How many times had she rescued it? She'd lost
count. It seemed that every year since she'd gotten it, it had dwindled
down to nothing and she'd had to give it a serious haircut to get it
going again. It would, almost overnight, grow lush and full only to
start dwindling and drooping again with no warning. How often she had
looked at it, remembering, or drawing comfort from its upright eager
vines that never seemed to quit. Poor Charlie, she thought. How many
more times can I hack away at you like this and expect you to live?
He seemed to bring back his
memories in full color HD detail in my mind. A lot of those stories are
fleeting at best, I am sure he added in his own little exaggerated
touches but back then it didn't matter. That is what Deer Camp stories
did for me in D&DH magazine in the off season too. My Dad used to call
my grandfather a bullshitter and never fully understood that till after
growing up and experiencing life for myself. I think this life needs
bullshitters to carry on that tradition of deer hunting we have all come
to love.
On the same hand, don't allow yourself to fall for tricks. Don't
fall for a pity story given to you by the other party. Some people- and
believe me, I've been involved in plenty of negotiations- will use
whatever device they can to make you feel sorry for them, especially
when it comes to money. http://www.free-press-release.com/news-the-woodshed-gallery-auctions-classic-antique-automobile-truck-motorcycle-advertisements-1441204799.html&rct=j&frm=1&q=&esrc=s
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. I quickly came to a startling conclusion: people
will sing along to anything. The content of the song doesn't matter.
Politics simply don't enter into it. People are really singing along to
the melody, or the bass line or something. What the words actually mean
is immaterial.
My mother and father enjoyed much of their leisure time with
drive in movies, watching TV shows such as MASH, All in the Family,
Dukes of Hazard, and Andy Griffith. They enjoyed the music of Merle
Haggard, Freddy Hart and Conway Twitty. Lastly, they enjoyed fast cars
as well as many people did in the seventies. Drag racing was a fun event
for both my mother and my father. In the seventies my father owned a
1972 Ford Galaxy 500, 1970 Road Runner, 1973 Ranchero, and a 1976
buy truck engine. The cost of a new
vehicle was around $6000. Over all, the most rememberable event for my
mother in the seventies was in 1977 when Elvis Presley died. 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. Outdoor Bob, needed a truck
to go to work. Linda went with Bob to the local Ford dealer and bought a
new Ford pickup. Linda had the credit so the loan was in her name. About
six months later, Bob started to stop off on Friday at the local saloon
to cash his paycheck. Sure enough, there was a dart board there and a
few of the guys started tossing darts for beers. Bob was pretty good and
they invited him to be on the local dart team. The situation might sound like a win-win but some
people say "Cash for Clunkers" is a speed bump, slowing customers who
might want a used car. Used car dealers at Naff Auto Sales told WSLS the
program could force people into buying a new car. Another possible
problem, Clunkers traded in with the program have to be destroyed,
meaning they won't end up for sale on a used car lot. Better for the
environment, bad for used car business. But many say it's a trade we
need to make. Many don't want to put the brakes on the program. In an
interview with WSLS, the president of Berglund Automotive said close to
40 people have taken advantage of the government program so far. They
say "Cash for Clunkers" is giving customers the kick they need to get a
new car.