Last Remaining Man to Touch an Atom Bomb
We each have a story to tell, sometimes we just need to tell it slant.
Hi Friends! I’m Sasha and I traveled for over two years in an RV, seeing incredible things and meeting interesting people along the way. This newsletter is my travel memoir in short snippet form.
If you like this story, I’d love for you to hit that heart button, or share it with someone you think might appreciate it.
Everyone you’ve ever met has an interesting story to tell. You just have to be patient enough to listen - or, in some cases, you just have to ask the right questions.
That might be overly optimistic, but I say it for a reason because I think I’m normal. My life is normal, as are most of my experiences, hobbies, and so forth. I enjoy traveling. Normal. My top hobbies include gardening and cooking. Normal. I’m a basic b*tch that likes a gin and tonic when I go to a bar and black coffee every morning. Normal.
And yet, I’ve received comments from people in person and online that make me realize, sure, I’m normal, but I’m also interesting, because I have a story to tell, and I’m writing every day with my life. Creating chapters of memories.
So are you. You have a story to tell.
I want to tell you a story today about a man at a campground in early December. A man who knew he had a story to tell, and decided to tell it.
…
While I unhooked our old dust-covered Tahoe from the back of our motorhome, a wintery-white bearded man on a golf cart rode up beside me.
“I see you’re all the way from Texas!” He said hollering over the sound of our diesel engine.
I high-kneed over the tow bar to greet the man.
“Actually,” I said, offering a polite smile, “we’re domiciled in Texas. We’re from Oregon.” Orygun.
“Where?” He asked, leaning his bony shoulders forward.
“From Oregon,” I said again, but I could see it was lost on him. “The other side of the country,” I waved my arms as a Yankee does. “It’s a long ways away,” as if that would make it okay that someone from the states didn’t know the name of one of them.
“Well,” he said, “I’m the last remaining man to ever touch an atom bomb.” He thrust his arm out in front of me, holding a business card closer to the size of a pamphlet. (That was a rapid turn of topic but hey, he had a story to tell..)
The card read as follows, complete with the spacing and capitalization choices:
“I helped load the last
ATOMIC BOMB
I will speak to any Organization, Group, or
Church about what I know about my part in the
loading of the Atomic Bomb
on to an air plane in Florida in the year
1957.”
On the front of the card was a colorful clip art version of an atomic bomb with the word “Democracy” written across the bomb. A second one in the background read “Freedom.” White and blue puffy clouds lined the edges, illustrating the bombs to be falling from the sky. A cartoon version of a piece of history.
“Oh wow!” I said as I turned the card over, “that’s pretty unique.”
The old man leaned over and placed his hand along the side of his mouth, mimicking telling a secret though he spoke loudly. Spittle shot out between his lips and his breath smelled of onions and caraway, “and I just might have helped put it on the plane.”
And with that, he waved, started his golf cart back up, and puttered away. I shrugged and watched him navigate the campground road. I wasn’t sure what to make of it, and I wondered how many campgrounds he had visited, how many people he had introduced himself to in this this way. If nothing else, he knew his niche.
I leaned back over the tow bar and unhooked the car, searching my mind for facts about atomic bombs. I’m going to go ahead and say that no, he’s not the last person to see a nuclear weapon. At all. Not even the last American. But he had a heck of a good story.
We all have a story to tell. We are all interesting people. Some are just better at telling their story than others. I thought my story was that I traveled, but I’m realizing more and more that I’ve had a story to tell all along. I’m writing it each day of my life.
Thanks for traveling with me,
Sasha
Down the rabbit hole:
Operation Plumbbob: It’s likely the man is referring to Operation Plumbbob which was a series of 29 nuclear tests that took place in 1957.
75 years after the horrifying bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki of 1945, the world continues to argue that dismantling nuclear weapons is up for debate. I’m sticking my foot out for this one. It’s not up for debate.
Not a bomb, but still nuclear. In this portion of the country, much of the energy produced is nuclear. It’s one of the cleanest energy options but often portrayed as dangerous. Within the United States, nuclear energy accounts for 20% of the nation’s electricity: all without carbon emissions. So why does it have such a bad rap? For one: the Chernobyl Disaster. Second: it’s just associated with nuclear weapons. There are disadvantages to nuclear power; it is not without waste—and radioactive waste at that. However, greenhouse gasses and associated deaths are lower in Nuclear energy than coal, natural gas, and even hydropower. Solar and wind have even fewer associated deaths but are higher when it comes to gas emissions.