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inside man your dad's father and mother
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uh his name is ben benjamin franklin
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mccurdy
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and her name was
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catherine marie kelly
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and uh she was from st louis
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and i don't know how he met her his
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father probably took him over there
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and that's where he met her and married
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her
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in st louis my father was born in st
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louis uh
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his brother next brother was earl
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four two years later he was born in
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chicago
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his next brother was harry or harold
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your dad's brother
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my dad's brother daryl mccurry
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was born two years after that he was
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born in indianapolis
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so it shows that my grandfather
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was a basket weaver
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and they followed wherever the trade was
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going in at that time
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he also was a professional boxer and a
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professional rafter
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a very big man very tough man
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big hands big hands
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real big hands real hard knuckles you
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should quite careful
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blast you in a second
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and uh dad used to tell the stories
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about how awkward earl
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when they were younger and he was like
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12 years old of course earl was 10 harry
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was eight
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earl would be going out running around
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with the girls at 10 years of age you
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know always out at night
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and
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his father would come in and says
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everybody in bed they'd say yeah
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girl wouldn't be in bed bunker would
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come around and knock on the wind and my
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dad let him in
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and his father father would catch him
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instead of giving a girl a weapon he'd
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give him a dad for lying
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and dancing he should get the crap beat
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out of him all the time again
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no but uh i said his father was a very
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protective type man
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he could have been a very
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very good provider
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except that he drank them it's been
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always money
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how about the story of the cart
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he also was selling
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life insurance for
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prudential life insurance company in the
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city here
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and got rated as the number one salesman
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in the city of indianapolis
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he got promoted and was doing very well
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then he kind of fell off the wagon a
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little bit
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and they finally had to let him go
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they weren't selling insurance anymore
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uh then i think my my dad told me his
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father started uh
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telling groceries on wagon for the horse
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wagon you
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came around you sold groceries you buy
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them at the farmer's market and you take
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around the neighborhoods and solomon
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they had a little weight thing on there
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and sacks and all that
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he said that him and his brother
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earl would go out and ahead of the wagon
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and knock on doors and said we had
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tomatoes and
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potatoes and onions and celery and this
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and that
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no i didn't want anything and he said
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when they had said that he couldn't sell
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beans he said nobody he was always
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way ahead of the of the wagon because
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he'd get turned down he said
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earl he was such a good salesman
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that he would be selling stuff
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constantly and finally they were in a
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i don't know a street where they had the
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uh
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oh parkway in the middle
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where the grass is and you can drive on
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one side and the other
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and to have it so far in front of the
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wagon that he decided to take a rest
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he sat in the did you guys parkway
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foosball
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uh finally some guy come walking out of
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the house
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that was there kicked him
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in the rear trying to get off the
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parkway
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he said his father saw that
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he said his dad just waited and got hero
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in the into the wagon
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got the horse up there this guy was
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still giving my dad
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all kinds of trouble he got down from
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the back and
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he says mr you're talking to my son
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and the guy says oh well he shouldn't be
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sitting in the parkway my dad said that
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his father went for the guy and the guy
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ran in the house
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slammed the door and says my dad down
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there knocked the door down went on in
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the guy went upstairs in his bedroom he
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says he caught him up in the bedroom and
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beat the living heck out of the guy
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in the guy's bedroom a guy called the
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police and took him down
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and at the time the police chief was
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named mike morrissey
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hired a catholic and they took
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uh his dad down in jail and all that and
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my his wife my grandma
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called up father wade who was the pastor
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at
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st pants who was a
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schoolmate mike mars and he called up
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mike which a good buddy in there
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is that ben mccurdy he said well that
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big
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trouble maker he says he beats the hell
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out of everybody all the time he says
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he's in here constantly
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because i know he's got a family and
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everything
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do me a favor he said okay
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how'd he go well that was uh
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some of my father's uh times when he was
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young were
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kind of a hard time he also tried to hop
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a train
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when he was like 14 or 15. hear that
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and missed the train
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and uh
