When I was in 6th grade, I made a trip to London to see my Grandparents. Grandpa was working as an executive with Lincoln National Life Insurance. They were living there for several years as Lincoln Life was working to set up an affiliate in France.

It was a nice visit. We got to see a lot of sights.

One goal was to go to the prime meridian in Greenwich, so we were able to do that.

We went to a miniature village that was an exhibit in a near town. Another incident I remember was getting scolded by an officer for trying to climb a statue of Peter Pan to get a nice photo.

I have a Pocket Oxford Dictionary that I have appreciated since then. The inscription reads “Given to me by Mrs. Ann Porter the nice woman who lived in the flat across the hall in England.” It’s my favorite dictionary. The copy I have is the 5th edition from 1969.

It might be optimistic to call it a “pocket” dictionary. It might fit in the side pocket of cargo pants, but a shirt pocket is out of the question. The first edition from 1924 was the “Concise Oxford Dictionary” which seems a more accurate title.

When I returned home, I arrived at the Montreal airport. The family met me there so that we could continue on to a vacation at Rocky Mountain National Park and Yellowstone. I was perplexing to the customs inspectors that interviewed me. I didn’t know how long we would be staying in Canada and couldn’t answer their questions very well.

The flight was on BOAC and I remember getting a few souvenirs from them. I think they’re in a scrapbook my mom put together.

So, Mrs. Porter was very kind. I’m sure she didn’t know she had given me a gift that would be appreciated for 50 years.