Spaghetti & Noodles

November 11, 2011

wwnorton:

Nick Flynn’s stepfather “Travis” (left) in Vietnam flashing the peace sign. Photograph taken circa 1970.
From The Ticking is the Bomb, a memoir by Nick Flynn:
“Thich Nhat Hanh always has a contingent of Vietnam vets at his retreats, at least at the ones he holds in America. As the years pass, more and more are from our subsequent wars. I first met some of these vets nearly twenty years ago, and the time I spent with them convinced me to track down Travis, my stepfather, whom I hadn’t heard from in years. Travis had served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1970 as a combat Marine—my mother got together with him soon after he got back stateside. They stayed together for four or five tumultuous years, and then they split up.
The years Travis lived with us I never called him my stepfather. he was more of a wild older brother, just a guy who was around for a few years, who taught me how to bang a nail, how to build an addition without pulling a permit, how to “borrow” a stranger’s boat to go fishing—then he was gone. When I found him all those years later, in upstate Vermont, I wanted to ask him two questions: how did he meet my mother, and how did he find out she had died?”

Re-blogging because I love Nick Flynn.

Nick Flynn’s stepfather “Travis” (left) in Vietnam flashing the peace sign. Photograph taken circa 1970.

From The Ticking is the Bomb, a memoir by Nick Flynn:

“Thich Nhat Hanh always has a contingent of Vietnam vets at his retreats, at least at the ones he holds in America. As the years pass, more and more are from our subsequent wars. I first met some of these vets nearly twenty years ago, and the time I spent with them convinced me to track down Travis, my stepfather, whom I hadn’t heard from in years. Travis had served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1970 as a combat Marine—my mother got together with him soon after he got back stateside. They stayed together for four or five tumultuous years, and then they split up.

The years Travis lived with us I never called him my stepfather. he was more of a wild older brother, just a guy who was around for a few years, who taught me how to bang a nail, how to build an addition without pulling a permit, how to “borrow” a stranger’s boat to go fishing—then he was gone. When I found him all those years later, in upstate Vermont, I wanted to ask him two questions: how did he meet my mother, and how did he find out she had died?”

Re-blogging because I love Nick Flynn.

4:26pm | URL: http://tmblr.co/Zk-RkxBorth2

(Notes: 11)

Filed under: nick flynn