Daddy’s Tomato Garden
My father spent most of World War II on Attu, a frozen, treeless dot in the northern Pacific at the end of the Aleutian Chain. Although he spoke little of the experience of flying bombing missions over Japan, Daddy often reminisced about the weather. It is estimated that there are 8-10 precipitation-free days a year on the island, all of them cold! Our treasured black and white photos show Daddy in front of his plane, smiling and bundled against the snow…always snow. Three years on Attu gave my father a passion for green and growing things. He loved mowing the lawn and puttering in his garden! When I was just six, we moved to a small town outside Cleveland. Our tiny home had a huge yard, the back third of which quickly became Daddy’s...
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