In summer during fair weather, my brother John and I often walked a short distance from our house to the old apple orchard. We would lie down on top of deep matted grass and look at the sky, as clouds drifted and changed shapes. Sometimes a commercial airplane with two or four engines would cross the sky from east to west, and we followed it with our eyes and wondered where it was going and where it started from. We took turns naming cities that we would like to fly to. We never saw any jet planes. In the early 1950's there weren't any commercial jet planes flying in the United States.
I mention this as I recall my aunt Katheryn Melville Reardon and her husband Harmon and their kindness to us. She was my mother's youngest sister, and she was my favorite among relatives. After my family moved to Continental Village, staying in touch with her sister’s family, Katheryn took the train from New York City to Peekskill, and hired a cab to take her to our house in Continental Village.
When I was 11 and John was 16 years old, she and Harmon flew us to Washington, D.C., for a two-week summer vacation. Harmon and Katheryn Reardon were living at Arlington, Va.
While Lt. Col. Harmon Reardon was working at the Pentagon, my aunt Katheryn took my brother and me to all the historic monuments and buildings in Washington, D. C., to George Washington’s home at Mount Vernon and to the civil war battlefield at Manassas. My aunt knew the historical significance of these places, and she explained her knowledge of these places as though she was our tour guide. Her voice was unforgettable. She spoke like Eve Arden of "Our Miss Brooks," a TV sitcom popular from 1952 to 1956.
At Arlington, Harmon gave John and me an allowance of five dollars each week, but we had to work for it. My job was to shine his shoes. He was a dedicated army officer, a "spit and polish" officer. He was an intelligent man with a peculiar sense of humor.
I remember the first time I had to polish his army shoes on the basis of very detailed instructions. I guess I didn't get it right, so he told me to "use more spit" and "make those shoes look like mirrors." I went back to work on his shoes, and when I was done the second time I presented them to him for inspection. I was proud of my work and expected praise.
He looked at the shoes and then turned them over, exposing the soles which had not received any attention. "You forgot to polish the soles," he said. "Finish the job and you will get your allowance."
My aunt heard that order and questioned him when he returned from the kitchen to the living room. I thought I heard him laughing. When I showed him the shoes the third time, after shining the soles, he gave me five dollars and said “Good job!”
I forget what John's allowance job was. Perhaps it was to put out garbage, sweep and mop the floors or wash dishes. Whatever it was, he was pressed to "toe the line" too.
When John got his five dollars, Harmon offered him a challenge. "Do you know how to play five card draw poker?" My brother answered, "Yes." Harmon said, "Want to play for one dollar a hand?" John answered, "Sure."
Five hands later Uncle Harmon had all of John's money on his side of the card table. John looked like a boy lost at the opera.
"Now, I have a suggestion," said Harmon. "We can play another hand for double or nothing. Nothing means you will not get next week's allowance if you lose this hand. Double means you get all your money back now, if you win this hand."
Harmon knew that our dad, John Tittmann, Sr., had gambled and lost on horses at Long Island's race tracks. I guess he wanted to teach my brother John an early lesson about the pitfalls of such a pursuit. John had not learned anything yet because he eagerly accepted the next double or nothing hand. He lost again.
Harmon took the money off the table and put it in his pocket. He did not look at my brother John. John got up from his chair immediately and went to the bedroom, closing the door behind him. I stayed in the living room and heard my aunt questioning her husband about the rationale for his behavior with children. Harmon remained silent as she "dressed him down."
When she was done speaking in her own distinctive style of proper English, Harmon spoke a few short words: "I was trying to teach him a lesson. I believe I succeeded."
To this day in time my brother John has never gambled with money. He does not play Lotto, engage in card games for money, bet on horses or even play Bingo.
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