Memories Are Made of This ...

An East Too Far

by Chester Tuthill

            Chester is stationed in Tsingtao, China.  It is 1945.  He is in the Marines.  Although the Communist's have by now taken over much of the country, he has been there some time now, people know him and he visits local places with immunity.  He is by himself.  He enters  a small Chinese market where they sell trinkets, vegetable and meat.  He buys a small brass incense burner and some small glazed children's kitchen ware toys for a few cents.  The people crowd around, smiling,  The little boys call out "Da Beedza lai".  The people bow and smile. They do not know that Chester knows Chinese and that the boys are saying "Big Nose Comes'.  Chester smiles.  The crowd smiles.

      He goes over to a meat market where a big butcher is about to prepare some meat for someone to take home. The butcher's block is covered with 'blowflies'.  The butcher shoos them away to clear a space to cut the meat. The files return.  The butcher slams his cleaver down flat on the butcher's block.  Them flies scatter but don't move fast enough and a few are killed.  The butcher uses the cleaver as a spatula to scrape off the dead flies and puts down the meat to be cut up.  The butcher wipes his cleaver off on his bloody apron.  Chester moves on to the vegetable section.

      Chester then leaves the Chinese marketplace to go visit his new chinese friend who has invited him to supper.

      Chester approaches the small house.  A puppy is playing in the front yard.  It sidles up to Chester and prances around.  Chester tickles the puppy under the chin.  "Hello, Ming," says Chester.  "What's for supper?"  Ming replies, "we're going to have stew.  You like puppy stew?  You were just playing with supper."  Chester looks horrified.  You don't mean that puppy there, do you?"  "No," says Ming, "I was just joshing you.  We are having dog stew though.  The puppy's mother.  Dog just right age for stew.  They get much older than two years  dog gets tough; like shoe leather.  Time to eat, come on in."   Chester says, "Gee, sorry Ming we'll have to postpone supper.  I just remembered I have a very important meeting I should be at.   I'll see you later."

      Ming says "Wait, don't go yet.  I have a present for you."  Ming goes in the house and brings out a bag.  In the bag are about two dozen shoes such as the chinese women used to wear to stunt the growth of their feet.  They are embroidered and truncated, but much like the shoes two year olds wear .  Chester says, "They are very interesting, do you really want to give them to me?"  Ming nods assent.  Chester takes the shoes back to the United States where he is discharged and keeps them for many years, showing them off to anybody who will listen.  Chester finally dumps the whole lot in the trash bin to be rid of old memories.

 Chet Tuthill served in the Marines and after the end of WW2 was sent to China.  He took advantage of the Bill of Rights for veterans afterward earning a college degree.  Married with four children, he is now widowed and retired from the Education field.  He is the sole homemaker and caretaker of his son.