From fairly well off to very poor in 10 years.

The first ten or eleven years of my life were interesting. I was born during the height of the Roaring Twenties (1925) and I turned eleven at the lowest point of the Great Depression (1936). My Dad was a skilled teamster. At one time he had a team of work horses (Bert and Beck) and did contract wotk in the many fruit orchards in Pomona, California. I watched my Dad excavate for a church basement with his team and a Fresno excavator. At one time we lived in a nice two story house. I was born at home (Kingsley Avemue). I can remember meals with Mom and Dad, five sisters, and three brothers. I was the youngest. My next youngest sibling was my brother, Warren who was five years older than me. I remember sitting by my Dad. There were many folks around a large table. One time or several times supper was just strawberry shortcake. (I still remember the large blue bowl that my Mom mixed the strawberries in.) But you could have all the strawberry shortcake that you could eat! There were several years of good times. Then my life got interestig. An old Chinese saying is "may your life not be interesting". I agree.

My Mom passed away when I was barely five. Her Mom (the only grand parent that I met) came and lived with us for a period. She and I would look at the radio and listen to One Man's Family and Amos and Andy. My older siblings left for marriages. Dad put me in a boys home until he ran out of money. Then it was just my Dad and I and times got very hard. Below is a graph of our nation's production over the first 10 years of my life.

My life and my Dad's fortune followed the same trend. I was born in a full house with food but then.... In 1933 the unemployment rate in the US was 25 %. My unfortunate Dad fell on very hard times. I remember no food in the house. In the sixth grade at lunch time I would pretend that I was going home to eat but actually I went around the corner for a while. (What did I do for breakfast and supper?)

About this time I came home one day and found that our furniture was stacked in the front yard  We had been kicked out of our home for not paying the rent. Homeless. I spent one night sleeping under some bushes during this period in my life. (A brother in law had complained to a sister about me living with them!)

I pulled through the hard times and later managed to get overweight. I have never gotten over missing my Mom. Here is a nice pic of Mom and Dad.

I livd in a tent in a field of pineapples!

It was for a few weeks in 1944. The field of pineapples covered a hillside above Pearl Harbor. There were thousands of tents on those hills. We had ran out of barracks. It was an exotic place to this Pomona, California boy. I had never seen a  pineapple plant. My buddies and I would pick pineapples, take them into our tent, and butcher them with our bayonets. It was exciting. I had only experienced pineapple in a can. It was delicious. We stuffed ourselves.

In addition to tent camping in a pineapple field many important events (to me) took place in 1944.

I married Jacqueline Lois Ireton. We had been together for 63 wonderful years when Jackie passed away in 2007.

I sailed across the Pacific Ocean three times. My third trip was from Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands to Leyte in the Philippine Islands and took six weeks. On a fourth and last crossing in 1945 I sailed home from Korea.

July 20 was my 19th birthday. I was probably living in the tent.

On August 21, 1944 my troopship cross the equator.  After a grand ceremony I became a Shellback. See my card?

During the ceremony I kissed the belly button of the Royal Baby. (King Neptunes Court). They found a sailor to play the part of the Royal Baby. Her belly button had a thick coating of Vaseline and grease. What a lousy kiss!

Then we made a combat landing in the Palau Islands. While advancing up a jungle trail on Peleliu Island, with an explosive pack on my back, I was shot in both legs. Just above the knees. I like to point pit that the location of the wounds indicate that I was not running away!

You can see why I will always remember 1944. Married and shot in each leg. The marriage lasted great and the bullets are still in my bones.

Closet sweet eater!

Thats what I am. And not all in the closet. When I reduced my weight to 200 pounds (for one day) I fell off my diet and this morning I weighed 214 pounds! I went from 250 to 200 in a year and a half of dieting. No sweets. In a month and a half I have put on 14 pounds!

All things in moderation the wise man said. I have not learned the lesson. I either don't eat sweets or I eat them all the time.

Over the river and through the woods...

Over the river and through the woods to grand daughter's house the old PrunePicker goes. That reminds me of a poem. Here are the woods.

Here is the PrunePickers grand daughter Joy.

One of my fondest memories is my holding Joy (as an invalid) in my arms on a ferry boat ride across the Rhine River in Germany. She has been in her new house in West Monroe less than a week and she invites me to Thanksgiving Day dinner! Here is the house.

What a wonderful meal!

Some of the prep work.

The meal was enjoyed by David, Christian, Ethan, Papa Chuck (PrunePicker), and Ross. Pic by Joy.

The meal was relaxing.

What a lovely Thanksgiving Day! Thank you Newberrys.

Mark is two weeks into his trip from the Pacific to the Atlantic..

Mark is in Gila County, Arizona. Apaches, Geronimo. and Cochise. Him better be alert!

Mark is beyond Hope. He needs our prayers.

Different scenery form the trip to Canada.

What else?

The old maple table.

Jackie and I bought this maple dinning room table, eight chairs, and a large hutch in 1965.

Four one foot wide leaves came with the table.

I have many happy memories of the table at full length at many holiday meals surrounded by up to a dozen people. We kept the leaves under our bed. It was exciting to get them out and install them. (There were usually some in the table) The six in our family would be joined by relatives (sister Donna in particular), and neighbors (Carl and Becky in particular). And friends of our children. Many people ate with us at the table over the years In later years Jackie and I (as guests) ate at the table.

The table has given yeoman service for the last 49 years. Three families (Jackie and I, daughter Kerry, her daughter Joy) put the table to good use. Now it is headed for other pastures. Joy has to sell the table because she is moving into a smaller house and does not have room for it.

It has been and is a traumatic experience for me seeing this furniture move on. I wish the the new owners well and another 49 years.

Good looking table huh? It came with a tough plastic coating which has served its purpose well.

Bone Broth

I wen to the Ruston Farmers Market today, After a delicious Mexican omelet at a picnic table in the morning son I attended a  lecture on Bone Broth.

Bone Broth tastes good and is good for you, The lecture was given by Daniel Smith of Smith Farms. He gave out samples. Good.

Bones and vegetables are cooked for 48 or more hours. It is not fast food!

While at the Market I enjoyed music by Ricky Pittman. The Ruston Farmers Market is fun. Picked up some cookies and popcorn. You know, the staples of life.

Mark is a 100 yards into Arizona. (more now)

These photos by Mark are of country that Jackie and I traveled many times. Pulling a 35 foot fifth wheel trailer. Camped out many times in this country. Hey Mark how did you like Quartzite?
That is the heart of southwest RV land in the winter.

2019 Veterans Day program in Choudradt.

 A social club in Choudrant hosts a Veterans Day program every year. I have gone several times and it it is great. The name of the club is the Choudrant Restoration and Beatification Society. What a nice group of people. They plan and put on a patriotic program and serve lunch to all veterans who show up. They even mail me an invitation and a lunch ticket every year.

Choudrant is the next town east of Ruston.

Mayor Bill Sanderson, Village of Choudrant.