The United States Coast Guard's motto is Semper Paratus: "Always Ready". A murky history, the origins of which are not clear. But, for me, their motto should have been; Semper Paratus Adiuvo: "Always Ready to Help, Aid Assist"!
Once again emails flowed back and forth. This time it was to the curator of the Coast Guard Museum. The uniform identification wasn't going very well and he asked me to send him a photograph of Edward. I did not have a scanner or a digital camera. It seemed a dead end. So many questions and no answers. So many generous people involved their precious time to help me. And what did I have to show for it? Their precious time and a mail box full of emails. It seemed this mountain was was not to be conquered let alone climbed. I felt I was at the base, looking up. Too much time spent on a bi-plane and not enough time spent on the rest of the collection. This was about to change.
The subject heading of the email read: "The United States Coast Guard Historian's Office, Washington D.C.". The historian for the U.S. Coast Guard had been contacted by the Coast Guard Museum curator. Apparently, he had forwarded my emails to his office. Initial emails flowed back and forth after which he told me he would put me in contact with their archivist. She and I began a long series of emails. Beyond the call of duty, she patiently answered my questions and when appropriate helped with my research. Often, when doing research for someone else she would stumble across something related to lighthouses and aviation. These would be passed on to me in emails or postal mail.
One day there was an email from the archivist. "Eureka! I think we might have a match to the bi-plane!". An obscure article detailed the relationship between lighthouses and navigation history. Well, now we were really on to something! She offered to contact the curator for the Glenn Curtiss Museum. Without actually looking at the photograph, but based on the information provided by the archivist, he said it was possible this could be Glenn Curtiss. It was well known at the time he was in the area. Suddenly, it all seemed to be coming together after years of research. I was not prepared for what would happen next. My world was about to come to a crashing halt.
LIFE COMES AT YOU FAST
Who listens to T.V. commercials? Even so, they stick in your mind like pieces of gum to the soles of your shoe. Everything was shelved when my husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer and one of my children with pre-cancer cells, both the same week in December. Instead of visions of sugar plums I had visions of death. The last thing on my mind was Edward, bi-planes and lighthouses!
I was half way up the mountain and fell. Now, I was trapped on a ledge with no where to go. Neither up or down, the next two years were spent tending to my family. I could think of nothing else. Yet, like the gum stuck on shoe soles, this history would remain. A T.V. commercial constantly running in the back of my mind. It would not be laid to rest. Neither would my husband and my child. Complications not withstanding they both survived. I survived and early one spring day 2009 I received an email from my cousin. "Going to be in San Antonio for my wife's Oncology conference. Would love to get together". I did not know it, but the rope had been lowered. My rescue and assent would soon follow. The mountain was still waiting to be conquered, even if the landscape had changed.
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