Blanket Mystery

Curtis told me there was a suitcase that belonged to Grandpa that might interest me; it was in the closet of the room Sam is staying in. So this morning she helped me get it off the top of the shelf.


Here's a close-up of the sticker on the top of the suitcase. It looks like the suitcase was headed for Yokohama but I'm not sure exactly where it came from. We know that this is not the original suitcase that Grandpa used when they emigrated from Okinawa; Mom had said earlier that the other suitcase that I have was from one of his later trips back to visit relatives. They didn't know what happened to the original trunks & suitcases, which would be about 100 years old by now. This suitcase is probably a younger than Dad.


It turns out the suitcase was full of blankets.


After I finished breakfast, I got back to unpacking the blankets from the suitcase and found a surprise at the bottom. The next 2 blankets after the top green blanket were old wool Army blankets, but the one after those was multi-colored with a pattern on it. The final blanket was green & white, also with a pattern.



When I looked closer at them I noticed that the pattern is meant to be seen when the blanket is folded in half & draped over something; I thought they might be serapes. But I couldn't find the opening to slip your head through; I found out on the Internet that the opening is a recent addition for tourists so these might be sarape. Both have wear along the edges and the green & white one has a couple of holes.

I asked Curtis if he had ever seen them before; he hadn't. But both he and I remember Dad talking about his experiences meeting Native Americans when he was sent to the southern states for basic training during World War II. He just could not believe how poorly they were treated and identified strongly with them. Perhaps he brought these back from his time during the war. I showed Dad the blankets when he got up for lunch; he said they looked familiar but he couldn't remember why. We may never know their history. (Dad also had stories about how poorly African Americans were treated.)

After I had emptied the suitcase, I went to put the blankets away in another room. When I returned, I found this. He spent the afternoon sleeping there. When he got up and left I closed the lid; he was not happy with me.


Xander does some strange things sometimes. But none stranger than what he did last night. I was icing my knee to take the swelling down and he lay down next to me. Next thing I know he is resting his head on the ice pack and falling asleep!


One of the other things I found today was a painting that Dad had done after the war. It is a scene in Italy during the war. Italy was the first country they were deployed in and where he was injured. Lori is thinking about hanging it at their house once their remodel work is done.


Happy Birthday to Victoria & Valory!