A boy with his airplane a long time ago
Yep, that is I standing there in the front yard of the old house where my family and I lived for a long time in my life. It was a house where I had been ill for 6 weeks at around age 10 or 11. It was a house where we used to play the game 'hide and go seek' out in that orange orchard behind me in the photograph. It was a wonderful place to grow. We kids used to roller skate around the block on the sidewalk and play baseball in the vacant lot down the block. In those days, you knew everyone in every house. Down 2 houses Mr. and Mrs. K, a senior family from Germany. My sister and I used to go visit them and sit and talk with the Mrs. as she sat in her rocking chair. Then on the corner, the family from Scotland, who were friendly and enjoyed being in America. Then around the corner were Uncle Bill and Aunt Iva. They were not our real Uncle and Aunt, but close friends to our family. Aunt Iva had been my First Grade teacher, and Uncle Bill was the house husband, as they would say today. Around the corner on the other block was where my friend Donnie lived with his Grandparents who were raising his sister and Donnie. Thank the Lord for all the Grandparents who have been called upon to raise their grandchildren for whatever reason! And the quiet and warm days of summer were wonderful in those days, playing until I heard my Dad's loud whistle telling me time to come home. And I could hear that whistle even today in my mind. They mostly were all kind people and when we would see them we would speak to them. It was that kind of place, that block of houses. It you would drive by this area today, you would not recognize it. It has changed tremendously, but that is what happens as time goes by-change in almost everything. We used to love going carefully across the road and finding sour grass and chewing on it in the orchard. There were jack rabbits living in the orchard and sometimes you would see them. I remember during World War 2, believe it or not, seeing army troops marching down the street to the High School athletic field and pitching tents there for a few days. I suppose they eventually went to duty somewhere in some far off land. I remember catching crawdads in an irrigation box out in the orchard and bringing them home and keeping them for awhile as pets. The memories are there forever. Today with our cell phones, computers, and so on, one can only marvel at the progress that has been made in life. One must be thankful for where they are and what they have. I come from a time of kind of a simple life. We didn't have too much money and life was still good and enjoyable. I will never forget those days at the old house. We gardened, had a dog, and loved our family. What more can one ask who comes from long ago and whose mind often returns to those days. I can see it all even now as I approach 3/4 of a century on this earth.
