Biographical Notes reCharles A. (Chuck) StonePage 3 of 4 Pages, of Chapter 10,NATO PERSPECTIVES |
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| As the months wore on there were a variety of pressures and frustrations that made me cast about for some form of periodic escape. In our movements around the area we had frequently encountered artists and art work that stirred something within me. A friend at work had suggested that I try my hand at doing some art on my own to give me some needed break time. I soon found myself shopping for supplies at the Navy PX and local art stores. It wasn’t long before there was nothing left to do but begin. Our family had a monthly inflow of inspirational magazines from the U.S. that illustrated wildlife, boating and other natural scenes. I began to put together ideas from some of the illustrations that caught my eye and during the remainder of our tour I completed what I recall to be eleven oil paintings. I used oil because it was slow to dry and made it easier to modify the work as it progressed. Here are four samples of the products of the effort. I did not and still do not consider myself to be a serious creative artist, but this proved to be a great distraction for my mind at a time when it was much needed. |
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| Not long after that project was completed, I was called into General Hardy’s office for a meeting. He described how important it was to create opportunities for representatives of the five nations, and their families, to socialize and get to know and understand each other better. He said in this organization’s past history, each nation would take their turn putting on a major social gathering. General Hardy said he wanted to move the process forward one step further. He wanted to put on a large banquet that was jointly planned by representatives of all five nations. For reasons of his own, he said that I had been selected to be his project officer to pull it off. How could I refuse. In a short time I was able to form a multi-nation committee. We had periodic meetings to lay the groundwork and divide up the work. If you can imagine, just figuring what time we were going to begin serving the banquet was a big issue. Many Europeans don’t typically have their evening meal until 9:00 or 10:00 in the evening. In the U.S. we would be dealing in terms of 6:00 to 7:00 o’clock. The Greeks, Turks and Italians compromised on a relatively American menu with the preliminary gathering having serving tables of special drinks and hors d’oeuvre specialties from each nation. The event would be in the NATO Officers Club ballroom. With considerable effort we sorted it all out, or thought we did. Through her chapel choir connections, Nell was able to put together a singing group that began practicing selected songs that would represent each of the five nations. With the event day and time selected, letters of invitation were mailed, including local area diplomatic organizations, as well as military. Meanwhile, Greece and Turkey were getting increasingly edgy about conditions on the Island of Cyprus. The tension between these two NATO nations, and their representatives within our headquarters, was rising proportionally to the nearness of the date of our banquet. The banquet was scheduled for a Saturday night. Late in that week, General Hardy called a pow wow in his office. The subject was “Were things too hot to go ahead with the banquet or what?” The decision was that the diplomatic thing to do was to have the banquet, on schedule, and hope for the best. Possibly we could strike a blow for peace in the process. This we did, and the entire event was a smashing success. It had been one hell of a problem to figure out a seating arrangement for this group to provide adequate courtesies to the many ranks and nations represented. In the end, we had thrown up our hands and played it by ear and it worked out fine. No one was miffed or embarrassed. There are other stories, relating to this whole event, that were both heart-rending and hilarious, but I could only share them on a small-group basis in a locked room. There is no place for them on this web site. It was really something. Another interesting ripple on the NATO waters was the June, 1967, Arab-Israeli 6 Day War. Whatever was going around our Headquarters, under the surface, I do not know. But, from what I could see, the people I worked with were as surprised as anybody. On a lighter note, around that same time, Nell discovered that she was becoming less and less able to tolerate her oral insulin on a daily basis. The hospital checked her out and discovered that all signs of her diabetes, due to her damaged pancreas, had disappeared. Another cause for celebration for the Stone family. I am not sure whether it was the thick medical files my wife and I had brought with us to Naples, or the fact that my work history involved the USAF Physical Fitness Program, but, for whatever reason, I had been appointed the liaison officer between the USAF personnel in the area and the Navy Hospital. Air Force families that had a complaint, were asked to process it through me and I would carry it on to the hospital administration. There were glitches, now and then, even with my own children’s care, but generally, the Navy did a great job of offering active duty and dependent medical care. Life moved on. My family and I were enjoying being in Italy. During the summer of 1967, Mary Brown, and children, (family of the deceased cancer victim, L. A. Brown) came over for a visit. Our landlord had been begging us to come out to permit them to serve us a dinner at what they called their “villa by the sea”. He was a distributor of pharmaceuticals and apparently doing just great. We had become great friends and more than once he and Ada dropped by with a couple of cases of wine from their connections on Ischia. We had been unable to accept their invitations, thus far, due to scheduling conflicts. They called us again after we had learned of Mary’s planned arrival date. We told them of the dilemma, and they said “bring them along.” So we did! Mary had a son and daughter with her, both in a perfect fit age range with our children. We traveled south of Naples on the appointed date and found Vittorio and Ada’s villa. We were warmly welcomed and they, as usual, had their nephew there to interpret. Nell and the kids had done well with the Italian language, but my scrambled brain made it difficult to become really conversant in the language. It was a wonderful evening but something really funny happened, very quietly. Vittorio, as it turned out, was a gourmet cook. He served us at least six or seven courses. After about the fifth course, including octopus tentacles, etc., Lee Brown (Mary’s son) leaned over where only his mother, Nell and I could hear and said, “I’d give a million dollars for a hamburger.” Those of us that heard him almost choked to death with suppressed laughter. It was a grand day. Soon after we all hopped a train to Rome to give them and ourselves the grand tour. Little did we know that a number of the family members were coming down with the trots that showed up soon after our arrival. We had a few intense days of sightseeing, finding bathrooms, and then more of the same. Nell was looking increasingly exhausted and while enroute home on the train, about 20 minutes out of the Naples station, Nell, sitting across from me, passed out cold into my lap. We assumed she was severely dehydrated and had a low sodium content in her system. The children were in another car and were going to meet us on the platform in Naples. Mary and I held Nell until the train pulled in, carried her off the train and laid her on a luggage cart and headed for the parking lot. The man pushing the cart picked up an amazing rate of speed and Nell was just bouncing on the hard bottomed cart when we went zooming past our children. I yelled at them that their mother wasn’t feeling very well and to stay with us and find the car. We needed more than a volkswagen to get home, so an Italian friend of David and Sandie, who had been with us in Rome, drove our car home. Nell, Mary and I took a taxi. Nell was still out of it, 100%. When we pulled up to our apartment building, I carried Nell into the elevator that would only accommodate two adults, standing. I held her, standing up, and at our floor carried her into the apartment. We started making plans to rehydrate her with liquids and salt while getting her undressed and to bed. Somewhere along the way, it occurred to me that maybe I should talk to the folks at the Navy hospital. There instructions were to get her to the hospital immediately!!! We redressed her, down the elevator, into the car and off to the hospital. They soon had her on IVs and on the mend. Two days later Nell asked the doctor to let her go home because she had company. With that in mind, he kept her in a couple of extra days. The Italian families in our building saw me coming and going to our apartment with this strange woman for a few days and I have no idea what conclusions they reached. In the end, we had a wonderful and eventful visit with our friends and they were all too soon on their way back to the U.S. |
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End of Page 3 of 4 Pages, Chapter 10 — Go to Page 4 Click below to select a destination Go to Page 1 — 2 — 3 — 4, this Chapter Chapters 1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5 — 6 — 7 — 8 — 9 — 10 |
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