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went and fell into the cinders
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and got his face just a mass of cinders
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and blood
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broke his arm broke a leg
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the leg was mangled
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and so when they took him into the
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hospital
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the doctor said we're gonna have to take
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his leg off
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and his father was there with him his
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dad says no
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he says well it's only holding on by a
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thread he says well put it back
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sew it up the guy says no i can't
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he says if that kid dies or doesn't have
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a leg
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he says you're going with him i'll sew
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him up
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he said okay we'll try and he saved his
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leg
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maybe he's right leg yeah and they had
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to pull
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pick cinders out of his face on his eyes
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i didn't know that 13 years old
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and so they let him go and then of
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course
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anchorage like you know got well one
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thing he wanted to do from then on was
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play ball
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and he said i said well you know i know
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your brothers were
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good athletes i said my father must have
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been something he says yeah he was a
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catcher
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and he said i said you know he could
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remember when he was
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one of the youngest guys playing
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hardball
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in third base and his picture was in the
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parade
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sunday parade magazine youngest
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hardball player in the city of
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indianapolis
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i think he was 14 or 15 years old
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playing third base in men's league
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he said they would be playing some teams
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some of them would be really
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played a black team
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and they got into a fight
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[Music]
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and i said what was your damn dad there
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a game and he says
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this guy spiked me going into thirds he
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played
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third when i tagged him i took the ball
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and hit him right in his mouth
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he said blood splattered everywhere but
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he said man he cut my leg spiking me
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so i hit him he said the fight started
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he said the next thing you know boy he
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said to her you know
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guys after him he said his father
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started
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knocking him down flatting them
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right then and there he said he
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remembered his father was the
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toughest guy and he said he loved him
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that's what he said he probably got more
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weapons from his dad that always
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started tonight but he said he thinks
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his father loved him
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more than anybody else other than tommy
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tommy was the baby
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dad was 18 when tommy was born
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his father was a pretty old man
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i know about those baby guys yeah
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they get babied a little oh god
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so then we you know after he married mom
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and her
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married her while we moved over on to uh
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riley
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a lot of times riley
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had a uh had a guy live two houses up
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that kid used to play in the yard he was
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our us guys
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the yard was an empty field and we hit
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the ball over the fence and go into his
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yard
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he wouldn't give you the ball back
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so then get mad and then they jump over
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the fence and take the ball and all that
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and one day i was out
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uh cutting the grass
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on the curb going along there cutting
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the grass on the curb in this guy
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saturday morning kind of friday i don't
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know what summertime
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and uh it's early
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and this guy was going to work coming
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down there and he kicked me in the
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behind
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and i was cutting the grass
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i remember old mom coming out of the
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house boy
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she went right after that guy oh boy
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that guy was scared of death ever
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and he went you know
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allie was in the back along there that's
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where i was
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cutting cutting around the curb there
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that's when he kicked me and she's white
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she was in the kitchen to have me
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looking outside
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and she gave him holy
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and she never never shut
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up telling him what a mean man he was
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never cursed but you know
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kicking children and doing this grandpa
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kirkhof came out
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standing there
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you know i just never forget those kind
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of things from your parents you know
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that you know that was one of the things
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that i can remember
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i can remember when i went to service
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mom and dad
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drove all the way over to pennsylvania
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just to visit me for a weekend
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saturday and had to go home on sunday
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and it's a long long drive
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very long drive oh yeah he didn't have
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any highways like
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now and uh
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those are the things you can kind of
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remember probably would have been 40.
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yeah there was no highways
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no you had to go straight across east
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that didn't start until after world war
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ii after everyone saw the
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highway system in germany right
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so we had great times though as kids
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friend and i went everywhere together
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and it just seemed a shame
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that shut the door
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my mom was 82.
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83 she was 83 and we
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had many happy times playing cards
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and in conclusion do you have a final
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summary uh statement here
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oh we can take but another time okay
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this is the end for now the end
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for now