SteveAJones Posted January 15, 2011 Author Share Posted January 15, 2011 Elvis Presley Archivist Ernst Jorgensen Scanorama (The Scandanavian Airlines Magazine), March 2005 issue Scans courtesy Steve A. Jones Archive Ernst Jorgensen Videotaped Interview Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledzepfvr Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 My other musical passion at the moment has an awsome guitar collection. Joe Bonamassa. Every musicans dream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted January 16, 2011 Author Share Posted January 16, 2011 Slash's guitar collection (date unknown) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missytootsweet Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 I personally think it starts with an interest in something that you really derive pleasure from. Then to get maximum fulfillment you continue to aquire whatever it is you collect,-- until you have total satisfaction. I read a Nancy Drew book when I was 9 and then I wanted them all. I like retro cookbooks so I'm always going to buy "just one more cookbook off ebay from 1938". That's exactly what happened with my interest in Led Zeppelin. I only had 2 albums HOTH and IV on CD. After You Tube, I figured where have I been?? I need to get ALL their music and immediately ordered Box Set Vol1 and Box Set Vol2 Remasters, and of course TSRTS + the 2003 dvd + any books available. Now I have a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. Slightly off topic, To Mr. SteveAJones or ledzepfvr, those guitar collections are amazing. Do you think it is very common in the case of guitar collectors to collect for pleasure, but only play their gigs with one die hard choice? I'm curious. I see these video's of Jaco Pastorius always playing this bass that looks like it has been beat up all to he** and back and I'm sure he could at one time have afforded many. Thank-you!........missy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahfin Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Just a few of David Lindley's guitars: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledzepfvr Posted January 16, 2011 Share Posted January 16, 2011 Slightly off topic, To Mr. SteveAJones or ledzepfvr, those guitar collections are amazing. Do you think it is very common in the case of guitar collectors to collect for pleasure, but only play their gigs with one die hard choice? I'm curious. I see these video's of Jaco Pastorius always playing this bass that looks like it has been beat up all to he** and back and I'm sure he could at one time have afforded many. Thank-you!........missy I'm not a guitar player or collector but the hubby is. He has what he describes as G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) and plays all his guitars but has his favorite. Wether it is the sound or the feel of it I'm not sure. I would think a professional would pick a guitar to get that certain sound for the song that is being performed, but also would have a go to favorite used the majority of the time. BTW, Joe Bonamassa is admits to being a guitar addict. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beetleron Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 great guitar collection pics i've always seen collecting things as another form of addiction....there's a certain satisfaction/rush when you find or acquire something you collect i haven't bought a zep boot since 1995 and yet when i posted a few pics of some albums from my collection, and remembered one i didn't buy when i had the chance.....i was almost going to seek out a copy knowing full well it would just sit there with the rest and i'd never even play it. have always tried to keep a close eye on such behavior....but i was lucky enough to recognise it at a young age and not get too involved with too much Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deborah J Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Here is my latest- Joe Petruccio- Physical Graffiti - I have #24 of the 50 Created for the opening of the Hard Rock Park by Joe Petruccio, Led Zeppelin band memebers approved the original painting used to produce this Limited Edition Fine Art Giclee. Petruccio captures the color and energy of the band and each member- Jimmy Page, John Bonham John Paul Jones and Robert Plant. Limited to only 50 pieces. Signed by Joe Petruccio. Framed size is 32" x 45". Joe Petruccio ©Joe Petruccio I have had these babies for a while. All three albums signed by all four members with James Fortune signed/numbered photos. These are a few of the things I collect. I buy them because I enjoy art and for me rock art (Led Zeppelin) is what I enjoy looking at. So for me, I collect these because I enjoy looking at them. I also have a Peter Lik Painting and a Wyland Sculpture...again love their artistic work. Just started collecting Jon Ross, and I think this young man will be a well known artist in a few years IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledzepfvr Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Here is my latest- Joe Petruccio- Physical Graffiti - I have #24 of the 50 Created for the opening of the Hard Rock Park by Joe Petruccio, Led Zeppelin band memebers approved the original painting used to produce this Limited Edition