I doubt the people who could do that,will ever read this blog. But I would be quite content to be corrected and tutored.
Whenever I think about Noel and Adele, the next two family members I’m going to write about, I cannot help but feel contrite. The tune by The Mills Brothers “You Always Hurt the One You Love” would best describe my remorse. I certainly could have been a more helpful brother to them both.
Noel Lemp—brother
Noel and I went through the system together and reacted to it totally different. There were three years between us and at that age it makes a big difference. I was his big brother and certainly got into many scrapes trying to protect him. So we were kind of together and kind of apart the way kids can be.
Noel was definitely Peck’s bad boy right from the get go. He was constantly in hot water. When he was about eight years old he was hiding in an apple tree so he could avoid helping the rest of us kids with our chores. Unfortunately for him, a branch broke and he fell about twenty feet and landed on a wooden sand box. Landing on the two-by six frame resulted in a nasty compound fracture of one of his legs. The screams of anguish could be heard all over the neighborhood. The response time to emergencies in the early fifties was somewhat longer than now. So the feeling of despair seemed endless. He ended up with a plate in his leg. He walked with a slight limp for the rest of his life. In grammar school the system made his life miserable as they forced him to write right handed, when he was a natural lefty. And the foster home at the schools prompting, forced him to do everything else with his right hand. To his credit he stubbornly refused. And the system finally gave up on him, in more ways then one. And for the rest of his life, in my mind, he was the real life Joe Btfsplk.
When he was a young adult he was constantly in trouble with the police. No real crimes, mostly delinquency due to imbibing.
For an example, one night after having one too many he decided that he was hungry. So he broke into a diner, turned on all of the lights, and fixed himself a snack. When the police showed up, they found him sitting at the counter, reading a newspaper and eating a sandwich. These kinds of shenanigans were a real embarrassment to me. I should have tried to consul him but I was more concerned about my image and shunned him. When my mother passed away we had to bail him out of jail for some minor scrap. He was in the Salem jail waiting for the judge’s disposition in this particular incident. I had to put my house up as surety so that he could attend the funeral proceedings. There was a lot of Lemp’s sleeping at my house that night. Except for me, I was on a constant vigil to make sure Noel did not decide to take it on the lam. If he did it would not have been done with malice. That’s just the way he was. He married a girl named Corinne or Carina (I think) who had one child. They lived in Salem Mass in a real seedy neighborhood. He had a difficult time holding a job. But they seemed to love each other and were getting by. Then one day out of the blue he came to my work place in Medford. Mass. He told me things were going pretty good but that he was out of work again. So to pass the time he would like to borrow my John boat and electric trolling motor so he could go fishing. With a little trepidation, I said yes. I gave him a few dollars and wished him luck. That was the last I ever saw of Noel, or my boat and motor for that matter.
From what I can gather, he went to try his luck with David and then Harry. And then became a drifter. At the age of forty, he was hit and killed by a train somewhere in Louisiana.
Noel had a flair for sketching and probably could have followed in his Uncle James’s footsteps. He was tall for a Lemp, about five-eleven. He had an impish nature and an infectious grin. He preferred to be called Paul and was well liked and had many friends from Ryal Side. But his rebellious nature lead to a star-crossed life.
Adele Lemp-sister
I have always called her Adele but have heard others refer to her as Elise. Which it appears is her actual given name.
Of all the missteps in my life, and believe me there were many, how I handled my interaction with her still haunts me to this day. My youngest daughter, Diana, has been trying to make contact with her. She has been in contact with Adele’s social worker. And it appears as though Adele is not the least bit interested in any interaction.
I do not blame her one bit. If the roles were reversed I’m sure I would react the same way.
When Diana told me that she was going to try make contact again (she had tried a few years prior). It filled me with apprehension. How could Adele not think after all these years, “Is this about me or him? What an arrogant asshole!”
Adele is tiny and beautiful. When she has things under control health wise she is vibrant and very witty. She is, I believe, the only one of us kids to get a college degree. You only have to talk to her for a few minutes to realize that you are talking to a very intelligent person. When she was having problems and she needed me the most, I failed her. I would like to have a few anecdotes to relate. But our relationship was stormy at best. And any tales I have should stay between her and I.
David and Delice have been much closer to her. And I applaud them for being much more helpful and caring than I.
According to the contact Diana has had with Adele’s social worker. Adele is doing well physically and is quite content. I sincerely hope so.
I can see a little bit of Adele in all three of my daughters.
And all things being equal, I think Adele and Leah would easily out shine us all.
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