For me the
holiday season was always the most rewarding time of the year as a child
interested in hunting. I had every issue of deer and deer hunting
magazine to fill in during the non-holiday months. But hearing and
seeing hunting as a kid can never be replaced..those memories will stick
with you the rest of your years. During Christmas and Thanksgiving, we
started a tradition. My Grandfather, God rest his soul, used to sit down
after the meal and tell us of all the deer hunting stories he remembered
growing up. For me their was no better story teller that lived.
What would be part of the celebration? Well there would be music for
dancing from the Big Band which is sponsored by ITT Conglomerates. Of
course, there would be food, party favors, and a chance to meet and
greet other car lovers (and even lonely souls who had nowhere to go on
New Year's eve).
The first
thing you need to do is keep your emotions in check. This means, don't
try to cry, shout, swear, whine, moan, or groan your way into getting
what you want. This simply won't work. Act like a mature adult and try
to keep your emotions contained, no matter how loud the other person
might get.
straight
from the source
Considering cost of
living in her area in the seventies, her income was suitable. A new home
could be purchased for $25,000. A postage stamp rose from $0.06 in 1970
to $0.15 in 1979. I asked my mother if she could recall some prices of
the decade. She remembered bread being $0.29, gas $0.74 a gallon, candy
bars $0.05, soft drinks $0.10-0.15 a bottle in the early seventies and
in the late seventies prices started to rise. She remembered cigarettes
costing $1.00 a pack, cracker $0.29, milk $1.00 and most canned goods
$0.10. Skip:
"See? That is all you needed." Skip has small glasses on, like Ben
Franklin, as he speaks he looks over the top of his glasses at Amery. He
notices Amery is more settled, and therefore, allows himself to lean
back more into his seat.
There were three major car
manufacturers. Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. Each manufacture had a
following. Arguments could erupt over which car was the best. A man's
Dodge pickup was a source of pride. Sunday morning the family would
dress in their best clothes and get into a Buick for the trip to church.
The Cadillac represented power and money while the Ford and Chevrolet
represented the working people. People that lived in the country had a
buy truck nuts. It was a working
truck and on Saturday's the kids jumped in the back for a trip to
town. To digress a bit, I need to tell you that Sgt. Grace lied. First,
the language I was assigned to study was Vietnamese. Second, after going
through the 101st Airborne Division's jungle combat school in Phan Rang,
I was assigned to the 1st Brigade, a reactionary unit. I joined them in
Dak To, and early the next morning was flown out to join an artillery
battery in what was called "Operation Eagle Bait". Didn't take long to
find out we were the bait, and Charlie was the eagle. The objective was
to tempt the Viet Cong into attacking us, then bring in an assault wave
of Huey's loaded with infantry, and wipe the enemy out. What I quickly
discovered is that there is nothing in the world comparable to the first
night you are brought out of a deep sleep by M-60 machine gun fire. I know that $20,900 is a goodly sum of money, but in 13 years we
more than doubled our money. And that is looking at just the financial
aspect of it. The many wonderful hours we had working on something
together that we both love, you can't even put a price tag on
that. See,
when my dad had his injury, all of the resentment, rage and shame I was
feeling as a full time nanny, just melted away. When I see my dad taking
steps with shaking knees, just like my granddaughter, I know that God
has given me a great job. I am an angel, who teaches the art of walking
in the face of fear.