Evelyn and Andy

When I was born – way back before the earth had cooled, my parents lived in an apartment in Roslyn, Virginia (right across Key Bridge from Georgetown University, where I was actually born!) At the time, our next-door neighbors, were Evelyn and Andy Tarapchak, who became my second parents.

Evelyn and Andy never had any children of their own, so I was sort of adopted by them as the son they never had. I have many memories – some of them as far back as when I was 2-3 years old – of climbing out of my apartment window and scrambling across the grass to their window, and being hoisted into their home to visit.

Evelyn and Andy took me on all kinds of trips around DC, and even to the shore in Chesapeake Bay, and Ocean City. We visited the monuments and museums along the Mall – all over the place. DC was a great place for a kid to grow up, and I can remember exploring most of it with Evelyn and Andy. I even remember being transferred between cars in the middle of the street – two open doors and boom, I was with my second parents.

Some of my more memorable experiences with Andy were almost my last as well. He saved my life a few times, and almost scared me to death at least once. On one trip to see boats at the river entrance to the Pentagon, I decided to pull in a cabin cruiser with the bow rope (remember, I was all of about 4 at the time!) Everything was going great until another boat motored past, and the wake pulled the cruiser away from the dock. Did I let go of the rope – NO WAY! So, down I went into the Potomac River. The next thing I remember was seeing Andy dive into the river to haul my sorry wet carcass out!

On another trip, we ended up at the top of the Washington Monument. At the time, the windows were open so visitors could see out better (not possible today). Andy wanted me to get a good view, so he lifted me up and shoved me out of the window – so I could see better. What I did see was the wall of the monument going straight down 500 feet to those ants on the sidewalk around the base of the monument. That almost scared me out of my skin – but I never forgot the view!

Then, we were out at Ocean City and I was trying out walking in the ocean for the first time. A wave about twice as high as I was tall got me and next thing I knew, I was tumbling on the bottom of the ocean moving away from shore. Once again, Andy came to my rescue! I still remember the view from under the water – amazing!

Andy took me fishing in the Chesapeake Bay a number of times. I always enjoyed the first glimpse of the water as we drove down to the bay. We usually rented a row boat and Andy would row us several miles away from shore. We ended up far enough away so we could not even see the shore – and we would fish for crabs. One time, Andy suggested that I see what it was like to swim in the bay, and I climbed out of the row boat and darned if the water was not more than about three feet deep – pretty amazing considering how far we were from shore. I found myself walking around in what felt like the middle of the ocean! (And Evelyn made the best crab cakes out of our catch I have ever had!)

Andy was a bomber pilot in the war, surviving over 70 missions over France and Germany. He flew the B-26 Marauder Bomber, which was know as something of a handful to fly! He started his missions on D-Day flying out of bases in England on missions over France, and eventually move into France and flew more missions over Germany. He finished his Army career when the war ended. I got to listen to his war stories as a child, and I know that those stories helped shape my interest in aviation over the years – as did him taking me to see the airplanes in the Smithsonian.

Andy ended up working for Washinton Gas Light Co, eventually rising up to be a Vice President. He always regretted not being able to get me a job, but my interest in aviation always drove me to other places to work. He did get jobs for both of my sisters, and one brother-in-law, and all of them finished 30 year careers as a result of Andy’s kindness.

Andy has always been a craftsman, building all kinds of things out of wood. In the early 50’s he made a model of a 1949 Studebaker car that had an electric motor driving the wheels and a control box with relays that steered the front wheels. I loved that thing! Later, Andy decided to build his own home near Great Falls in the DC area – what is now mega-million dollar homes. He had the basement dug out of the six acre lot he bought and did everything bu a little electrical work all by himself. We spent many week ends out there checking on his progress. The house is there today, surrounded by huge mansions occupied by the Washington shakers and movers!

My annual pilgramages back to DC for Christmas always included a trip to their home to visit these fine folks. Over the years we kept in touch so we both knew how we were doing. When my mom died in 1993 after I retired from the Air Force and Andy had retired from the Gas Company, Andy came to her funeral, and everyone in the place (mostly Gas Company folks since so many of my family members worked there) were amazed when he walked in. I was surprised at the reaction but Andy was such an important person in the Gas Company, and few had actually had a chance to meet him. Evelyn was too sick to make it, but I got to visit with her soon afterward.

Frank Sesno, the CNN newscaster, is one of their neighbors. Frank helped me find these two after I visited the home at Christmas two years ago and could not find any sign of Evelyn or Andy. Both of them had to be moved to nursing homes by a nephew, as they finally became unable to care for themselves. Thanks to Frank’s help, I finally found both of them in Maryland near Annapolis, and just in time.

Evelyn passed away last year in September, I got to visit with her about two weeks before she died and say my goodbyes to my second mom. I know she knew who I was, and how much I cared for her. Andy was very grateful that I made the trip to see her, and also made the trip to her funeral in Jonestown Pennsylvania as well. On that trip I started to notice something going on in my gums, that ended up being cancer. I even stopped by Carneige Mellon University to talk to several folks in the Computer Science program about teaching computer programming, and I believe that when I was introduced to a group of CS faculty in the hallway, one of them was Randy Pausch – whose Last Lecture after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer has become world famous. I feel like all of this was leading me into my experiences with cancer, and I think I held up well as a result of the help I got from all of my family and a huge bunch of friends. I now that Evelyn was there, helping as well. Maybe she sensed I was about to have problems, and did what she could to help her adopted son.

Andy is still in the nursing home in Maryland. Having to leave the home he built with his own hands was especially tough on him. When I visited him just just before Evelyn died, he was spending his days watching the History Channel and reliving his experiences in the war. Even today, it is fascinating to hear these stories, and impossible to understand what we asked an entire generation of people to do for us and the world.

Andy, I hope you know how important you and Evelyn have been in my life. I would never have become who I am today without your influence on me. Be well, I will see you at Christmas!