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| A leap from cars to space ships |
| 01.31.04 (11:21 am) [edit] |
I've been reminiscing about cars, driving, and accidents. Now for a big leap to rockets. I lived in Florida for twenty-eight years and saw how much cars changed that place.
I lived forty miles from NASA, so I also saw all the space shuttles go up, watching from my back yard. They were very small, of course, but I could make them out. I went out into the back yard each time one was launched to watch it go up and took pictures.
I actually saw the Challenger blow up. While I was taking pictures of it, I noticed two small smoke-like streams going up. I took one more picture, but I had the feeling that something was wrong, so I decided to go back inside to watch television.
That's when I learned that the Challenger had exploded, killing all seven of the astronauts on board. What a disaster! I still have that picture.
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| Still have driving on my mind |
| 01.30.04 (6:56 pm) [edit] |
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I'm still thinking about driving. Over all these years, I have been involved in only one collision. One day I was driving down the road in the left hand lane. I stopped at the traffic light and was waiting for traffic to come the other way. While I was waiting, I saw this car in my rear view mirror. It was the only car that was behind me. All at once he hit me! He hit me so hard that he pushed me into the median and I was facing completely in the opposite direction. Luckily for me, witnesses came up and told me they saw the whole thing. After that, he had to go down to the court house and pay a fine.
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| One of my early driving experiences |
| 01.29.04 (4:50 pm) [edit] |
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I remember once I drove to a girlfriend's house and a storm came up. Living in a town, I didn't realize what it was like to drive in the country. I mean, I didn't know the roads weren't that good. At my girlfriend's house, they kept telling me I should go home, but I wasn't worried about it. When I did finally start home, I'll tell you, that was something. I was a little nervous when I had to go through a little dip into a creek...right through the water. When I got home, my husband and Papa (his dad) told me they were worried that I would get washed down that creek. I just didn't realize the roads could be that bad.
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| When I learned to drive |
| 01.28.04 (5:16 pm) [edit] |
My older daughter read somewhere that there are 191 million drivers in the U.S. I guess everyone wants to drive and have a car. I've always liked driving myself. When I learned to drive, there weren't so many drivers, and there weren't as many cars as there are now.
I was 17 years old, fixing to turn 18. I remember it was a girlfriend who taught me. After I had spent some time driving out in the country, we started to go back home. All at once, I realized we had to pass through the town, so I said, "Goldie, would you take over this wheel? I don't want to drive through this town." She answered, "No, I won't. You drive through this town!" I did, and I've been driving ever since. Like I said, I've always enjoyed driving!
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| Burned beans and a spanking on my little brother's birthday |
| 01.27.04 (6:41 pm) [edit] |
I remember my little brother's fourth birthday. I had just turned 11 on the 2nd of September, and he turned four on the 29th. He got this little red wagon, and all of the kids in the neighborhood were out taking turns pulling him around.
My mom and dad went somewhere and left me to watch the beans cooking. Can you imagine that? With all the excitement going on outside! HEY, THIS WAS 1929!
My dad said he would give me a spanking if the beans burned. Low and behold, they burned or singed, not once, but three times. Of course, after the third time, I had to put new beans on.
When mom and dad came in, my dad said he had promised me a spanking, so he gave me three little spats. My heart was broken; he had never done that before. I'm reminded of the old adage, "This hurts me worse than it does you." I'm sure he shed a tear or two.
He never again gave me an ultimatum like that! And, even though I got a spanking, it was fun seeing my little brother so happy with his little red wagon that day.
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| The first Christmas I remember |
| 01.26.04 (5:38 pm) [edit] |
I remember I must have been four or five years old. As I said before, my mom and dad had a dairy, and they were getting up at two o'clock in the morning to milk cows.
So, Santa Claus came early that year, around 5 or 6 in the evening on Christmas Eve, and he brought me a doll. In my mind's eye, to this day, she is still the most beautiful doll I've ever seen. She had black hair and blinking blue eyes. she wore a white silk dress and a black velvet cape. I'm sure I got other things, but the doll is all I remember. She must have been named [i]Snow White[/i], and my house must have been the first one Santa came to that year!
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| Little girls and little boys |
| 01.15.04 (7:13 pm) [edit] |
Today I was reminiscing about my children, about how calm my two daughters were when they were little. Then the granddaughters came along, and they were, for the most part, also calm little girls. Then all at once, I had a great-grandson, and what a difference! He's a rambunctious little boy. My husband used to tell me that little girls were quite calm, but little boys were sure different. Believe me, he was right! That little great-grandson is not still a minute. He never has to stop and think what he's going to do. It's in his head instantly. But let me tell you, he's a joy. I wouldn't take for him!
