Back during the war years when he was 11 or 12 years old, he faithfully listened to the kids adventure serial radio programs that came on every afternoon after school. One program announced a contest for listeners: dream up an escape method for an American Air Force pilot shot down and captured by Nazis near a famous French shipping port (clues given in the program), and name the port.
He said he knew the port was Marseilles, and came up with this idea, which he can never tell without laughing:
The pilot manages to scrounge up enough gunpowder to fill his mouth. Then he asks the Nazi guard for a light. The sadistic Nazi whips out a blowtorch, igniting the gunpowder, and shooting the pilot into the air and out of the prison camp!After mailing in this entry, he heard nothing for weeks or months. Then a letter came, telling him that his creativity had won him a prize - a case of Milky Way candy bars. He actually felt a little disappointed, since Milky Ways were not his favorites. However, after eating all 30 candy bars over a period of time ("you mean you didn't give any to your friends?!"), he grew to like them so well that they have remained his favorite candy bar to this very day.
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I love that story! I can't believe he ate the whole box! That sounds like something I would have done (the not sharing part).
ReplyDeletei keep forgetting that your hubby is my contemporary. those radio contests were so much fun! congrats to him for his incredible entry. gunpowder in the mouth? ouch!!
ReplyDeletea playmate gave me a box of chocolates when she returned a bunch of comics i had lent her to read when she was sick with the measles. i ate the whole thing right there and then, and the next night at 10 p.m., i had my appendix taken out.
he's lucky. he probably paced himself better than i did.
I can't believe he got a case of candy bars for that idea! I guess it was creative at least. ha ha
ReplyDeleteH