Flying Home Page #2

making it possible for me

to leave for the New World.

His new life began in New York -

far from his parents, and yet,

astonishingly close.

Over 30 years, Walter wrote his

beloved mother more than 500 letters,

which I found among her possessions.

In Comano I also came across an item

which I had dearly loved as a child:

Grandpa's huge magnifying glass

from 1890.

My looking glass through time.

When Grandma showed me

this photograph from America in 1949,

I was seven years old.

My very first encounter with

Uncle Walter.

He looked me straight in the eyes -

and stood right next to the

legendary Henry Ford, his great idol.

I was hugely proud!

Who, after all, had an uncle

standing next to Henry Ford?

All I knew was that Uncle Walter

had worked at the New York World's Fair -

the big world exhibition of 1939.

There, they held the Ford Day",

on which a commemorative automobile, having

completed a long journey across America,

was received by Henry Ford and the

country's most successful Ford salesmen.

Perhaps Walter had simply snuck

into the photograph next to Henry Ford.

I went to Dearborn, near Detroit,

to the centre of the world of Ford.

Perhaps there would be more pictures

of Uncle Walter in the company archives.

In the Ford News I found an article

about this big day.

And the photograph with Henry Ford.

But where was Uncle Walter?

To my own surprise,

I was really disappointed,

and felt betrayed.

I paid a second visit to the Ford archives,

this time, to the photo department.

My Uncle Walter had simply

been airbrushed,

like all the other extras.

But, that very year,

he was hired by the Ford Motor Company

as an automotive engineer - a dream job.

15 December 1940.

The Dearborn Inn is wonderful!

I've lived here for almost a year,

and love sitting in the lobby.

First-class service!

You have given me so much goodness,

with the power of your loving thoughts,

that it is hardly possible

for me to be bad.

3 August 1941.

Dear Mami,

Have you any idea how shy I am?

Too shy to approach someone

to speak to them, or to visit them.

I thought there would be so much going on,

and now I just live for myself.

Thankfully I am far away,

and you need not worry.

4 May 1943.

Just think:

A few weeks ago,

I became an American citizen.

Am investing all my money

in war bonds.

November 1944.

It is difficult to write to you

after so many years of war,

not knowing whether

you have received my letters.

I go dancing. Take Spanish lessons.

Am often alone.

I've hung up a picture of Comano,

with the view from the portico.

I could gather from Walter's reports

of his life abroad

that his mother answered every letter

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