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Show Dr. Eckhart was Father's lifelong friend. Who can say?-possibly In" 1 1 n him sustaining hand made fntlwH. more responsible, more able to resist his buried leaning toward games of chance. However, as later events showed, Father never quite overcame his adventuresome spirit that spurred him to challenge Lady Luck. So much for the flashback we needed to bring us up to date on this portrait of Father. Now let's return to Europe. From Stavanger we sailed back to Copenhagen. Done with reminiscing over his youth, Father spent most days observing treatments of ear, nose and throat or observing operations in the hospital theatre. Sometimes on the streets we'd see towering Royal Guards in red uniforms with bearskin shakos. They fascinated me. So Mother made me a uniform like theirs. Father searched out a toy officer dress sword to go with it. When I first strode forth in that garb I got the most delicious thrill of my European trip. Seeing a Danish Guard seven feet tall to the top of his shako, I snapped to attention and saluted him. He probably had never received this courtesy from a "Royal Guard" three years old. Amazed he halted. Generously he stifled a laugh. He clicked his heels and returned my salute. I was delirious with delight. But thereafter I refused to hold Father's hand, even crossing a busy street. Leaving us kids with relatives, our parents crossed Germany and Switzerland to Austria. In Vienna Father studied under celebrated specialists. When we were reunited Father arranged for the plastic surgeon to operate on El Vera's eyelids. Although the effort was only partly successful, it helped. Then we toured England. Father knew he needed to conserve his remaining resources. We sailed back on the BALTIC and traveled by train to Norfolk, Nebraska. Father made a down payment on a big old frame house which he soon had remodeled. He established himself in a professional building among other doctors and dentists. The outlying farms and villages resembled those around St. Ansgar for this was a prosperous agricultural area with many Scandinavians and Germans in it. Father's night calls were much reduced because, as a specialist, he worked only 9 to 5 most days. There were colleagues to consult and nurses to assist him. |