I found out today that our planet is a little poorer, We lost Art Hewitt.
Art was a remarkable guy who lead a remarkable life. As a young man he got shot down over Austria, and was a POW near Munich where he endured cold and near starvation. He came home and married his sweetheart.
I met him about 45 years later as a new recruit for League City Volunteer Fire Department. He introduced to me the art and science of pumping water on a fire truck. Art was the ultimate teacher, patient and quick to praise when a point was grasped, The first thing I learned about Art was that he appreciated and respected fine machinery. He had just repacked the leather seals in Granny, the engine , He had an old Harley Davidson that he had bought when he came home from the war, He had kept it up and took out for a ride every Sunday. He had bought it when he got home from the Army and had kept it up ever since. Like Granny she was an absolute show piece.
Most of us will meet only a handful of people that we can truly look up to, Art is one of those people. He will be missed by those who were lucky enough to have known him.
The sound in the first 3.30 minutes of this You-tube video is pretty lousy, but it does tell just a little bit about one of the best of the greatest generation.
