Last Saturday afternoon, my good friend Al and I met downtown for our annual tradition of seeing
Handel's Messiah performed by the Apollo Chorus at the
Chicago Symphony Center. It was raining outside, was freezing cold, and already dark by 3 o'clock in the afternoon, but we kept to our meeting time. After the beautiful and moving performance, the two of us walked a few blocks over to State Street and enjoyed a nice dinner at
B & B's, a very cozy downtown restaurant with excellent food and service. I recommend it if you are visiting Chicago.
Al is one of my best friends in the world.
A unique thing about our friendship is that we are not the same age. Al is fifty years my senior. Next month, Al will be 85.
How did I meet Al? Well, we met in 2002 in a theology class, and one day after class we just struck up a conversation and have remained friends ever since. We love talking about art, traveling, history, books, God, and philosophy. And as previously mentioned, we have enjoyed many classic music concerts together. Al is also an opera aficionado, and he has helped me to appreciate the beauty of the human voice. And we even talk about WWII every now and then (Al is a veteran of the US Army), and we did so again on Saturday, as the December 7th anniversary was but a few days earlier.
Born on January 29, 1926 in northern Michigan to German immigrants, he was the middle child of two brothers and two sisters (all are in Heaven except for his younger brother who lives near him now). His oldest sister Helen was a skilled pianist and taught Al how to play the piano when he was a young boy. He pursued the piano with further lessons that fueled in him a life-long passion for music. As far as movies, he remembers that some of his favorites were musicals, naturally, and fondly remembers seeing Fred and Ginger on the big screen (though he doesn't recall the names of the pictures).
Al was 15 years old when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, and he remembers when his family gathered around the radio on December 8, 1941 to hear President Roosevelt's "Day of Infamy" speech. There was no TV back then. Only radio. Al said to me last Saturday, "little did I know that I'd be in Uncle Sam's army in a few years".
Not long after turning 18 years old, Al was drafted into the Army. On April 6, 1944 he left for his basic training in southwest Missouri at
Fort Wood. He then traveled to Kern County California, where he spent a month before taking a train up to Prince Subert, British Columbia. Al tells me that he was one of the youngest in his unit he served with, and found much in common with soldiers from the east coast.
A boat took the soldiers on to Alaska, near the islands the Japanese had sought to control before they surrendered a few months earlier. Al's unit arrived during a period of transition; both American and Canadian military had been leaving Alaska by 1944. Al told me he was stationed at a base near Anchorage and handled supplies coming through the stations. Al's service continued in the region until he was discharged on April 30, 1946.
Al told me about a recreation center in Anchorage that showed alot of new movies that didn't make it to other States for months. Al doesn't remember the names of them, but recalls seeing a Bob Hope film from 1944/45. (It might have been
Road to Utopia, which takes place in Alaska).
In the spring of 1946, Al returned to his home in Michigan. In September of 1946, he left to attend the Greg College in Chicago to study shorthand, and one year later he found a job as a court reporter. After about a year of working, Al decided to pursue his Bachelor's Degree, and attended classes at the
University of Chicago while working. (The GI Bill paid for his schooling) It took him a number of years to finish his program, and when he did, he became a high school music teacher.
To this day he still offers private piano lessons to anyone who is interested, and sometimes tells his students the story of how he played piano for his fellow soldiers in WWII. The story goes like this: when Al's Army Chaplain in Alaska learned of his talent, the Chaplain asked him to be the pianist for both of the Sunday worship services, one Catholic service and one Protestant service (he did this for a number of weeks/months)
When Al retired from full-time teaching, he found employment as a bank teller at a local branch in his neighborhood (he would still be working there part-time today had he not been laid off two years ago)
What inspires me about Al is his driven spirit and positive attitude. Al - who lives near the neighborhood where Barak Obama used to live,
Hyde Park - gets around all over the city by public transportation (he hasn't driven in years) and he goes to numerous concerts and recitals every month. Every time I talk to him he's always planning his next outing. Last Saturday he told he he has his tickets for the remainder of the operas for the season at the
Lyric Opera of Chicago. (I may join him for an opera next Spring)
Did mention that Al was a long-time member (30+ years) of the world-famous
Apollo Chorus of Chicago? He joined in 1970 at the age of 45, and traveled with the Chorus to Europe a few times.
Due to some health issues which prevented him from attending the weekly Monday-evening rehearsals, Al stepped down from singing with the Apollo Chorus at the age of 79, after 35 years. But these days he always tries to catch an Apollo recital now and then, especially the annual "Messiah", and encourages me to audition with the Chorus.
Well, I hope you have enjoyed this story about my friend Al, an all-around great guy. He's the kind of friend that you feel so close to they are like a member of your own family.
