FORTUNE OF STAN MASLOWSKI
Windswept Shemya Island - not even on most maps.
An Alaskan volcanic speck existing as a geographic scrap.
The military men on it just a wasted temporary topping.
Isolated for a year.
Discovering what was really in each other's head and heart.
Sometimes surprised by others - sometimes by oneself!
Some became extroverts.
Some became introverts.
A few became perverts!
A few ached in a bottle till they despised even themselves?
Most just lived only for their departure.
A simple few lived for their family!
In retrospect, Stan Maslowski was different from most.
Older, and later we found, much wiser.
This army sergeant with the white sidewall haircut,
Black horn-rimmed glasses with the thick lens;
The only man on the entire frozen island with patent leather combat boots - with taps.
Many of us bragged of the fortune we would acquire after Shemya, but not Stan!
Stan did not drink a lot,
Nor did he endlessly verbally fantasize about anything even remotely female.
His desk was a makeshift altar
With photographs of his wife Norma and daughters Susan and Diane.
So proud of these three!
Stan already had his highly prized fortune!
Almost a score of years later,
On a cold December night,
Stan lost a part of his fortune.
As Diane was returning home,
Gone in seconds,
On Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland!