Retired printer Carl Nelson, at the monthly BJ retirees lunch today at Papa Joe's on Akron/Peninsula Road, recalled the time he and his military buddies went flying through the air when their jeep overturned.
This happened in Germany. Carl and his military companions had, let us say, more than a few too many to drink. The driver imbibed way more than anyone else.
The Autobahn was covered with mud from tank tracks (this is World War II, remember). The jeep slid off the road and overturned.
"I thought I was dead," Carl said. "My duffelbag and I went flying. So did the guy sitting next to me and his duffelbag. We landed in the mud on our hands and knees.
"We knew we were OK, so we looked around for the jeep driver. We heard a voice say, "Get me the hell out of here. We had a trenching tool in the overturned jeep, which we used to dig him out."
The monthly gatherings at Papa Joe's, at Akron/Peninsula Road and Portage Trail Extension, is a place to share memories.
BJ folks gather at 1 p.m. the second Wednesday of every month.
Besides Carl, others in attendance were retired printer Al Hunsicker and newsroom retirees Tom Moore and John Olesky.
Only February 2012 -- with three -- drew fewer people to the monthly lunch since no one showed up during a January 2011 snowstorm. Maybe that's because Gene McClellan, who made 88 of 89 monthly lunches, died in March.
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