Between 10 and 5 With Dad

Between 10 and Five With Dad
Keeping the Fifth Amendment
By Alan D. Busch
2012 125 pages
ISBN: 978-81-8253-289-2
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Alan D. Busch, author of the widely received memoir, “Snapshots in Memory of Ben,” once again writes a delightful, bittersweet book about his relationship with his father, particularly during the last years of his life.

His story begins with what he knows of his father’s youth, and then ventures into expositions on the sad failure of his parents’ marriage after only ten years. They were, as Alan writes,” great parents (not such) great spouses.” His older brother, Ron, and he were raised by their mother, except for phone calls and quarterly visits with their dad. While being raised by their mother, the boys never grew apart from their dad—an amazing thing, due entirely to the love their father held for his sons and his faith in the ‘One True God.” Albert Isle Busch, nicknamed ‘Poppy’ by his grandson, Ben, made sure there was family interaction with Alan and Ron’s Uncle Hirsh Meyer Busch, a dentist like Alan’s dad, and Aunt Hynda, a major force in the family’s’ lives, plus her husband, Uncle Sam and their children, Robert and Robyn. Times were full of great family fun and interaction as the boys grow to be men.

Alan travels back into his past and forward again as he relates those precious times with his father who taught him important life lessons and above all else, abiding love. This lifelong love and respect carries them gracefully into his father’s final pain-filled days. Alan’s cousin, Marissa thoughtfully videotapes these last times with his father, giving him memories to cherish in the coming days.

As father and son reminisce over former times, Mr. Busch shares with readers a glimpse into the times and the essence of a man admired and loved by so many. Albert takes his sons on a trip travelling the famous “Route 66,” in the car of that decade, a Ford Thunderbird convertible. Those who remember the coolest car of its time will relate to the rollicking tales of their adventure. To Alan and Ron it was a vacation filled both fun and education from their wise father.

Alan marries and has three children, and one of them, Ben, is killed in a car accident at the age of twenty-two. Alan is never the same again, and Ben’s Poppy, also with Ben as he dies, loses a bit of his own life. One wonders if his intense grief triggers the cancer than began its insidious destruction eight years later.

Author Busch hears heartrending stories from his father, never heard before, as he lays dying—tales from his service in the WW11, moments of bravery and acts of kindness in the most unlikely places. They hold political discussions and debates proving both his father’s intelligence, as well as conscience and savvy. ”Money and power . . . are the foundation of all wars.”

And so Albert Busch, 87, father, husband, grandfather and friend to so many, is honored by his son, Alan Busch, with memories that can be handed down to future generations. Alan’s soulful words will stay with the reader for a long time.

Aleichen shalom; unto you, peace.

The author can be reached at either alandbusch@aol.com or Alandbusch@gmail.com

Website with linkages to the work at www.alandbusch.com. Available at amazon.com, or at kindle.com or directly from the author. Cost is $14.95 plus 4.25 shipping USPS first class=

Reviewer: Micki Peluso, writer, journalist and author of . . . And the whippoorwill Sang.