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My Dad worked at the Woodbridge NJ plant from 1934 till 1980 with only 2 years off for WWII. He was a master machinist and milled the steel cylinder sleeves that went into that beauty. He was going to enlist after that fateful Sunday Dec 7th radio broadcast. The next day he reported to work and the shop steward counseled the workers to stay at their post since their skills would be needed to deliver the 10,000 planes a year that FDR had promised.

Dad would receive his draft notice in early 1944. He enlisted in the Navy. He served in the armed guard on Liberty ships. He made 7 crossings through Torpedo Alley. On a resupply trip to Corsica shortly after the invasion of Southern France in Aug of 1944 he had shore leave while the ship was unloaded. He made his way to an Air Force field and ended up in the machine shop giving advice on how field maintenance could be performed since that engine was also in the Mitchell bomber. They were so happy for his suggestions that they asked him if he would go on a combat mission. He would have but his ship wa due to sail so...

Dad had lots of fun war stories regarding Wubya Wubya Teu!

Do you see "Sorrows" as having an underlying laughter? I mean, was it not like the absurd Heathcliff? Or more unself consciously so, like "Jude the Obscure"?

Sort of Candide - Wuthering Heights - Werther - Jude sequence of taking self seriously? Or maybe the more an author smirks at his characters the more the author is taking himself seriously?

Actually, really, I don't know, so don't ask me!!!

Anyway, nice pick on your screen name.

Those cylinders your Dad worked on went for $750 each last time I checked - about 25 years ago. Who knows, $2,000 plus these days.

The lathing and milling was sure pretty on those cylinders. Where the pushrods went by the fins the millwork is very pretty. Bottom mounting flanges. All those fins, whew. Try to imagine the jigs and fixtures, double whew.