Captain Jack – My Mother’s Guardian Angel

      Captain Finbar adored and doted on my mother. He would often hug her as if he was a proud uncle or father, and tell her in his whisky-tortured voice, “My little Faye!”

      My mother loved to joke around with Captain Jack.

      He’d often bluster, “Lord have mercy woman, you know how to make an old crusty man feel young.” “If I was ten years younger and not so broken up, I ask you to marry me woman.”

      You could tell he was kidding, and yet, I had the sense that if he was ten years younger he would make good on his statement.

      My mother would blush and say, “Aw hell Jack, you know how to sweet talk an old divorced mother of three.”

They would often share laughter.

      Years later, I would reflect on his manner, and it is clear to me that his manner was never sneaky, disingenuous or colored with sexual intent. I think he loved my mother like a generous uncle would love a favorite niece. 

      No one dared to speak ill of my mom in front of Captain Finbar. Jack also would often treat me to my favorite meal of devil crab and banana splits. Years later, after he died, when I was in the Marines, I visited the area of my childhood, I looked up as many people I could to renew old acquaintances and to find out more about Jack. It was then that I found out from a few of the locals that he was also very protective of my mother safety and good name. Some of the locals told me that a few times when he hanging out at the diner, a few foolish Marines or other men would come in and if they happen to be drinking they would sometimes try to pickup on my mother.

      Sometimes if they got vulgar and rude, Jack Finbar would let them know that they were treading on dangerous ground. Jack let them know that he would not tolerate anyone disrespecting his Faye.

      I was also told that once at a local tavern some of the inbred deliverance looking local yokels had been commenting that my mother was an Eyetalian nigga lover, a divorce woman who needed a good hard fucking to set her uppity ass straight.

      It was said the Jack slammed his beer down and roared out, “God damned sons of bitches!”

      With a pool stick in his hand, he shambled over to the table of rough and tough fisherman talking their shit; the place went stone cold quiet. He stood in front of their table trapping the four fishermen in their seats. He was smacking the thick end of the stick solidly in his meaty hand, causing a loud striking sound. It was said that Jack was shaking, looking as if he was going to lose his mind and start swinging the stick into the heads of the four yokels.

      I was told that he chewed these four men a new asshole, yelling, “You little mealy mouth yellow cur sons of worthless bitches, I don’t cotton to you slurring Faye!”

      “She’s a good woman doing her best to raise her three kids.” “She don’t hang out in bars, and she don’t run around.” “She treats everyone sweet and she works real hard.”

      “I don’t cotton to hearing the prejudice pile of shit coming out of your God damn fucking blow holes.” “If I even hear from anyone you talking shit about Faye again, I will do this to your worthless bastard necks!” and at that second it is said that he snapped the thick end of the pool stick with his hands.

      It is said that one of the tough fisherman wet his pants and all of them stumbled to apologize to Jack, paid their bill and left without finishing their meal.

      It is said that bad things were rarely spoken about my mother after that, and certainly not in front of Captain Jack Finbar. It was also said that Captain Jack did not tolerate prejudice of almost any kind. He hated people who were prejudice against other races, colors, creeds, sexes, or the practice other religions.

      According to the locals I questioned, for his time, Captain Finbar it seems was actually in his own rough and tumble way, very progressive. It was said that he thought homosexuality was gross. Nor could he understand how people got that way.

      Yet his motto was, “Why should anyone care if those guys or girls did “such and such” to each other?”

(I watered down what he really said. Use your imagination).

      He had said, “That type of behavior doesn’t affect me none!”

      It was said that though he suffered torture at the hands of the Japanese, he did not feel prejudice or even hate towards them.

      He was quoted as saying “There are stupid people the world over who don’t think for themselves, regardless of nationality, there are always people who will blindly follow the orders of others right or wrong.”

      Yes, he certainly had a reputation as someone you did not want to mess with.

      He never picked a fight even when he had been drinking at one of the numerous watering holes in Jacksonville; but he was such a gruff straight talking guy and on a few occasions a few young Marines new to the area would take offense, foolishly take a swing at him.

      It was said that his grip and his upper body was so strong he could hold a burly man’s forearm and turn in as easily as a doorknob, twisting and breaking the bones as he turned his meaty hands.

      It was said that since his ear was torn up and that he lacked an eye, he had no compunctions about depriving men who were foolish enough to start a fight with him of their ears or eyes, with any method he could whether it was his thumbs or teeth. It was said that he could be so vicious he send more than his share of young Marines to sick bay sometimes being instrumental with a few of them being discharge for medical reasons.

      Captain Finbar a wide berth and a lot of respect by most that knew him. Even the local sheriffs treated him with respect. I sensed that they also were a bit afraid of him, and yet I also sensed that they also cared for him. Jack was like a force of nature, a raw and unadulterated alpha male, -- 100% pure form. He was a person who said what he did and did what he said. Yet it was said that he never bragged. I personally never heard Captain Jack toot his own horn. Yes, he did commanded fear from many people. It seemed as if he also earned respect, affection, and even love from most of the community, even the people that feared him.

      It was said that he did not care if people disliked him for who he was or what he did; but he did not tolerate anyone accusing him or judging him for what he did not do, or what he was not about. For instance, it was said that if someone accused Jack wrongly, whether it was something he did not do, or they accused him of having values that he did not have, Jack could be provoked into violence.

But he did not care if people disliked him for what he actually did or for the way he really was. Jack was his own man.

      Jack was also very good to us kids, very gruff but nice. I saw him more often than my brother and sister, because my numerous adventuresome excursions had me traveling to the feed and fuel stop of that area when I tired of the solidarity of my wilderness jaunts. To me going to these places made me feel as if I was going to a town in the old west. I really did like Jack, and yet I was also more than a little bit afraid of him.

Whether it was because of his reputation or just his personality, as I mentioned, many Marines that met him for the first time treated him with respect or gave him a wide berth.