Searchlights sweeping the sky meant Preview Night.

Every week or so in the 1930s the Fox Theatre in Pomona would have a preview showing of a new movie. They would sweep the skies with several searchlights.  I loved movies. On preview nights you would see the two regular movies plus the preview. Three movies for the price of two. They had preview cards for the new movie for patrons to fill out. The comments would help in the final editing of the film.

I liked preview night and would watch the sky for the searchlights.

The Pomona, California Fox Theatre was built in 1931. I was six. I was living in a rooming house run by Mr and Mrs Butcher. They were the parents of my future brother in law Butch. He later married my sister Jean. Their daughter Ruth was a very good looking girl who had a job as a usherette at the new theatre. This six year old boy was very impressed.

What a fancy place. I remember that the floor of the outside foyer was polished cement aggregate.

Sunday afternoon volleyball. Techsters vs UTSA.

Pleasant break in a Sunday afternoon, except for the score. The University of Texas at San Antonio won three straight sets.They were so good. The Techster have lost their first two C-USA games.

Big crowd because these folks drove back fro the football game in Dallas today.

Ethan Newberry track meet in Ruston today.

Ethan, my oldest great grandson, had a track meet in Ruston today. He gets better every week. We are all very proud of Ethan. He came in seventh today, won a medal, and a free shirt.

Ethan relaxes before the race.

A moment of reflection.

The final dash to the finish line.

We  adjourned to the Whataburger for a victory lunch. Nice photo by Mom Joy. Notice the medal on Ethan.

Unionville, Louisiana.

The Unionville General  Store has seen better days but is still highly regarded.. It is located between Ruston and Dubach.

There are thousands of Colvin's in this area.

This group of citizens were meeting at the store for coffee this Saturday morning. They had attended a 50 year reunion of Dubach High School last night. They were remembering playing on the Dubach High School Baseball Team in 1963.

Friday night Volleyball. First league game in C-USA.

First league game in the new league. The Techsters played UTEP or the University of Texas at El Paso. They were good. They won the first two games and the fourth game. I enjoyed the evening, however.

When I walked into the Thomas Center I was one of two spectators on my side of the stadium. There were about 30 on the other side. I do  not understand why volleyball does not draw a bigger crowd.

Then.

Us.

Room for more.

I only broke one bone in my life!

In 1979 I was working for Long Beach Oil Development Company in Long Beach, California. LBOD produced oil from under Long Beach City and the Long Beach Harbor. The pumper and field crews went on strike. I went from my cushy desk job to being a pumper. I worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week. I just had time to drive home from Long Beach to Huntington Beach, eat a meal, take a shower, get some sleep, and it was time to go back to work. Sure was a long month.

How did I break a bone? Was it while doing the dangerous heavy oil field work? No. I was home having a discussion with Jackie. To emphasize a point I was making I banged my fist down on a steel railing in front of me. The steel held, a bone in my hand did not. The doctor said it was a classic boxer's break.

I was working 12 hours a day, seven days a week. In the rain, unlocking gates, starting pumps, etc. It made it interesting, and a severe pain in the neck, to be one handed. In future discussions with Jackie I no longer made a point by slamming my fist into steel!

Driving alone in the middle of the night.

Sunday morning at 3 am I was driving down the middle of Louisiana. I had a six hour ride in front of me. In Louisiana at 3 am on Sunday morning the traffic is almost zero. From my oilfield service work days I remembered the many times that I had left the house at three in the morning and drove to wells. This drive seemed a lot like those rides of long ago. My mind was flooded with memories of those days.

Driving alone at night for many miles, at times was a big part of my life. On this particular drive the memories of years past flooded over me. Memories of my wife Jackie, my children Nancy, Chris, Kerry, and Mike were near and intense. For a few hours I was really into memories. I am often into memories anyway but was really into it Sunday morning.

I am 88 years old. I have memories of some 84 or 85 of those years. I become aware that things are winding up for me. I am on my last ropes and very aware of it. Wallowing in memories is not always a pleasant thing. It can be pleasant. But quite often you can become very conscious that you have had it, especially when you remember all your loved ones and friends who have passed away. These are not pleasant moments. When you realize that life is behind you and so many of your loved ones are gone.

I should stop wallowing in memories. I have to keep busy. I should double my efforts in genealogy and writing my life story.

They really take good care of school kids in Franklinton, Louisiana.

I spent Monday night with the Millers in Franklinton. My four year old  (youngest) great granddaughter , Johnny Lynn, lives there with Pop and Mom Miller. I was able to ride along when Johnny Lynn was picked up Monday evening and when she was dropped off Tuesday morning.

I was very impressed by the procedure used by the school. Parents drive and park in lines two abreast. The children are held in a big holding room and are escorted from the door to their parent's car. The school coaches do the escort duty. The school is K through the 12th grade, so there is lots of staff. The morning drop off runs a little faster as children do not have to be sorted and identified at the door.

It is very impressive to see the system in operation.. It is a sad sign of our times that this is necessary..

It must be stressful to work at a school any more. Look at one of the precious students. Johnny Lynn.

She is so very much worth all of the care taken by the Franklinton School District.

Tuesday night Volleyball.

The Techsters played Northwestern last night. I thought that the taller girls always won. We were taller....but.

They won first two games easy. We won the next two games hard. And then they won the playoff game.

Them.

Us.

Techster coach and star tall player.

A couple of scouts from the pros. The one on the right looks a little like old "left ear" from the basketball games.

I found an old large Munson tomb.

If you know me (I brake for cemeteries!). You know how excited I was to find an old large Munson tomb. It was in Louisiana. You may recall my poor results in Kentucky.

It will challenge my genealogical skills to trace these Munsons to my 8th great grandfather, Thomas Munson in Connecticut.

Munson's Swamp Tours.

I had heard good reports about these tours. Yesterday I took a 300 mile drive to the heart of cajun Louisiana to take a tour. I stayed over night in Thibodaux. I saw a lot of animals. Almost as many as I see living next door to John Morgan Adams. My tour had a good cajun guide. He knew more facts about alligators than I thought existed.

Pretty bird. The gray egret.

Who Dat!

The eagle of cajun land is the black headed vulture.

Good Guide!