UNCLE DAN the LAST SEGMENT

Lawrence Livermore California Lab
Courtesy Google Search

 

After driving trucks across the nation for several years Uncle Dan had an opportunity to go to work at the Lawrence Livermore Lab. He had lived in Livermore for many years and working there meant he could be home every night, something he had not done for years. He drove a truck for the Lab and enjoyed his position there.

Then there was a rumor going around that people were getting cancer at an alarming rate that worked for or lived near the Lab.  

Immediately this was denied by the people in Washington, even after it was shown that the lab employees were being diagnosed with cancer at the rate of three times what the people who were not associated with the Lab were.  

 

They were dealing with the development of Nuclear weapons projects at the Lab and did have some radiation leakage.

Forgetting about claims and counter claims - - sometime later Uncle Dan was diagnosed with cancer which claimed his life in a short period of time.

This was an abrupt end to a life that had meaning to those around him and left us all to try to make sense of it. Reviewing the characters in the story there was; Uncle whose name was Andrew William Davidson. As a young boy they nick named him Dan. 

 

Some called him Andrew or Andy but as years went by I was the only one who called him by his nickname "Dan" he was a good man who never set out to harm anyone. His only slip was a matter of the heart which isn't excusable but understandable.  He was always good to me and I valued that.

His wife was named Virginia, she was a quiet woman who lived in the city most of her life but was always a country girl. She was good to me and I appreciated it.

His six children were named; Teddy, Shelby, Vicky, Bonnie, Janice and Sandy. Most are still alive.

His brother-in-law was called Shorty, at this moment I don't recall his name. After Uncle quit his ranching job Shorty went back east to live with another relative and gained employment. He got married and started a family and after awhile he started his own construction company. Sad to say he died in his forties.

The nephew was named Billy Joe.  He went on to work at many different jobs. He settled down in Tennessee and for years has attended a Baptist Church.  He is still alive today being three years younger than me.

The rancher was named Bill. He was a no nonsense man who was broke during the depression but worked hard and succeeded. He was a fair man.

The man who owned the roofing company we worked for was named Jerry. He was from Missouri and came to California riding the rails. His wife never let him forget that but it was all in fun. He was a good boss and I liked him.

Some years later I met him in Longs drug store and he told me he had throat cancer. He had smoked cigarettes constantly most of his life. He died shortly after that.

Dan's life mattered only to a few and if he never existed it wouldn't have mattered to the big picture and this is the lot of most of us from the mightiest to the lowly.  However he mattered to those whose life he touched including mine.  He lived his whole life in survival mode, working hard, and he never begged, never stole and that should count for something!

This post is shared at: Stacy’s Friday Heartprints Hallelujah