One of my favorite post from the past

Originally posted on Wednesday, November 01, 2006

This my response to my grandson’s homework questions

OK Folks, I have been on my soap box for the past few days and I need to take a break, I will finish the history lesson later but today I am going to ease up a little and talk about something more important, my grandson.

The photo shows my grandson trying to use "the Jedi Force" to keep the soccer ball out of the goal, this time it did not work, maybe because he was not in front of the goal. As I told you I like to share my life experiences with my grand kids. He had a homework assignment for grandparents day and he asked the following questions. I suspect he wanted short answers but some things just require more words.

1. What was your first job? This sounds like an easy question, but it is not. I was raised on a farm so farm work was really my first job. During WWII my father was in the Navy and gone for a long time, 1942-1945. During part of that time we lived on a dairy farm that belonged to my uncle. I learned to milk cows when I was 6 years old, we helped deliver the milk to stores and home customers, my brother, my cousin and I took turns going on the milk truck 6 days per week, I do not think I was ever paid. In 1946, after my father came home we had our own farm, there I learned how to plow cotton using a mule, later with a tractor. The first I remember being paid on the farm was for picking cotton on a neighbors farm in 1949 or 1950, $3.00 per 100 pounds. You had to be good to pick 100 pounds in a day, some adults could pick up to around 300 pounds in a day. The first regular job where I was paid regularly was clerk in a store at age 16, 1955, I earned 50 cents per hour.

2. What was the best thing you ever did? This is a hard question also, since I am almost 69 years old I have had a lot of wonderful experiences, the best would have to be when I married your Grandmother.

3. What was the most fun thing you ever did? Wow, that is really a hard question. We have had lots of fun in our lives, Disney, sea world, fishing, crabbing, and since we are retired we have traveled a lot, the best trip was a river cruse on the Danube river from Nuremberg Germany to Budapest Hungry.

4. What did I want to be when I grew up? A soldier, having lived through WWII I saw how much our soldiers were respected and loved, I was in high school for the Korean War and wanted to go but was too young, I did go to the Vietnam War.

5. Did you become that and if no, why? I did it, I was a soldier from 1960 to 1986.

6. Where was the best place you ever lived? Why? Hard one, I have lived in some cool places during the time I was in the Army. Germany, Okinawa, Vietnam, Korea, and lots of places in the USA.

I think my favorite place is on a mountain side in Podunk, Georgia, USA.

7. What is your best memory? I think I will give you one of my oldest memories, the way things were when I was about your age. My memory is from April, 1945, my father was in the Navy, we had not seen him for over two years. My mother worked in a small hospital in Duluth, Georgia. She came home from work early that day, got my brother and I cleaned up and dressed in out best Sunday clothes. We walked down the dirt street from our house to the railroad station. What we saw was thousands of folks standing along the dusty street by the railroad tracks. Most had sad expressions, some were openly crying. The train that carried the body of FDR from Warm Springs to Washington passed by, the good part of that memory is the love and respect that our elected officials were given. I hope you get to see the same thing in your lifetime but to be honest, I doubt that you ever will.

Today we have Air Force 1 for presidential travel. In FDR's day he had U.S. Car No.1 is the only private coach railroad car specifically designed for the president of the United States. The Pullman Company built the Ferdinand Magellan in 1928, and refurbished the car and presented it (dubbed U.S. Car No.1) to President Franklin D. Roosevelt on December 18, 1942.

8. Where is your least favorite place to live? Why? I think I would have to say Vietnam,not because that is a bad place, Vietnam is a wonderful country, but the conditions we lived in was not so good, if you were lucky you had a tent piled up with sandbags if you were not so lucky you slept in the jungle when you could sleep, or hopefully in a hole in the ground. It was war, I hope you never have to learn about that.

9. If you could buy anything in the world what would it be? Peace on earth.

10. If you could be anywhere in the world where would it be? Some where I haven't been. I want to see everything in the world.

11. Who is your favorite child? This is a trick question, I have a trick answer. I believe that a parent should not have a favorite, I believe all children should be loved equally, sometimes that is hard to do.

12. When did you get married? Jan 2, 1968. Just prior to going to Vietnam.

13. Who was the best friend you ever had and why? Another trick question. When you have lots of friends, it is hard to pick a very best. I think the short answer should be Russ, because he saved my life by sharing his experience, strength and hope when I needed it so desperately.

14. What is your favorite color? I do not think I have a favorite, I like nature and it is made up of all colors.

15. What is your favorite food? Hot biscuits with sausage gravy.

16. What is you favorite thing to say? "I love my grand kids".

17. Will you come see me? You bet, as soon as possible. I think you are coming to see me first, do you remember what is happening at Christmas time.

18. What question should I have asked you to learn more about you? What would the answer be?

a. Pop Pop will you tell me something?

b. You bet young man, what do you want to know.

19. What was you favorite Job? The following is not the answer I sent to my grandson, but after thought, it should have been. The last 11 years of my working life, I was General Manager of a manufacturing plant. I was lucky when I went to work there, I had a few Vietnamese working for me, when I retired 75% of the work force was Vietnamese, their work ethic convinced me to hire them. One American/Asian young man who did not know who his father was adopted me, I still get fathers day cards.

20. What was your least favorite job? KP (Kitchen Police) when I was a young soldier, it was a job that rotated among the soldiers. We worked for the cook.