Earnest Colman had three children, Jean, now a seventeen, his only daughter (whom he had late in life), Tom and Andy twins are several years older than Jean. Earnest is now old almost as old as Tony, perhaps three or four years younger, and seems to spend his time with the boys more than his girl, and has saved some money and bought a restaurant for them to run. He is semi retired you could say. But Jean, more of a tomboy (always was), had always taken a liking for her Uncle Tony, who would give her silver dollars for Christmas and every other holiday; she is perhaps more of a friend or sidekick to Tony, than his daughter Betty: she has went fishing often with Uncle Tony Douglas, and have played cribbage and other games with him on long winter nights visiting, or rainy summer afternoons. And she has been by his side more so in the past few years than those prior. They have a good rapport. She has never stolen from him, nor would ever think of it, and Tony holds no grudge towards her because her father has, nor does her father try to interfere with their cordial relationship, he is, if anything a hard worker and a good role model for a young person, in that respect. It was she who would work long hours and clean up after her father, and work on weekends if her Uncle wanted her to. And they'd sit down, and he'd make a fried hamburger and fries for her, with apple pie and ice-cream. Sometimes he'd charge her, and most of the times he wouldn't. She knew his limits, his moods. [fade this scene in] Jean Colman is now in college (the University of Minnesota will do), and Tony has decided to pay her tuition; she will work on her degree in Psychology, and as she does, she becomes interested in a man, his name is Ralph Ramsey, he is related indirectly to the Gunderson's, that is to say, Ralph's father, married into the family tree; Cory, who is still alive is thus, related to Ralph Ramsey Sr. who is a District Judge, in Minnesota. The romance, quiet and slow as it is, ends up on the third year with a kiss, and Ralph's time in college is cut short, because he wants to become an officer. One of the professors calls Ralph Sr. up, telling him of this frantic news. During this time, both Jean and Ralph meet as often as they can in the car. Their families do not know this, yet jean tells old man Tony, and he supports her, he dares not, not support her that is, lest he find his only loyal friend, an enemy, so now he has learned the hard way. But Old Tony wants Jean to stay in College no matter what, even if Ralph insists on marrying her, which he has not done so far. She agrees with her uncle, but inside of her she is hesitant if she can live up to the agreement (it is now 1962; and Tony now is 70-years old, thereabouts). Ralph now is in the Army, and doing well, and Jean is waiting for him, they will marry in a year or two, says Ralph, he wants to get his officer schooling done first. This seems ok, and Jean, finishes school as she promised her uncle, but she starts to date a man named Ervin Wright. And then, she dates Ervin's friend, who she has doubled with, Oscar Gunderson, no relation to the rich Gunderson family, just a common name in the city, and he is from a mild stock of German I do believe, neither rich nor poor. Oscar's girlfriend, Sandy Lund, does not know about this at first, and has become pregnant. [fading process] A telegram comes for Jean, it is Ralph wanting to get married but she tells him no. She expects to marry Ervin, but when she gets pregnant the second time, with Oscar's child, Ervin takes off, and Oscar denies the child is his, and Sandy marries him quickly. Now Jean is with two children, two boys, Lee and Mick. [1966] Ralph returns home. It is late at night. Old Tony is dying in his bed, at his house; he is 73-years old. Jean meets Ralph outside of Tony's house, by his car, and wants to marry him, tells him she made a mistake. Ralph has gone through a lot of strain on this matter, and it is no longer complicated for him, he says ..."No," but not harshly, he still have feelings for her, you can see in both their eyes, they will have them perhaps forever. The next morning Tony dies, and Jean is waiting outside of his bedroom crying, it is early morning, the sun is rising, it is summer, perhaps July. She hears from family members he will be cremated. |
