John Trybulec’s father gets the last laugh about a 100-year-old trunk and its journey across the ocean.
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“Your grandmother brought this trunk with her when she came from Poland in 1900. She came by herself on a steamship. The ship took 2 weeks to get to America. Everything that she owned was in this trunk”, said my Dad as he motioned to the very old wood and metal box.
I imagined “Busha”, all 5 foot 4 inches and 115 pound of her dragging this old steamer trunk up and down the stairs of the ship that would bring her to America.
“Now, I want you and your wife to have it. Take it with you to Florida. It will remind you of Grandma whenever you see it”, he continued.
“That trunk is over 100 years old. Imagine the stories it could tell if it could talk”, she said.
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Wow. I was entrusted with an actual historical relic that connected me to my ancestral past.
My lovely wife Linda and I gladly accepted the trunk.
In 1998 we moved from Michigan to Florida – directly next door so my stepson Robert and his wife Sandy.
The trunk was in my new Florida home office serving as a place to store blankets.
One day my daughter-in-law Sandy noticed the trunk and asked me about its history.
I told her about the ocean voyage from Poland and how Busha kept her special belongings in it throughout the years.
“That trunk is over 100 years old. Imagine the stories it could tell if it could talk”, she said.
Later that day my wife asked me if Rob and Sandy could use the trunk as table near their kitchen phone.
The trunk was placed next door and a new generation of people – grandchildren and their friends – would sit on, look at or talk about the trunk that came from Poland at the turn of the century.
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“Sandy loves that trunk. You’ve had it for a while and they would really use it next door. Do you mind if they had it for a while?, said Linda.
“They can use it. ”
The trunk was placed next door and a new generation of people – grandchildren and their friends, would sit on, look at or talk about the trunk that came from Poland at the turn of the century.
About 6 months after the trunk was placed next door, my Dad visited us.
As we walked next door, I remembered the trunk’s new “position” and wondered if my Dad would scold me for giving away the trunk that I was entrusted to watch.
“Uncle Eddie’s old trunk looks good there”, said Dad as he walked in the kitchen.
“What do you mean Uncle Eddie’s old trunk? Busha brought that trunk from Poland in 1900”, I said looking for agreement.
“Uncle Eddie bought that trunk at a garage sale in 1968.”
“So what about Busha lugging it across the ocean when she was 17?”
“I wanted you to take care of the trunk. The bit about Busha just gave you a reason to not let the trunk get junked up.”
I now make advertising for a living.
Perhaps my storytelling skills were genetically transferred from Leo Trybulec to me.
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Originally posted on LinkedIn. Reprinted with permission.
Photo: Damian Gadal/Flickr