THIS AND THAT

My oldest daughter copied me on a Facebook post which I found interesting. It said that 99% of the people born during my time are now dead. Somedays I feel like I am one of them instead of the 1% still here! Anyway, I thought about my memos and realized it is only a couple more days until I turn 87 so I guess instead of calling it memories of an 87 year old I should say 87+ (Optimistic,huh?)

I was 5 years old at the start of WWII, too young to join but old enough to remember certain aspects. It is safe to say that most commodities were rationed, some more noticeable than others. Sugar was a problem, as was rubber and oddly enough aluminum! Saturday matinees were always fun and during rationing entry could be gained by bringing an aluminum pot. By the end of the war my mother had no pots (She never liked cooking anyway!). As far as I know, no automobiles were produced for the private sector so we made do. A sad note there as my dad had to sell his 1940 Lincoln for health issues I think. As I mentioned before he was always a Ford/Lincoln man so I know it broke his heart to have to buy a Chrysler, which we had during the war. It was an AWFUL car, slow slushamatic piece of doodoo. I know he was happy when the war ended as he went out and purchased a 1946 Ford "woody" wagon (yes it was real wood). It probably was not the best car for Florida humidity but it sure was pretty when new. No Lincoln that year as we still hadn't recovered from whatever calamity had failed him. We never suffered for food as we had our own garden, a cow, chickens and a supply of pork (we had beef too, but I thought it inedible). We didn't eat much fish except for the bony Blue Gills my mother caught. After a few bones in the throat, I gave them up and just ate veggies instead of fish. Oh, for a good Brook trout back then. After the end of the war it felt as if a big burden had been lifted from my parents' backs. Of course there was no internet. Newspapers or radio was where we received our information. There was a TV station in Jacksonville about 1950 but we didn't even try TV until 1953. My dad bought some monstrously heavy thing and tried to make it work. We had a 125' antenna which constantly twisted in the wind and at the best we could hear voices through the snow, but it was the only TV on the block! Even then, as Florida is apt to do, the antenna was destroyed by a rare central Florida hurricane. Oh well, radio still worked. A few years later, in 1958, Orlando had one TV station. Sadly my dad didn't have much time left to enjoy TV.

More later


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