autobio abstract

 

Valhalla is historic myth about what we may consider heaven.  In this autobiography of / for 86 years, and hopefully a few more, ‘valhalla’ is also heaven, but not in the after life sense, but in the now lifetime sense.  That thought may be considered a distant similarity in feel to Wayne Dwyer’s speech line, “There is no way to happiness!  (a potent speaker’s pause then restarted for the next slammer,)  HAPPINESS IS THE WAY !  

Both heaven and happiness are today.  Make it so. 

This is a study conclusion — even after 86 lifetime years and even in his current year 87 — “y87 of YOUTHFUL SPIRIT” and into the future if choices have it so, specifically long term internal choices as opposed to the tail of imposed / accepted external choices wagging the proverbial dog.  We all are wagged in some degree — but to the extent of unhappiness / hell on earth we must contand with being wagged, degraded, discounted, or in whatever degree be slammed.

Thus this bio study is to focus on the way of today’s now happiness and today’s now heaven.  Amen.  Happiness and heaven are the way for future choice(s) — toward the positive feelings /emotions and away from the negative feelings / emotions.

For Junior, life began happy, in spite of a shotgun wedding, and a no-talk tradition which Connie took to her grave (in her 102nd year) in spite of Junior’s frequent friendly pilgrimages to her apartments through epochs and later to her retirement home in WI.  

As Junior’s lifetime began there was mother Connie, father Harvey Senior, and Harvey Junior.  

Junior knows little of their relationship, but Senior’s sister Eleanor firmly stated that Connie was possessed with a temper!  AND, that an abortion was debated.

Junior’s  Borsch years included visits to Valhalla Cemetery where father’s step-relatives were buried.  Irving Borsch married Senior’s mother Louise after Senior’s father Armin hung himself purportedly over a cancer diagnosis.  Irving also lost his wife to cancer leaving him with a half dozen kids, some close to if not in adulthood.  There was also Mildred, probably a product of yet another Irving marriage — perhaps his first.

Louise was widowed from Armin — they owned the south-side Milwaukee tavern

Still looking for the ‘lost’ photo of Armin and Lohise with kids Eleanor and Harvey.

Armin Owned / operated a South Milwaukee tavern — frequented by Connie’s Polish relatives on her mother Pauline’s side, nee Morzinski — they immigrated from Poland to Milwaukee.

Armin hung himself at a Pulaski Park pavilion, rumored because of a cancer diagnosis.  The hanging was perhaps near Junior’s conception.  Harv remains curious as to Connie’s bolt from being a Marshfield domestic to her East Side Milwaukee live-in domesiic job for some ‘doctor.’  At what age did she bolt?

In Central Wisconsin, being in the midst of a large family, her education was truncated at fifther grade and she worked as a live-in domestic of the Rodis’ lumber company family in Marshield, the biggest town in the area.  There were several Rodis girls, probably peers, who influenced Connie, specifically the issue of Stanley coming into town to collect her paycheck.  Assuming Connie’s employment lasted years into being an older teen, under the influence of ilive-in peers, and frequenting the Marshfield pool, probably in her’s or a borrowed two-piece swim suit which was Connie’s preference for the decades the son Junior was raised by her — reference above photo 1940ish.  

So there was Connie in Milwaukee — from Junior’s perspective, pregnant in early 1938.

Here a historical acceleration to bring in a possibly unrelated event — yet interesting speculation.   Junior in 50’s grew to be Harv, described by Connie as “only sons ar born to steal their mothers money” — her reaction to Harv being retired at age 52.  During this tiime — decades before and after, Harv was a good to vist mother a least yearly in her apartment and subsequently at her retirement home.