Fine Art Giclee. Petruccio captures the color and energy of the band and each member- Jimmy Page, John Bonham John Paul Jones and Robert Plant. Limited to only 50 pieces. Signed by Joe Petruccio. Framed size is 32" x 45". Joe Petruccio ©Joe Petruccio That is a beautiful piece of work. I love the colors and the depiction of each member is nice. A really nice addition to your collection, Deborah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leddy Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 I gave up collecting things as such a long time ago, due to finance, and space, I collected strange stuff. The original thread person said why do we collect things.....well I would say men tend to be either obsessed with something or collect something and are basically sad people . Its in our nature to be kids. I now only collect things that I have been connected too like playing gigs, going to gigs, places have been too, usually pic up some local brochure or something naff or tickets to say going up a tower like "Space Needle" and put them up in frames like a sado as it reminds me of good happy times, but its inexpensive as its just the stubbs etc.Also tear down posters from gigs etc over the years that have been too and have them up around the house. Here is a picture of some of the gigs have been too over the years. I have over the years either lost a few ticket stubbs or for some reason didn't get one even though was there so to speak, so I still hunt for stuff like that. If anyone has a ticket stub for CN Tower and Yes at Liverpool empire 1997 they want to sell as there are stories why i do not have them. "" "" "" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fool In The Rain 60 Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 I gave up collecting things as such a long time ago, due to finance, and space, I collected strange stuff. The original thread person said why do we collect things.....well I would say men tend to be either obsessed with something or collect something and are basically sad people . Its in our nature to be kids. I now only collect things that I have been connected too like playing gigs, going to gigs, places have been too, usually pic up some local brochure or something naff or tickets to say going up a tower like "Space Needle" and put them up in frames like a sado as it reminds me of good happy times, but its inexpensive as its just the stubbs etc.Also tear down posters from gigs etc over the years that have been too and have them up around the house. Here is a picture of some of the gigs have been too over the years. I have over the years either lost a few ticket stubbs or for some reason didn't get one even though was there so to speak, so I still hunt for stuff like that. If anyone has a ticket stub for CN Tower and Yes at Liverpool empire 1997 they want to sell as there are stories why i do not have them. "" "" "" Yes collections such as yours in frames also saves on decorating, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leddy Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Are you saying that my walls need decorating , have decorated around the hiuse since these photos were taken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fool In The Rain 60 Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Are you saying that my walls need decorating , have decorated around the hiuse since these photos were taken. No just saying that you don't need to get the paint brush out so often, as you don't see a lot of wall... I would not dream of being so rude as to say you need to decorate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magic Fills the Air Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Here is my latest- Joe Petruccio- Physical Graffiti - I have #24 of the 50 Created for the opening of the Hard Rock Park by Joe Petruccio, Led Zeppelin band memebers approved the original painting used to produce this Limited Edition Fine Art Giclee. Petruccio captures the color and energy of the band and each member- Jimmy Page, John Bonham John Paul Jones and Robert Plant. Limited to only 50 pieces. Signed by Joe Petruccio. Framed size is 32" x 45". Joe Petruccio ©Joe Petruccio I have had these babies for a while. All three albums signed by all four members with James Fortune signed/numbered photos. These are a few of the things I collect. I buy them because I enjoy art and for me rock art (Led Zeppelin) is what I enjoy looking at. So for me, I collect these because I enjoy looking at them. I also have a Peter Lik Painting and a Wyland Sculpture...again love their artistic work. Just started collecting Jon Ross, and I think this young man will be a well known artist in a few years IMHO. Wow! Deborah that painting is just amazing, what a beautiful work to own. I agree with you, that you should display on your walls of your home what you enjoy looking at. If you own such lovely items, why not have them on display where you can admire and appreciate them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swede Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 We're squirrels lost on a giant globe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swede Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Collecting 45's and LP's is a pain. Not only money