“Fidela, sincera subtenanto de internacia komunikado kaj amikeco”
When Ruth Moline decided she wanted Sidney Culbert’s hand forever, she said the three magic words, the phrase that would make her man’s heart flutter, then soar:
“Teach me Esperanto.”
And with that, Sidney was hers.
Sidney Culbert, who died two weeks ago aged 90, seems to have been a fascinating man. There aren’t many 14 year-olds like this, for example:
A standout student at Stadium High School who was disdainful of sports, he regularly organized the neighborhood children into performing Shakespeare plays. “He was putting on ‘Titus Andronicus’ at 14,” said nephew John Terrien, 53, of Tacoma.
“And he made damn sure people knew their lines.”
