My beautiful Byron,

Today’s Thursday letter is from a coffee shop in Dana Point.  We are having a very lovely September here, with sunshine every day and low humidity. Its perfect weather. I like riding down Coast Highway, next to the Pacific, in this warm weather.

I was packing some old boxes this week and this picture fell out. So I decided to tell you about it.
That is your grandfather, my father, Manoussos Broulidakis. (Papou in Greek.)

That photo was taken in 1938. He would have been 19 years old. Six foot tall. Blue eyes. Attractive to the ladies. Spoke seven languages fluently after growing up in Egypt. That is a Packard car. I don’t know who the ladies in the picture are, or who took the picture, but the one leaning on him is super pretty. I wish I could find out who she was.

Just one year after this picture was taken, World War II began. Hitler attacked Britain, and he gave up that party lifestyle to put on a British Army uniform and set off to fight against the fascist German leader, Hitler. He became a captain in the British Army.
The next picture is taken in Alexandria in 1941. By this time he was a captain. Three stars on the shoulder epaulet. That part of the Second World War was the Africa campaign. The German commander there was Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. I don’t remember too much about my dad, because he died when I was ten, but I remember when he spoke about that war, he had enormous respect for Rommel, even though he was the enemy.  he was an honorable man. But he really did not like Hitler and the people who supported him. They were not honorable.
They were fascists called the Nazi Party. Most of them were Catholics. Dark people. Not kind at all.
Manos, your grandad, spent 6 years, while in his twenties, fighting against those people. I think he shot many himself, although he never talked to me about it.  Six years after the war began in 1939, it ended in 1945.
The Allies won and the Germans were defeated. And then Manos went to South Africa, where later on he married Yaya, who you will remember, and who is still alive, in Johannesburg.

She is 84 now. Amazing. The picture of her is from when she lived in Athens. She was very pretty………………….

……..The letter is no longer archived here. The entire content of Letters to Byron is a book, available in Paperback or Kindle.

925,100

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LETTERS TO BYRON in chronological order:

The first of the LETTERS TO BYRON:  The PILOT
2nd GRAHAM COY
3rd:  TOM AMLOT
4th:  Thanksgiving day
5th: MICHELE O’LEARY. The switch Judge
6th : Raining in California
7th: Music
8th: December Rain
9th: Brexit and Greek war
10th: Winnie the Poo
11th: December kayaking
12th: Family law and Mark Zetin
13th: Xmas day 2018
14th: Maria and Anna
15th: New years eve 2018
16th: Your first smile
17th: Your Uncle GEORGE
18th: The Mighty PACIFIC
19th: WEBSTER and Summer HOLIDAY 2019
20th: Breach of Privacy offense
21st: MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY
22nd: Philotimia
23rd: A short note
24th: MUSIC and KINDNESS
25th: Robin Hood
26th: SRA ethical code
27th: NINE YEARS LATER
28th: Valentines day
29th: EVZONES
30th: Rushing
31st: Quick Note
32nd: Johannesburg 2019
33rd: Still in Johannesburg
34th: More Johannesburg
35th: Last Johannesburg for now
36th: Traveling. Upgrade
37th: Spring
38th: Whales
39th: MEXICO
40th: CABO ST LUCAS
41st: 1 April. Wallace’s Birthday
42nd: SANTA BARBARA
43rd: Short letter
44th: PINEAPPLE EXPRESS
45th: KIRA visits
46th: Goodbye uncle Lazaros
47th: Easter Monday
48th: OJAI Tennis
49th: Short letter
50th: PARENTAL ALIENATION FACTS
51st: Cartagena memory
52nd: NEW RECORD
53rd: Last letter to 9 yo
54th: First letter to 10 yo
55th: D Day – 75 years
56th: LA QUINTA
57th: MASON GRADUATES
58th: DESIDERATA
59th: EARTHQUAKE
60th:  Chris and Golf
61st: Chris visits Byron in London
62nd: SUMMERTIME
63rd: PHYLLIS’ LETTER TO BYRON
64th: GUN CRAZY AMERICANS
65th: MISS YOU
66th: SCRUFFY
67th: Mason leaves for college
68th: ART
69th: Day after 911
70th: PAPOU. CALLING CHRIS
71st: Two Women
72nd: ANOTHER YEAR
73rd: PLANNING CALIFORNIA VISIT 2019
74th: KAYAKING WITH DOLPHINS
75th: M and M
76th: HALLOWEEN 2019
77th FINGER EXERCISE
78th: First late letter
89th: MIAMI
90th: Thanksgiving and the SRA
91st: Dentist
92nd: EDUCATION
93rd: Almost Xmas
94th: Boxing day 2019
95th: 2nd January 2020
96th: 9 January 2020. Liars and Thieves
97th: 16 January. Thursday
98th: 23 Jan. Mystery Thursday visit
99th: 30 Jan. Months end
100th: 6 February. 2020. Summer Holiday