together. Some of the themes that I wanted to discuss were: Family, sex, marriage, peace, music, and gender. Our conversations, though, quickly deviated from the themes that I suggested.
We would sit in his small living room and he would tell me stories of his past, stories about "how things were," and I would sit and listen with amazement. He made it obvious that "how things were" was not "the good old days" as many elderly people believe them to beālife was almost just the same back then as it is now!
I wouldn't trade my time with Mr. Summers for anything. It was one of the greatest pleasures of my life to prepare a discussion with him only to have it deviated from regularly. His stories, his life, and his ideals are something that is commendable and, not only can I say that I accomplished a lot in regards to the ways in which different generations read novels, I can say that I made a new friend. I look forward to seeing him again.