He died just 6 weeks to the day that we shared this memorable evening. I did manage to get him home the next day and he then took a turn for the worse. It was a powerful moment.Īnd why, you might ask, is this memory almost more than I can bear to re-live? It was to be the last time that Dick and I shared an evening out. The entire room seemed to stop talking and I almost lost it. Big Band music played continuously and then, just before we finished our coffee, it switched to a very soft version of “White Cliffs of Dover”. We ordered Prime Ribs and Yorkshire Pudding and ate slower than usual to make the evening last. We soaked up every bit of the 1940‘s atmosphere. We could both conjure up images from our childhood, of black-outs and simulated air raids and streets filled with young men and women in uniform. The “Air Transport Command” restaurant took us back to those days. There was even an exhibit about the WASPS (Women’s Air Service Pilots).Įven though Dick and I were too young to have served in the 2nd World War we were of the generation that could remember it well. The flying heroes and heroines of World War II were commemorated with old uniforms, pictures and equipment. We couldn’t wait to get inside and, sure enough, it was the “real McKoy” there too…or as close as we imagined those days to be. There were gaping holes in the side of the restaurant that could have been caused by artillery fire or bombs.and the strains of a Glenn Miller tune from the 1940’s completed the scene. This was a replica of a building on a WW II US Air Force airfield somewhere overseas. As we drove in we passed a few WW II jeeps, two ambulances and a tank. The restaurant was huge and situated quite far off the highway. His diabetes was playing havoc with his body and we realized that he was in need of food so we decided to give this strange looking place a try.

We found ourselves in New Castle, Delaware and happened upon this amazing restaurant, situated right across from the County Airport.ĭick wasn’t feeling very well. It was 1990 and my husband of 32 years and I were on our way home to North Carolina from New York State.

This is a memory that is almost too poignant for me to share.

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