wise. There's no end to it, until the day I die, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovely.rita25 Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I think that people collect things because it's a way of showing that you have some sort of control over something. If you can't own everything in the world, maybe having a collection will give you a sense of authority or ownership of a bit of the world. Does that make sense? I collect books, by the way. It takes up a lot of space, but it's OK. I haven't really gotten the appeal of ebooks yet. Must be the sentimentality of the real thing. Or sniffing the glue of the book bindings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leddy Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I think that people collect things because it's a way of showing that you have some sort of control over something. If you can't own everything in the world, maybe having a collection will give you a sense of authority or ownership of a bit of the world. Does that make sense? I think you have issues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGDAN Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 I think you have issues Hi Leddy, I used to have a good friend who was a Kleptomaniac, and he used to collect things, MY THINGS. Kind Regards, Danny PS, He also collected Issues, Big Issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leddy Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Hi Leddy, I used to have a good friend who was a Kleptomaniac, and he used to collect things, MY THINGS. Kind Regards, Danny PS, He also collected Issues, Big Issues. why do i always feel I need to avoid them sellers and when I do I feel a total git for not parting with my quid for a copy .............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fool In The Rain 60 Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 why do i always feel I need to avoid them sellers and when I do I feel a total git for not parting with my quid for a copy .............. Because that job has also been taken over by "Foreign Nationals". They have even done our homeless out of a job... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leddy Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Because that job has also been taken over by "Foreign Nationals". They have even done our homeless out of a job... Really ?? you heard em talk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fool In The Rain 60 Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Really ?? you heard em talk Not talk more of a grunt.. I know someone who never throws anything away why....It might come in handy one day. Would he be classed as a collector or a hoarder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledzepfvr Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Not talk more of a grunt.. I know someone who never throws anything away why....It might come in handy one day. Would he be classed as a collector or a hoarder? Hoarding is a phychological disorder that has different levels of classification. Compulsive hoarders usually collect items that may be worthless, hazardous or unsanitary which eventually interferes with daily living. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted July 29, 2011 Author Share Posted July 29, 2011 Recalling a collector's life, in bits and pieces By Erik Brady, USA TODAY 7/28/2011 CLARENCE CENTER, N.Y. Doug Wielinski was busily assembling an antique Buffalo Bisons minor league baseball puzzle the night Flight 3407 fell from the sky. His widow likes to think he was back at it, perhaps setting a last piece in place, when the airplane slammed into their home. "Doing what he loved," Karen Wielinski says. "That's what I hope." Her husband had a world-class collection of sports memorabilia, much of which was consumed when that Continental Connection flight obliterated their home in the Buffalo suburbs on Feb. 12, 2009.Fifty people died that snowy night 49 on the airplane, and Doug on the ground. The crash would emerge as a central piece of a national conversation about airline safety, a part of the story that is well known. Doug's extensive sports collection is a part of it that's not. "The loss of possessions means so little next to the loss of life," Karen says. "I understand that better than almost anyone. But this collection, it meant so much to him." She looks at cardboard boxes filled with the ravaged debris of a lifetime of avid accumulation and meticulous care. "It's a good thing Doug can't see this," she says, smiling sadly. "It would kill him." Karen, 60, is telling Doug's story publicly for the first time because she wants the world to know the man she loved. He was a Vietnam veteran who worked in marketing and loved history and sports and, above all else, his wife and their four daughters. Karen and their youngest, Jill, also were home that night. Somehow, they emerged from the inferno with only minor injuries. Karen won't speak of their miraculous survival, preferring to tell the story of her husband, who was 61 when he died but in some ways still the boy who began collecting baseball cards in the fourth grade. "Normally, when you lose a loved one, you still have the things they loved to remember them by," Karen says. "We have only bits and pieces." Doug's