Remarkable Quest

Of a Resilient Beerinsky

.....A rescued Beerinsky shares the conclusion of his memoirs in a second volume. It is the story of an intelligent, sincere and noble man who began his self-taught journey of life after 20 years of loveless living. He learned the value of work, thriftiness, joy of love and laughter, the pursuit of knowledge and the importance of being an honorable individual; such things that are normally taught by parents and loved ones. This is a exciting trip by a resilient orphaned Beerinsky who had to learn it on his own. It is a joyful ride by a resourceful, organized and energetic man named Nicholas Joseph Besker.

.....During his time in U.S. Navy Reserves he began to gain some self confidence and some time later realized the opportunity to become an individual person was his rescue from his feeling of worthliness as taught by the orphanage/foster home. He is forever grateful to the U. S. Navy for this awakening and assistance in becoming his own man.

.....Because he lived in a rooming house near Marquette University in Milwaukee which catered to medical students, he developed a keen interest and fascination with medicine. The students encouraged him to study their books, which he did with a voracious appetite. This became a lifelong habit to study for pleasure. The medical knowledge served him well when called to active duty. Again the Navy allowed him to be a person, follow a happy path by going to school to become a Navy Corpsman. An eager student kept him busy learning and after serving successfully as a medic he was again called on for additional training - this time to dental tech school. Once that was in place, he left San Diego to serve his country for three years in the South Pacific as the second member of a dental team assigned to care for Navy, Marine and Army personnel. He was one of the lucky ones to return from those islands and recounts some of the humorous events of those military years.

.....Post war adjustments did produce some unexpected temporary unhappiness in his life. His resiliency was such he was slowed down but not knocked down. As was the case for quite a few returning military personnel, he ran into a "Dear John" situation where his wife had found what she considered to be greener pastures and had chosen not to tell him while he was out of country. Here again, he is suddenly without family because of the divorce. He did however, retain custody of his son for which he was ill equipped. Never experiencing a real functioning family unit caring for each other, he did his parenting by instinct which he much later felt was probably not good enough. He spent four years alone with his son as he used his laborious skills to provide for that son while he continued his pursuit of achievement and knowledge. It was not a loving relationship because he did not yet know how to feel or show that kind of love.

.....The first time he thought he could afford to take a vacation, he and Nickie went to Catalina Island. The vacation ultimately netted them a wife, mother and the opportunity to become a family. Nicholas met Alice, fell in love again and they were married. She adopted Nickie and he now had someone to make it a home in a house he bought upon returning from war time service. Alice was experienced in operating a rooming house so they bought a very large, older home in Los Angeles and rented the home in Redondo Beach. Alice ran the rooming house while Nicholas continued his wood working job at Hughes. It was during this time, through his boss at Hughes, Nicholas became interested and hooked on rockhounding. Such an artistic craft would someday provide much pleasure and some monetary benefits. This good life lasted for a number of years as they worked towards building a nest egg and providing for their son.

.....Because work involved in operating a rooming house was never ending, Alice grew weary of it and Nicholas was antsy for a new challenge. Hi