Your AARP ;
WHAT I REALLY KNOW
RW PHOTOGRAPHIC/MASTERFILE
Did the soldier really want the strange
combination of cherries and strawberry top-
ping piled atop dark fudge on his ice cream
sundae? Or was it the distracting waitress who
sparked the idea for this strange combination?
It was May 1943, during World War II, and
this is exactly what Sgt. Lowden (Lo) Hollis,
a country lad from Georgia, wanted at the
hospital post exchange at the U.S. Army base
in Fort Meade, Md. Even in hospital clothes,
he was still brutally handsome; he was tall,
had a mustache and was a dead ringer for
heartthrob Clark Gable in Gone With the Wind.
Nearly everybody thought so.
As I gripped the counter, white-knuckled,
my heart beating rapidly, I saw he had no ring
About Appetites
By Faynetta Rose Hollis, Franklin, Ind.
on his finger.
And he was look-
ing at me!
His buddy had to order the chocolate con-
coction for him. The movie star look-alike had
just undergone surgery to remove a growth in
his throat and was under doctor’s orders not
to speak. I smiled, big and emphatic, with my
lips and my eyes. I gently moved the sundae
toward this handsome fellow with the flesh-
scorching gaze and fiery brown eyes.
Suddenly, a message came blaring over
the loudspeaker: “Sales of ice cream are
suspended; herds of dairy cows have strayed
into wild onion and garlic fields … our supply
of milk has been tainted … we apologize …”
I thanked my lucky stars for that last sale
before shutdown.
Which appetite did this soldier need satis-
fied? One that sated his stomach, or one that
filled his heart? He has told me since, “I didn’t
taste any onion or garlic that day. I was too
busy watching you!”
And we watched over each other for the next
57 years … as Mr. and Mrs.
; YOUR TURN! Tell us what you really
know about your dream job. E-mail your essay
of up to 400 words to whatiknow@aarp.org. Or mail
it to “What I Really Know,” AARP Bulletin, 601 E St. N W,
Washington, DC 20049. Please include your name and a
phone number and e-mail address. Volume of submissions
prevents us from responding to all of them.
