by Irene Daniel
One week from today, September 16, 2017, will be an historic day for my hometown of Florence, AZ; the Cowboy Cradle of the Southwest. For on this day, we will honor one of the, now very few, living survivors of the USS Indianapolis, who was born and raised right here in Florence. I am speaking, of course, of our very own hometown hero, Adolfo "Harpo" Celaya. The dedication ceremony renaming our post office after him will take place at 8:30 a.m. on Main Street in front of the post office.
My last post spoke of the roller-coaster ride of my friend, Harpo, in dealing with the news of finding the wreckage of this storied ship, which was Harpo's home for many months; months of turbulent seas and historic battles. Iwo Jima, Okinawa (which included a kamikaze hit), the secret mission to Tinien to deliver a mysterious package that would become the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, and of course the torpedos of I-58, a Japanese submarine, that sunk this vessel in the waning days of World War II in the Pacific, are all deeply embedded memories in the soul of my neighbor and friend.
This event was planned long before the wreckage was found. In fact, the legislation, sponsored by Congressman Gosar, mandating this name-change was passed overwhelmingly by Congress last December. It is a tremendous honor, in many ways. Most post offices aren't named after anybody. For those that are, this honor is almost always bestowed posthumously. I'm so glad that Harpo doesn't need to be dead to be admired.
Those of us who know the Harp well, and are privileged to call him family, friend or neighbor, know that we are not the only ones who enjoy a special and unique intimacy with the man. There's his immediate family, his extended family (which is huge in these here parts), his teammates, his colleagues, biographers and many friends he has picked up along the way; even some strays like me.
We are all members of "Team Harpo," as I like to call it. He gets cards, letters, calls and all manner of greetings from all over the country. He also has a number of Canadian friends, especially Kevin and Lorraine. All of us know that we have to share him with each other; but we all relish those one-on-one moments when we can have him all to ourselves. His vivaciousness is terminally infectious and he is a very entertaining storyteller. C'mon, who doesn't love a good story?
Growing up here in Florence, Harpo was our own Mexican-American Tom Sawyer. There's the haircut story when he cut his cousin's hair, there's the climbing the water tower story with another cousin (like I said, the extended family is quite large), there's the dime in the collection plate story, as well as the "Harpo" nickname story, to name but a few.
And there are the tales of cowboyin' and dancing the Orange Blossom Special with his sister-in-law, MaryAnn. When he was a boy, he nursed a foal whose mother had died of one of our famous Arizona droughts; who he named Chaflan. He has lots of stories about Chaflan. When he was a professional cowboy he had a horse named Jelly Bean -- part Tennessee Walker. He was a good cutting horse, Harp says. So many delicious stories. If you want to know more, come on over and visit. It is well worth the trip, no matter how far the journey.
Harpo has been a trouble-maker, a sailor, an all-star Athlete, a coach, a cowboy, a small business owner, a husband, a father, doting uncle and loyal friend to so many of us. And he is also a true champion -- not only in basketball, and a survivor -- and not only of the USS Indianapolis. He will be the first to tell you that he has never been a perfect man. He's made a lifetime of memories, interspersed with a lot of mistakes and foolish choices. He is human, after all.
Harpo is in his sunset years. He knows that. Even though he is in pretty good health for a 90 year old man who has used his brawn to make a living his entire life; not to mention the drinking and smoking and carousing years that took their toll. And that is why he knows that now he has to make every day count.
September 16, 2017, will be one of those days that count the most. I hope that all of you members of Team Harpo, will mark this historic day with us here. If you can't make it, we totally get it; you can't be everywhere. September 16 is also the anniversary of Mexico's independence from Spain, and a huge national holiday in Mexico, where many of the Harp's ancestors came from over 150 years ago. And before that, his ancestors came from Spain. Another extraordinary coincidence in the life of Harpo.
Wherever you are, whatever your fancy, I hope you will find a minute to celebrate this historic day with us whether in person or in spirit; we desert rats, residents of historic Florence, AZ, and home of the mighty Gophers!
We are about to make history once again. It's what we do.
Copyright 2017, Irene Daniel, all rights reserved.
