Beloved Friend

My Dad was close friends with the author Romualdas Spalis ("Spalis," the Lithuanian word for "October," was the writer's nom de plume). Mom and I had assumed that Dad and Spalis had become friends in high school, at Aušros Gimnazija. My Dad nurtured a sentimental attachment to that school, and he formed strong friendships there.

But Spalis was quite a bit older than my Dad,* and the two men would not have overlapped at Aušros Gimnazija. Today, I reread the newspaper clipping of Spalis's obituary, and I see that Spalis was active in Lithuanian scouting. That would explain the strong ties between my Dad and Spalis, and one photo of the two men confirmed my hunch.

After Spalis fled Lithuania during the Soviet occupation, he settled in Great Britain. In 1973, he visited Chicago. I don't know the purpose of Spalis's trip, but he stayed with our family, and it was the source of great joy and excitement for my Dad, who had not seen his friend in about thirty years.

*The Lithuanian "Vikipedia" [sic] misstates Spalis's date of birth as 1913. He was born in 1915.

Suburban Chicago, April 1973. My Mom, my paternal Grandmother Tatjana, and Gigi greet the special visitor. Everyone is in the entryway of our split-level home.

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Suburban Chicago, April 1973. This is the photo that provided the scouting clue. My Dad and Spalis have put a scouting sash around themselves. You've seen that sash earlier, here.

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Suburban Chicago, April 1973. My Dad looks happy here.

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Suburban Chicago, April 1973. Spalis takes a walk around our neighborhood street.

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Suburban Chicago, April 1973. Our American house and our American cars.

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Suburban Chicago, April 1973. Dad takes his friend to O'Hare International Airport, back when hosts still could escort their guests to the gate, and the waiting area featured steel-can ashtrays.

But, "For Your Protection ... Carry-On Baggage is Subject to Examination."