Life Stories Amid Life-Threatening Storms

There is so much about our parents' lives that we don't know until we ask — and they decide to open up. The story of Homer "Vic" Vickroy, a longtime Oak Forest resident, is one such tale. My good friend, Southtown columnist Donna Vickroy, writes from Colorado, where she's been staying with her father-in-law who faced surgery to remove a cancerous kidney as rainstorms and flooding bring havoc to the state:

Not everyone is comfortable talking about themselves. Many people go to their graves with their tales of adventure, heroism or remarkable endurance stowed neatly inside themselves.

I’ve learned that with a little coaxing, you can extract those anecdotes so that they can be relived and shared. History books can only provide a backdrop to the way life was. It’s the personal stories that establish understand across time and space. They connect us and transcend generations, enabling us to live for a time in someone else’s world.

Her father-in-law lived through World War II and frostbite, became a railroad man and an options trader, raised three children, outlived his six siblings and traveled the world.