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| Getting back to the past |
| 01.14.04 (3:44 pm) [edit] |
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Now getting back to the past...can't forget those 85 years! For years, my mom and dad had the only dairy in Corsicana, Texas. My mom said that when I was hungry, I'd always say my stomach was tired. I remember that Mr. Whitman, the owner of the grocery store where my dad delivered milk, would often give my dad a box of Eatmors, which were a forerunner of Hershey kisses. He would say, "Take these to that little tired stomach!" Oh, to be a kid again...
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| Reflecting on blogging |
| 01.14.04 (3:24 pm) [edit] |
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Well, I've been thinking about the fact that I am a blogger. To me, it's like reminiscing. In my day, that's what we would have called it. Now I have to get used to the new terms in technology. Not only am I learning something new, but my vocabulary is growing. Not only can I recall the past, but I can blog on anything. Let's hope the soap box is big enough!
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| Cruises on my mind |
| 01.13.04 (4:50 pm) [edit] |
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I wonder why people like to go on ocean cruises. I suppose they just like to get away—no telephone ringing, no more appointments to keep, and no traffic to contend with. My husband Lee and I did go on one once to the Caribbean. We went with a few good people and visited St. Thomas, St. Martin's and Nassau. It was quite an experience—traveling on a ship at sea and staying in cabins—and the food was a big deal at all times. You know, I always thought it would be great to sail across the ocean on one of those ships, but I never did.
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| Foods evoke memories |
| 01.12.04 (5:22 pm) [edit] |
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Some foods just go together. I guess I like pinto beans, corn bread, and onions because it was one of my dad's favorites. I remember him sitting at the head of the table, eating them. As you might guess, they're one of my favorite foods today. That reminds me...I guess that's also why I love carrots. When I was 10 or 11 years old, the doctor recommended I eat them, so my dad planted two rows of carrots in the garden. We'd go out when he was home, and he'd ask me if I wanted a carrot. Then he'd pull one up, wipe the dirt off, and I'd eat it right there. So many things remind me of him. I guess it's true the old saying: "For all little girls, there's nobody like their dad."
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| Pieces of the past |
| 01.11.04 (9:06 am) [edit] |
I was sitting at the kitchen table, thinking about all the things I have. I've saved so many things over the years. It seems I can't throw any of them away because so many of them bring back memories. They're like 'souvenirs of the past' and have special meanings for me. For example, I have two small bowls that belonged to my mother: a pink-flowered one and a green-flowered one. Every morning when I eat cereal from them, I think about my mother.
Then there's the afghan I crocheted so many years ago. My mother tried to teach me to crochet, but it didn't work; I didn't learn how to do it. Later, I learned on my own and crocheted an afghan. I still have it. Strange...whenever I see that afghan now, I see her. My grandchildren have hinted they like it, but it's hard to part with a piece of your past.
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| Remembering that cedar chest |
| 01.10.04 (3:15 pm) [edit] |
I was thinking about that cedar chest where I kept the pencil stub my father used to do the crossword puzzles. I left it at my mothers, and during a move it got lost. What a loss---all those cherished objects gone! My older daughter's first Easter dress---I sewed every bit of it by hand. The first shoes I crocheted for my younger daughter. The first dolls my daughters ever got. A full set of little golden books. All those cherished items...all those links to the past...gone .
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| Crossword puzzles stir up memories |
| 01.10.04 (3:00 pm) [edit] |
I hardly ever pick up a crossword puzzle that I don't think of my dad. He used to wait for the daily paper every day. It came about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. He always sat in a rocking chair, and he had a little pet chick that would get up on his shoulder and sit there as he worked that crossword puzzle. For years after he died, I had the stub of a pencil that he used to do those crossword puzzles in my cedar chest.
Now, after all these years, I find myself waiting for the morning paper. Once it's here, I just want to tackle that crossword puzzle. Whenever I pick up the paper, I read the headlines, and then I search out the crossword puzzle. Only after I work it out do I read the rest of the paper.
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| A little bit about me |
| 01.10.04 (2:49 pm) [edit] |
Before I write more, I need to introduce myself. My name is Vera, and I'm 85 years old. I'm a mother, a grandmother, and a great- grandmother. I have two daughters, four granddaughters, and four great-grandchildren.
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| Am I blogging now? |
| 01.10.04 (2:39 pm) [edit] |
My two daughters are both interested in weblogs (blogs), so I've decided to learn how to blog, too. I first became interested in blogging when I saw my younger daughter wearing a t-shirt with the words "I'm blogging" written across the front of it. I had no idea what it meant, but I was interested in finding out.
Later, when my my older daughter was visiting me, I asked her what a blog is, and she explained it to me. Then, to my surprise, she said I could try blogging myself. So here I am, blogging for the first time. I am not sure what I should write on this blog, but I'll just start writing and see what happens.
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