memorabilia collection grew over time to include vintage newspaper clippings, milk bottles, bats, gloves, uniforms, autographs, toys, cereal boxes, promotional coins, programs, board games, beer steins, hockey sticks, candy tins, paperweights and just about anything else you can think of, plus lots that you can't always with a special emphasis on his favorite teams, the NFL's Buffalo Bills, the NHL's Buffalo Sabres and MLB's New York Yankees. Today what remains is stuffed in zip-lock bags bigger versions of the sort used to keep leftovers each labeled in black marker with a code that looks like a grim version of the Dewey Decimal System. ICN C.979.000. Wielinski, D. Thousands of these bags are piled in hundreds of cardboard boxes that are stacked in rows 8 feet high in two corrugated sheds at a self-storage facility a few miles from where the Wielinskis' home used to be. All of this is from the part of Doug's collection that once filled their two-car garage, which was not hit by the plane. "Imagine winters in Buffalo," Karen says, "and we never put our cars in the garage." The dearest, most valuable parts of Doug's collection he kept in the house. Almost all of that was lost. Scorched remnants fill 44 boxes, stored elsewhere: Here is the charred barrel of a bat. Here is the singed blue fabric of a fragmented Bills jersey, the signature of Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas still visible on his No. 34. And here are shards of cards tens of thousands of them damaged by fire and water and jet fuel. Global-BMS, a salvage company from Texas, combed the wreckage on the lot where 6038 Long Street once stood, searching for the personal effects of the passengers and crew and of the Wielinski family. Neighbors told Karen how workers in Hazmat-style suits sifted through the ashen earth for days. Effects were taken to Texas for cleaning and sanitizing. Months later, much of it came back in boxes, piled high in a hangar at Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Karen and her daughter Kim faced the excruciating task of organizing stuff into piles: Things to keep, to toss, to hold for a closer look. Hundreds of family photo fragments turned up, clipped and shorn of jet fuel and fire retardant. Some include Spots, their 19-year-old cat, who died in the crash. One photo is a ghostlike, blurred image of their 1920s Montgomery Ward kit home. "It gives the illusion of wax melting on a candle," Karen says. Another is of Doug and Karen and their girls, millennial revelers on New Year's Eve 1999. They are smiling, their eyes lit with the hope of happy days ahead. Such rare finds, Karen says, are worth the pain of rummaging through so much ruin. Bag C.406.0025 yielded a baby book for Kim, their first born. The initial entry, in Karen's hand, notes that when they decided to start a family, their first try at conception was during a Yankees-Kansas City Royals playoff game in 1980. "It figures sports had to be part of the equation," Karen says. "If I calculate correctly, that attempt was successful." Catcher in a tight blue shirt One summer night in 1977, a friend of Karen's invited her to meet a couple of players on a men's fast-pitch softball team coached by the friend's husband. Karen recalls spotting the catcher with the curly hair he reminded her of George Harrison, her favorite Beatle and hoping he'd be one of the two. "I came to the game with my sister and afterward, when we were walking toward the two guys, I said to her, 'The dark-haired one is mine,'" Karen says, laughing. Karen would hope for no rain on Wednesdays and Fridays so she could go to games to see Doug. Sometimes they'd go for chicken wings afterward, and she remembers the night she saw him out of uniform for the first time, at Duff's, one of the region's top wing joints. "He went into the men's room to change and came out in this nice little blue tight knit shirt," she says. "And I'll be darned if part of that shirt wasn't recovered in the wreckage." The light-haired guy with Doug that first night was his best friend, Jim Maciejewski. They met when Doug's family moved onto the block in Buffalo's Lovejoy neighborhood in 1955, when they were both in third grade. The two boys caught the collecting bug about a year later and carried it as a common bond through life. "You know how a song takes you back?" Maciejewski says. "That's how it was for Doug and me. Any piece in my collection or his could take us back to a time and place." He is sitting with Karen, inspecting an assortment of damaged cards that smell of smoke and fuel and of the dryer sheets inserted by salvagers. "Look at this," Maciejewski says, holding up a decapitated card. "They took scissors and it must have taken them forever to cut the burn marks off each one. So now you've got half a card." He tosses it in the air, end over end: "Totally worthless." Maciejewski, 64, sold much of his collection in recent years. He says it began to feel like a burden. "I've made over $1 million on mine," he says. "I bought my condo in Florida, sent my kids to college, paid my capital gains. I was a schoolteacher in Buffalo for 33 years and I live a good lifestyle now because of this stuff. "When we collected it, it didn't matter what it was worth, we just loved doing it. And then both of us, we lucked out, because by the late '60s, early '70s, (the sports memorabilia market) was starting to explode. I cashed in but Doug didn't. He had plans, when he retired, to liquidate some of it for Karen and the girls, but he never got the chance." Here Maciejewski exhales deeply. "You know, it's hard enough when you lose a friend to a stroke or a heart attack or cancer," he says. "But when a guy is sitting in his house, doing something he loves, and a fricking plane lands on your house?" Karen reaches over and places her hand on his forearm. "He loved his girls and this lady right here," Maciejewski says. "He was loyal to his friends and his family and his community and his country. The sports stuff was all icing on the cake compared to family, to friends, to living." 