Parental Guidance
Other Opportunities
From then on we probably just went our own ways, without seeking guidance or approval from Mom and Pop. And maybe Mom and Pop were intimidated by us, and didn't know how to offer advice.
When Buck enlisted in the Navy he was 17 and still in high school (he wasn't to be called until after he graduated), and he needed written parental approval. He hadn't told the folks that he was considering enlisting or that he had been to the recruiting office. One day he told them he wanted to enlist in the Navy and he brought the form to Pop and asked him to sign it, and Pop did. Neither Mom nor Pop tried to talk him out of enlisting. Their two sons-in-law. Gene and Eddie, were then in the Army. Gene was overseas and Eddie would be going shortly. Mom was still grieving for Mitch, who died six years earlier. They must have had concerns. But apparently this was what their son wanted, so they went along with it. They offered no advice, only their love and their support.
Mom and Pop didn't get involved in what we did at school. If we wanted to study French or geometry or be in the senior play, they didn't say anything. They didn't encourage us and they didn't discourage us. They may not have known what geometry was or why French was taught in the school.
They didn't get involved with who our friends were, although they would prefer that our friends be Jewish.
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