A Trip Into the Past

“LOST MUSKET DIARY” Wednesday August 6, 2014

Sunny 79F/ 26C in Rancho Las Musket

Buon giorno,

Every so often I will be asked, “Gee, now that you’re retired, what do you do all day?” That’s a good question, and candidly, I think about it periodically when I’m not slipping into an “end of the trail depression,” as I do as my biological clock ticks away at increasing speed. Let’s just say that each day brings a new adventure.

First thing when I wake up is to look around and check myself out. “Inhale? Exhale? Check! Pulse? Check! What is Lola doing? Is she licking my face or sniffing at my decaying carcass? Licking? Good! Check! Do I have to go to the bathroom? Yes! Good! Check again!” Now, I’m “go” to swing my legs over the side of the bed and see if I can stand up. “Standing up! Good. Check!” And, so it goes.

A stray thought crosses my mind as I click on the internet for my first check on my “Morning Reading” file of shortcuts to news outlets, blogs, emails and my personal collection of comic strips. This is Wednesday August 6, 2014. I’ve been retired for ten years! What’s more, I’m alive to talk about it. Enough of the preliminaries, on to today’s adventure.

Several months ago I was chatting on the phone with my first cousin Nancy, who lives on the other side of the country. When she mentioned that a close friend of hers had found my father’s name on a list of people who were eligible to receive millions of dollars’ worth of unclaimed funds, being held by the State of New York. So, when we ended our chat, I went on the Internet and checked with the Office of Unclaimed Funds of the New York State Comptroller’s Office. Lo, and behold, to my total amazement, my dad’s name came up. All I had to do was: document his existence, document my existence (and that of my brother, his other surviving heir), document our relationship with the decedent, fill out a few simple forms and mail it all in to the Office of the New York State Comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli, Office of Unclaimed Funds.

“Ka-ching!” Right? Not so easy. The form has a two page list attached of documents needed to validate the claim. No easy task in a situation involving a man who has been dead for half a century. It is cold case file time, folks! But, being the intrepid newsman I was, I know how and where to get this stuff. As long as lightning hasn’t struck the Suffolk County Court House, I should be OK. It’s time-consuming and tedious and may not be very rewarding in the long run. But, like any journey, the adventure along the way may be more rewarding than reaching the destination.

I’ve traveled this road before. Twelve years ago, when I began researching a story about my dad’s adventures as a Navy Officer in World War II, I went through the same process. He was the executive officer of the LST 920 (Landing Ship Tank) that came under attack by a German U-Boat off the coast of England. His sister ship, the LST 921 was struck by a torpedo, split in two, with the aft section going to the bottom with 43 of it’s crew members. A British escort vessel took the torpedo aimed at my dad’s ship and was blown out of the water with the loss of all hands. I spent a couple of years tracking old Navy archives, talking to crew members and gathering photos which had been processed in the ship’s clandestine dark room. That search led me to immigration documents from Ellis Island where I was able to follow the journey my grandparents made in getting to this country. A project like this can be compared to yanking a loose thread on your Christmas sweater from Grandma. You never know what exactly you’re going to unravel.

This morning I took the first step. Before I submit my forms and documents to the New York State Office of Unclaimed Property, I’ve got to round up the documents that proved that my dad  lived and died, and why I’m entitled to receive the proceeds. So, another form, requesting a copy of dad’s death certificate is on its way to the Town Clerk in my home town, with a copy of my birth certificate, passport and driver’s license and a $10 dollar postal money order. When I get that back, I can go on down my road to adventure. And, if I’m boring you, I would just point out that New York State has more than $13 BILLION in unclaimed property. Check it out for yourself! The web site address is: https://www.osc.state.ny.us/ouf/

Ciao! MikeBo