'Buffalo gets into your heart' Doug would arrive at Antique World, a giant flea market in Clarence, before 6 on Sunday mornings, as the vendors were setting up, an early bird searching for gems sports memorabilia for him, children's books and pig figurines for his wife's smaller collections. "He'd come with a flashlight and a smile," vendor Alan Tober says. "Doug was a legend around here." Just now a customer in plaid shorts inquires about lowering the price of an item on Tober's table; told no, Plaid Man waves his hand dismissively and walks off without a word. "That's how people are now," Tober says. "Doug knew the etiquette. He'd say, 'Nice piece,' even if it wasn't. He was a consummate gentleman." Doug knew the vendors and they knew the kinds of things he wanted. If they found something good, they typically offered it to him first. "His taste was so refined," Tober says. "He liked vintage stuff, and his eyes would light up when he found something. Oh, he had things Cooperstown would kill for." Once, at a local memorabilia show, Doug found a 1921 American Caramel Co. card featuring Babe Ruth. "That's an $8,000 or $10,000 card," Maciejewski says, "and Doug got it for a buck." When Doug would get home around 9:30 Sunday mornings, he'd put some things in the garage it had an addition he built himself to hold more stuff and bring the choicest items inside. Then he'd record it all in his black notebook, never found in the wreckage. The family lived in the Cincinnati suburbs for 14 years when Doug's work took him there. They returned home when the older girls were in high school. "Buffalo gets into your heart and soul when you're born here," Maciejewski says. "No matter where you go, it never leaves you." Doug was terrified in recent years that the Bills might leave some day. "He loved the Sabres and Yankees," Maciejewski says, "but I think the Bills were No. 1 for him." Doug turned 13 the summer the Bills held their first training camp and he filled a scrapbook on their early seasons with clippings from the Courier-Express and Buffalo Evening News. Luckily, the scrapbook was found in the garage, and the yellowed photos remain pasted perfectly to the page, as if by a museum curator. Once Doug brought his scrapbook to a Bills alumni event and his childhood heroes Wray Carlton, Elbert "Golden Wheels" Dubenion, Booker Edgerson pored over it, enthralled. Some added their autographs. "When we were kids, you could go to a game for a dollar on Saturday night," Maciejewski says. "One night George Blanda kicks a field goal for the Oilers and Doug catches it on the fly, and these big guys jump on him and beat him and take the ball away." That might be the only collectible Doug ever got his hands on and lost, unless you count John Hadl's shoulder pads. Hadl was the backup quarterback for the San Diego Chargers when the Bills beat them 20-7 to win the AFL championship in Buffalo in 1964. "The game is over and everyone runs on the field," Maciejewski says, "and Doug pounds Hadl on the shoulder pads and says, 'We beat you guys!' Hadl is like, 'Get away from me, kid.' If it was today, you'd get arrested for that." When Doug left for Vietnam, in July 1969, his brother, Ed, got strict instructions: Buy a Bills program at every home game, seal it in plastic and zip it into his seat cushion to keep it in mint condition. Another brother, Joe, taped the games from radio and sent Doug the cassettes so he could hear the broadcasts in Vietnam. The Bills went 4-10 that season, O.J. Simpson's first, Jack Kemp's last. 'An angel was looking over me' Jill remembers hearing an airplane overhead. That wasn't unusual: Their house was on the flight path to the airport some five miles away. She was watching Private Practice; her mother was watching Ace of Cakes. Karen's attorney asks that she and Jill not say more about that night where they were when the plane hit or how they made their way out of the hellfire because they have not yet been deposed for a series of lawsuits filed against the airline and others. Jill remembers finding herself outside in her stocking feet. "I looked for my parents," she says, "and that's when I realized the house was gone. And then I saw my mom and ran toward her." Neighbors took them in; later paramedics sped them to the hospital. Karen had a broken collarbone. Jill had a scratch on her right arm and cuts on her feet. "An angel was looking over me," Jill says. "I think it was my dad." The night before, Doug had taken Jill to see the Sabres in his company's