Jerry Kaml

May 30, 2012

My Debt to Jerry Kaml

By Winfield Sterling

Jerry Kaml and I were boyhood friends in the South Texas town of Edinburg (almost Mexico).  World War II was in progress so we were allowed to buy only one piece of bubble gum per person.  But there were few limits on the quantity of food we could eat in the cafeteria.   There we were served such delicacies a mashed potatoes, green beans, macaroni with cheese and jello for desert.  While standing in line with all the other hungry kids from our elementary school, a fellow standing behind me struck up a conversation.  To set the stage, it was not normal for anybody to start a conversation with me because I was a very private and bashful kid who really hated the regimentation of school and would much rather be out enjoying my freedom on the farm hunting doves with a slingshot – or something.  But for Jerry, conversation came naturally and he quickly put me at ease.  From that casual beginning, we have remained friends for about 77 years.  
I don’t remember the exact year that we became friends, but I would guess it was about the third grade.  From that point, we shared most of the same classes in each grade until we graduated from High School.    
Our Poem

One of my favorite teachers was Miss Brown in the fifth grade.  She gave our class an assignment to write a poem.  Jerry and I decided to combine forces to see if we could win the prize for best poem in our class.   We worked it over and over a few times and finally came up with:

Texas

There had never been heard
such a wonderful word, as Texas.
Where cotton will grow and
farmers will sow their grain.
Where blackbirds will fly
way up in the sky
and mockingbirds sing
on the wing
With a flag of red, white and blue
which I respect and so do you.
Texas is a beautiful land
with pretty birds
and white, white sand.
With horses and mules
and cows and pigs
and squirrels that sit
on little green twigs.

To my amazement, we won!

Peanuts and Operettas

 
In maybe the 7th grade, Jerry and I both performed in “Circus Day” – an operetta.  Standing on a stage in front of God and everybody, we sang:

Peanuts, peanuts roasted good and brown,
Jumbo likes them better than anything else in town.
So here’s the reason, hard for cap and gown,
Does the Elephant eat the peanuts up
or does he eat them down?

Riding Horses with Girls

In the 8th grade or so, Jerry invited some of the prettiest girls in our class to ride horses.  My part was easy.  All I had to do was provide the horses from our ranch.  So, we saddled up the horses and road out in maybe a 5 mile loop, picking up pretty girls along the way.  It was sorta like a date except that nobody paired up – it was just good, clean fun.  I would never have considered organizing such an event, but Jerry did it with such casual grace that it seemed almost too easy.

When I Get Rich

Somewhere – maybe in high school – we chatted about our futures.  I ventured that I would likely be a farmer/rancher like my dad.  Jerry offered that he planned to become very rich and that he would buy a farm and that maybe I could come run it for him.   So, if nothing else worked out for me, I always had Jerry’s offer to fall back on.

Joined the Marine Corps 

I guess we just grew tired of school.  After our freshman year in college, Jerry and another friend (Charles Alexander) decided we needed some kind of adventure in our lives.  We had all been drafted and would likely be forced to serve in the Army if we did not volunteer for some other branch of the service.  We had grown up watching John Wayne and Audie Murphy type war stories where when somebody was shot, it was always a clean kill – not like the exploding head stuff our grandkids watch today.  It was all very heroic, Iwo Jima, flag-raising stuff.  So, we decided to join the Marines -- where we were promised various choices of military specialties.   I chose a nice, cushy job of Aircraft Control.  So, once we had joined, they handed me a rifle and said that there were no openings in Aircraft Control.  Jerry ended up in the 3rd Battalion and I in the 2nd Battalion of the Fifth Marines – as riflemen.

We were proud to be members of the Marine Corps, but I spent almost every day counting the days until my 3-year sentence would be over.  Jerry adjusted more easily and through connections he found a way to be transferred to battalion headquarters where he served as Court Recorder for military court martials.  I was huffing and puffing on long hikes and digging fox holes, Jerry rode in a Jeep.  Guess he felt sorry for me, so he arranged a transfer for me so we could work together again.  Ultimately, we were both transferred into Battalion Intelligence where we served the rest of our sentence.

Bought a Car

Jerry understood much better than I did, that to attract the girls, it was very useful to have a car.   So, he talked me into joining with him in buying one.   It served primarily as transportation from Camp Pendleton to his Aunt May’s in San Luis Obispo.   There we ate Aunt May’s great food, drank a few beers and listened to Johnny Mathis records.  It was a wonderful break from the monotony of Marine life.  I guess we met a few girls along the way, but none that really stick in my mind.  Although my old girlfriend from Edinburg had by then already written me her “dear John,” I just wanted to go back home to Texas.   So after being discharged, I returned to Texas and Jerry stayed in California.  You know the rest of his story.

Doctor Kaml

We exchanged letters for a while but frequency of correspondence deteriorated into occasional Christmas Cards along with photos of each other’s families.  We both got busy doing graduate work, starting families and making a living until we almost lost contact.   Interestingly, we both ended up as teachers.
Reunions at San Louis Obispo

One day I received a phone call from another old friend (Tosh Williams) who announced that he had called Jerry and we had been invited to Jerry’s home.  So, five old friends from Edinburg met at Jerry and Sherry’s home for a couple days to share stories of our wayward youth.  It was my first time to meet Sherry.  It made me wonder how Jerry was ever able to attract such a fantastic woman.   Anyway, they were delightful hosts and we all had a very good time.   But, after we began telling the same stores for the second and third times, it was time to part company.

  
Anyway, looking back over our lives, I have formed a deeper appreciation of the benefits of having a friend like Jerry.  I can’t think of any major benefits he got from our friendship, but I hope this short review will make it clear that I remember his contributions to my life.

Thanks Jerry and happy 50th to you and Sherry.  Don’t forget to invite Pat and me to your 100th anniversary.

Winfield Sterling
Master Chain Saw Operator and Gardener