My Portfolio

  "The Famous James" English-built Motorcycle - 1946 As with all humans, the Whizzer, after a few weeks, became less than what I wanted.  While the Whizzer was being developed and marketed, the Cushman Motor Company, a small firm that had produced motorized “scooters” for the Army looked at what they...

After we had been in Viet Nam for awhile we were able to take a week R & R (Rest & Relaxation) a sort of vacation if you care to say . If you had the money . Some went to Bangkok , Thialand some went to Tokyo , Japan some...

After the Monsoons quit and the rain quit  we had thousands and thousands of frogs to deal with . You see where our compound was , it was at the bottom of a huge hill . All the water during Monsoon season would come running down the side of that hill...

Our first job when we got to Viet Nam was ordered by the Coronels . They wanted an Officers Club built right away . We arrived about the third week in September and about the first of October was when the Monsoon started ( the rainy season ) It rain non...

After returning To Ft Meade Maryland to join back up with my unit we all boarded a plane to fly to  San Fran Cisco . We went and stood in line on the docks for several hours waiting to board this huge Ocean Liner ( Merchant  Marine Ship ) USS General...

Pleasant Hill school had a Rhythm Band  made up of a couple of dozen little kids, who, with kazoo's, triangles, tambourines, rhythm sticks, sleigh bells, drums and cymbals created sounds that were said to be music.   We wore white shirts or blouses, and pants or skirts and actually made public appearances. ...

After moving back to my hometown I started looking for a job . My father was sick and couldn't work . I was a high school drop out . No body wanted to hire a drop out . I didn't know what to do . I turned eighteen in July 1965...

Sometime in the late 1930's Dad came up with an improvement that was even more remarkable than his running water.  He brought electricity into our house.  A light bulb replaced the coal oil lamp.  The radio’s battery no longer had to be charged in the car.   All this electricity came from...

Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE Dear Diary, it’s official – I’m engaged! We had the most wonderful, romantic, candlelit dinner at the Arkaba Hotel tonight and drove up to Windy Point to look at the city lights. Outside the Nurses Home, sitting in Greg’s mum’s green Morris 1100,...

I was an A+ foot stomper.  Got sent to my room so many times, so many times each week, actually.  You ask why did I continue to stomp my foot when I knew the “punishment”?  Well, I’ll tell you.  There were two reasons.

Many people believe the War for Southern Independence (or the War of Northern Agression) started in April of 1861 at Fort Sumpter.  My family lore would disagree. We argue that the first shots were fired on January 9, 1861 against the Star of the West. My great great great uncle, John...

Pleasant Hill’s school bus, like those of today, had a lever with a big handle attached to a rod that opened and closed the door.  The younger boys considered it fun and an honor to stand alongside the bus driver to open and close the door at each stop.  The bus...

The Thomas Long oil lease was a vast playground but it was filled with dangers for kids that no one seemed to notice or tell us to avoid.  The community water well from which several families drew their water sat a couple of hundred yards from our back door.  It was...

This has really been a difficult one to come up with in my memory banks! When I was in eighth grade--the grade that I have taught every year of my teaching career--I wonder what the outcome would have been if my ability to read well hadn't been taken from me! This...

When we lived on the Thomas Long Lease I had a friend, Jimmy Cargill, whose family, unbelievably, was even poorer than mine.  Jimmy and I took turns riding my tireless, pedal-less bike until we both learned to stay on it as long as we wanted to.  But Jimmy’s biggest contribution to...

Our house on the Thomas Long lease sat back about a hundred yards from Oklahoma Highway 33 which was surfaced with walnut-sized rocks.  A few times a year a road grader would come along to smooth out the ruts and level the high and low spots.  The roads that branched off...

Wow... this one is making me dig into the memorybanks... I have often wondered what would have happened if I had made Junior Nationals at the Zone Swim Meet in August 1983..  How far could I have or would I have gone? Instead I missed qualifying by a fingernail...Literally .01 of...

My career goal was to be an attorney... Mom was going to be my paralegal.  I even went to Auburn and earned my BA in Political Science and Philosophy with minors in English, History and Business. (Yes over achiever I know).  I even became a certified Paralegal with Mom. Then I...

I was in the 8th grade . Didn't hurt for nothing . Had plenty of food . Plenty of clothes . I guess I was just bored . I don't know . Rotten . I was on the way home from school and I stopped in at a small supermarket ....

Before I was thirteen and still living in my hometown our homes were fairly close to each other . My Dad always got home from work about 4:30 PM from the oilfield pipeyard . If I came home from school and the teacher called my mother up before I walked home...