seats. He worked in marketing for Luvata Buffalo, a manufacturer of copper alloys. Doug often took his daughters to games. Lori remembers how he chaperoned her high school soccer team's trip to Washington in 1999 to see the U.S. women's team in the World Cup. She still has the ticket. He relished attending his daughters' games in their various sports at Clarence High School, where Karen works as a secretary for the school district. Naturally, he kept all the clippings. Lori married Chris Tiede in August 2009, less than six months after the accident. Kim married Jeff Lipiarz the next summer. Jill married Dan Hohl in May. And Jessica will marry Vinny Krill in October. Karen will walk Jessica down the aisle, as she did for Lori, Kim and Jill. In her bouquet, Jill carried a charm with her father's picture on it. That way, he could walk with them. Kim, 30, likes to find bargains at flea markets, like her father. Lori, 28, cherishes a handwritten family tree her father sketched for her. Jessica, 26, keeps the Nolan Ryan cards her father gave her after she worked in catering at a Ryan event in Cooperstown, N.Y. Jill, 25, has a small tattoo on her left hip. At the top, it says "Dad" and at the bottom, "Always in My Heart." In between is a baseball circumscribed by a lone puzzle piece. The last puzzle For years, Doug had been looking for a set of the promotional puzzles that the Buffalo Bisons gave away in 1933. Just weeks before he died, Doug bought all 20 at a once-delayed rendezvous with an out-of-town dealer. "They're worth $500 or $600 apiece, if you can find them, but they're impossible to find," Maciejewski says. "I've been collecting, what, 55 years now, and I had one. Doug was exuberant on the phone: 'Macie, I found the Bisons puzzles.' That was the last time we talked." Doug spent many hours of his final weeks assembling the 200-piece puzzles. Happily, the black-and-white player photos Ollie Carnegie, Buck Crouse, Harry Danning were coming together nicely. Karen helped out here and there, as did Kim and Jill. "We made it sort of a family thing," Karen says. "The puzzles were hard because there were no pictures to work from." Early on the evening of Feb. 12, Karen saw Doug sitting at the dining room table, working on the last puzzle. She has no way of knowing if he was there at the moment Flight 3407 struck. She hopes he never knew what hit him. Doug's brother Bill praises Karen's courage. He says people think of her as a widow and a mother, forgetting she is also a victim and a survivor. "If I hadn't been there, maybe I'd see everything differently," Karen says. "Jill and I, we survived. You can't worry about possessions. You miss things now and then, and you're happy if you find something, but it's just things." Karen wears one surprise find Doug's college ring, University at Buffalo, Class of 1969. "I always kidded Doug he'd be more upset if he lost his UB ring than his wedding ring," she says. Karen is standing on Long Street, in front of the empty lot where her house used to be. Suddenly, she hears a plane overhead and she flinches, then quickly turns and looks up. "Once I can see them," she says, "I'm OK." She would like a memorial to go on her grassy lot, for everyone who died, a number that Karen puts at 51, given that one of the passengers was pregnant. She feels kinship with the Flight 3407 families, and yet set apart as well. When the families walked from Long Street to the airport, on the first anniversary of the crash, Karen didn't walk with them. "They were completing the journey for their loved ones, a beautiful thing to do," she says. "But we had no journey to complete. Doug was home." Remembering Doug The rain falls softly on Clarence Fillmore Cemetery as Karen approaches the grave that holds the remains of her husband and that will one day hold her own. Karen chose the cemetery because she and Doug visited it once when he learned a soldier from his unit in Vietnam is buried there. "This guy died before Doug went over," Karen says, "and he thought maybe he was in Vietnam to take his place somehow." Doug didn't talk much with family and friends about his year in Vietnam, but he'd often go to Clarence High School to talk to history classes about the war. "He told students they should always honor and respect the men and women who serve," teacher Ron Kotlik says. "He came in suit and tie to make a point: He was a Vietnam veteran and he was a successful, professional man." Mike Keil, another teacher, asked Doug once why he went to Vietnam when so many of his generation found ways not to go. "I'll never forget what he said: 'I didn't want anyone else to go in my place,'" Keil says. "I thought about that after the plane hit. He wouldn't have wanted it to be someone else." Rain slides off the sides of Karen's umbrella as she gazes, eyes full, at the headstone. Doug's name is on one side, hers is on the other. Etched in stone are a pig and a Jane Austen book, for her, and a baseball bat and a history book, for him. The image at the center of the stone is a metaphor for their marriage interlocking puzzle pieces. One is marked Mom, the other Dad. They fit perfectly. http://www.usatoday....ane-crash_n.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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