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Ramblings of an Old Man





A Thought

Many people are afraid of losing their looks. I am afraid of losing my dreams.




A thought from a friend

Keep believing in your self


A thought from another friend

Our life is God's gift to us; what we make of our life is our gift to God.

Frank Schober




I suppose that this should start with the statement: I am a flag waver. That is all,always have been, always will be. Growing up after the depression and during the war years(WWll),I guess it was just something that was taken for granted. Nobody had to say that this country was the greatest.As far as I know everyone felt that way.People didn't talk about it.





A Thought

Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.




When I was small, the world was a strange and wonderful place. Just being a kid was a happy time.There were so many things to do, either alone or with good friends.We could play in the streets, with warnings of course about the dangers."You be sure and watch for cars, and don't act smart to the drivers." The mailman let us ride on the running boards of his car, help him put letters in the boxes, which were grouped together on the street corners.

In the winter we would take our sleds, wait for cars to stop at the stop signs and slam the sled on the road, grab the back bumper and be pulled along for a block or two.I am sure the drivers knew what was going on, but they almost never chased us away.Sometime one of our dad's would tie our sleds together and then tie the first one to the bumper on a long rope.Never heard of anyone getting hurt that way.




A thought

Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes




Summer, ah beautiful summer.A river ran through our little city.Not a big river, just a nice size river.Deep in places, where you could swim, shallow places where you could catch crabs and dobson for bait.

Well now my Mother, as I am sure all mothers, worried about the river:"There are deep drop-offs with strong currents, you could drown and no one would know it." Well, that is why we went there, to learn to swim and be brave. The bigger kids knew how to have fun and were only too willing to teach us.If any girls came around, we could show-off how great we were.




Grammer school, or elementary as it is now called, was a fun time too.I enjoyed school then.The teachers were kind, but you better not do anything to make them cross.For some reason I enjoyed being the class cut-up.I knew what the principal's office looked like, and I knew that the principal was a push over.He talked to me like a Dutch uncle about not making the teachers be unpleasant.As long as my work was good and I passed my tests, he let me get away with a lot of things.The really bad guys were the ones he stepped on.

Our school had kids from town and some from the country.They came on buses and were all considered farmers.All except one cute little girl whose grand-parents owned a restaurant.She was the apple of my eye, and I tried to act grown-up around her.One day she asked me if I would like to see where she lived.Seventh Heaven, she really liked me, my head was in the clouds.She told me how to get to her house, and to come see her on Saturday morning.It was about four miles from where we lived and my bicycle just wouldn't go fast enough.Never liked to get up early on Saturday morning, but that morning I was awake before daylight.It's a long story with a sad ending.My first romance wasn't what I thought it would be,but I was happy for the rest of the school year.As I look back, it reminds me of Charlie Brown and the little headed girl.

Here we are in all our glory.

That's me,second from the left,back row of course.The little red haired girl is third from the right




A Thought

Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God's grace.




A Big Change in My Life


My father had a good job, but he wasn't home very much.When he was home, I was in awe of him. He always wore a suit an tie, and like most men in those days he wore a hat. A fedora I guess is what they were called. Hats weren't worn in the house, and they were hung up or on a closet shelf.Profanity was not spoken, especially in the company of females, family or strangers.

When I was in seventh grade, I found out that my parents were divorced. I never knew when it happened, just knew is all.What was strange to me was that my father's mother was at our house most of the time.My mother got a job, first as a housekeeper for a doctor and his family.Then when the war started she went to work in a factory.She worked there for twenty-seven years.I loved my mother very much, but I got mad at her when she wouldn't let me join the army. I was twelve at the time, and I wanted to fight the Japs.

After graduating from eighth grade we had to move across the river onthe other side of town.I didn't know any kids and missed my little red haired girl.The first year of high school went by fairly smoothly.Never made it to the principals office, but the homeroom teacher was something else.He had a huge hand and did what we called an old side-winder.Sneak up from behind and swing that hand from left field and hit you right behind the ear.You couldn't hear anything the rest of the day.




A Thought

MY WILD OATS HAVE TURNED TO SHREDDED WHEAT




With the new millenim now started and the inaugeration of our new president, My thoughts go back to the first living president I remember, FDR. I never realized at the time that he was crippled.(I know that word is no longer politicaly correct.) He had been struck by polio, and while he was unable to do many things physically, he certainly wasn't handicapped mentally. He was the only president to serve more than two consecutive terms. One of the slogans for his candidacy was,"Don't change horses in the middle of the stream."We were of course in the middle of a world war.He was instrumental in starting what we know as Social Security.He died before his fourth term was complete and led to Harry Truman becoming president.

HST,old give em hell Harry.The man who had the misfortune of having to bring the world into the atomic age.I was in highschool at the time and remember it was a very hot topic of discussion, at a time when most of us really didn't discuss those things.It brought the war to an end, and while the A Bomb killed many people, it saved many, many more.




A thought

Ever wonder why a president always ends an important speech with "God bless you all, and God bless America,"but kids can't pray in school???

Just A Thought

Families are like Fudge...Mostly sweet with a few nuts...

Another Thought

The trouble with life is there's no background music




A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one and once said it can never be changed




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Page Two,Golden Memories

Page Three,Senior Citizen

Are You Lonesome

Some Of My Favorite Things