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Things I miss from the past.


Deja Vous

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A warm summer dip in the river with my brothers and sisters, or a swim in the lake with my Dad. A picnic, no one does those anymore, out with friends or family. A horseback ride into the night with the sounds of only the night and my riding friend.

 

The sounds of a prop plane as I lay in the grass on my back in the warm sunshine. yeah, I know it was a crop duster, but I like it.. lol The smell of sweat from running thru the woods laughing and playing. And the sounds of the crashing as we kids tumbled to the ground in a kids like fight, laughing and testing each others love as only family can.

 

The thorns of the berry bushes while I picked the berries my grandmother wanted to make jam out of. The sounds of my older brothers and sisters moving about in bed at Grandmothers knowing they needed to wake up to milk, my parents and grandparents in the kithen below us and the smell of the breakfast I was about to taste.

 

My grandparents lived on a old farm in the middle of nowwhere out on Juction AA road junctin J.. , around Mineral Point Wi. The road was gravel for miles, and my fathers driving skills were tested as he race around the corners and threw gravel helter skeleter into the waiting grass and early morning light. Their drive ways was one mile long, down hill in the woods, and dirt and gravel washout kinda road. I remember his smile, and his lessons on life as much as the back of his hand.

 

A ride in the corn wagon my father pulled with his tractor, the nights were cold as I laid on my back looked at the stars or the havest moon and thought about how lucky I am. I even miss planting corn with a hand planter to fill in the spots the crows picked out. And the hours I spent working cattle and horses for the fair, just to see my Dad smile.

 

Today, at 91 gong on 92 my father presents my biggest pleasure in life, which is to make him smile, and to make him proud of me.

 

The sounds of my skates as they craved their way across the pond to try to hockey skate with my brothers, and later figure skate. The sounds of the crunch of the corn like snow of the midwest as I raced fast and hard to make my way down hill on alpine skis. old Hanson boots, with a pair of steel sided fishers to cavrve the ice gave way to hanson hotshots, a hot wax boot, and Olin ballet skis.. thanks Dad for the training.

 

The sounds of my little cap guns and the yell from my Step mom over my pet Salamader I turned loose in her laundry basket in the basement, and the first chance Dad gave me to be a big girl and carry a 22 rifle to shoot varmits.. lol

 

The way I see life today is thru my fathers eyes I guess, the love, the joy, the miracles and the hope for tomorow.. Life is never perfect,.. but darn close when I am pulling the trigger and laughing with friends.. it brings back my memories that never go away no matter what.

 

The arguments about Ford my Dad's choice or Chevy my Grandfathers choice, that fed into the summer nights as we fell asleep all in one room at grandmothers house. Chinese checkers, and the laughter into the night.

 

Mostly I miss the past, the honest warmth from my father and grand parents. At times I think they hurt me cuz I expect truth, love, compassion, and for people to just be honest about how they feel, or how they are... in today world that is rare, very rare. I post from my heart, and I do not play games, they were never taught to me, so I guess I miss the generation that spent so much time telling me people are honest, loving and good... What do ya' ll miss...

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...such a contemplative, reflective question...

 

...trapping with Grandpa, he taught us to trap, skin, and dry hides.

...great cars.

...flyfishing with my mom, she taught me to flyfish.

...playing chess with the youngest brother, he taught me to play so that he could beat me.

...the times of our youth.

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...such a contemplative, reflective question...

 

...trapping with Grandpa, he taught us to trap, skin, and dry hides.

...great cars.

...flyfishing with my mom, she taught me to flyfish.

...playing chess with the youngest brother, he taught me to play so that he could beat me.

...the times of our youth.

 

Our youth was a proving grounds really.. lol At one time I got to meet a relative that so impressed me. She was short, with very long dark hair in a bun. She showed me her garden, and her flowers, and the yard and the woods.. and I remember thinking I want to be like this gentle creature when I grow up. I never saw her again, my Dad just never took me over there. But I do remember how gentle she was.. he has a guiet side to her that could calm the seas.. lol.. unlike me.. lol.. Gosh, being a kid you had just such a wild imagination.

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The plot thickens...

Stil wonder why it was pulled? I guess cuz I was rambling? lol

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My paycheck. :(

Lol.. you mean they don't simply send that to you still?

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Conjures up beautiful memories, Deja. Jumpin' off in to Turkey Creek with my Brother and our friends. Long summer days we thought would never end and we wanted more excitement, now I long for those slow summer days. Not a care in the world.

The smell of orchard grass and rag weed along the fence rows with the big red sun in the hazy backround.

 

It seems so complexed to discribe such simple good times, don't it?

 

I hate to inform you of this, Deja, but you seem to think just like me. :blush:

 

I could go on with memories like this for days, but they are memories. Places to visit only in the mind, for as much as we want yesterday back, we must set our sights on tomorrow. Just be sure you try to make every tomorrow into another sweet yesterday.

 

I miss the simple days, and I hate the rat race. I miss the extra few minutes of the day I had just to close my eyes and

Daydream a bit. Not about anything in particular, just soakin' up the breeze of the day. It reminds me of sittin' 'round the house on a summer night, the doors and windows open........Y'all know that smell in the air that I'm talkin' 'bout. Soak in the thought for a moment...... :blush::(

 

 

Your last line, When we were told people were honest, loving, and good.......... -_- some still are.

 

A fine post you have made for all of us to share.

 

Only in the Saloon....... ^_^

 

 

 

 

~EE Taft~

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Conjures up beautiful memories, Deja. Jumpin' off in to Turkey Creek with my Brother and our friends. Long summer days we thought would never end and we wanted more excitement, now I long for those slow summer days. Not a care in the world.

The smell of orchard grass and rag weed along the fence rows with the big red sun in the hazy backround.

 

It seems so complexed to discribe such simple good times, don't it?

 

I hate to inform you of this, Deja, but you seem to think just like me. :blush:

 

I could go on with memories like this for days, but they are memories. Places to visit only in the mind, for as much as we want yesterday back, we must set our sights on tomorrow. Just be sure you try to make every tomorrow into another sweet yesterday.

 

I miss the simple days, and I hate the rat race. I miss the extra few minutes of the day I had just to close my eyes and

Daydream a bit. Not about anything in particular, just soakin' up the breeze of the day. It reminds me of sittin' 'round the house on a summer night, the doors and windows open........Y'all know that smell in the air that I'm talkin' 'bout. Soak in the thought for a moment...... :blush::(

 

 

Your last line, When we were told people were honest, loving, and good.......... -_- some still are.

 

A fine post you have made for all of us to share.

 

Only in the Saloon....... ^_^

 

 

 

 

~EE Taft~

 

EEs. you are my little brother in sass.. lol.. You could be my twin but you are too young.. lol Some still are is so true, the trouble is deciding who? I trust first and ask questions later.. lol. yeah, gets me in trouble all the time.. But I want to go back to those midwestern nights and days of honesty and loyalty.. Yeah, we think alike.. my father says my soul is too thin. That I find far too much fun in the moment, and far too much joy in the present, and far too much gets by me.. lol.. Well, uh yeah, I know he is right.. but I can't be anything but me. lol.. So, I have decided I need to take his advice a bit more and just settle for life as it is. Gosh, though you know I wanted it all, the fairy tale, the whole cigar as they say? lol... But reality is that life and us have to meet some place in the middle I guess.. So, my past was a really cool time growing up in the middle of podunk ville, and while I have for years believed that life can be like Mayberry RFD.. the fact is it will not be ever again for me. And I need to listen to Dad for once .. and I will. gosh, I will miss the rag weed and the summer fresh cut hay, and the trips to the barn to see if the foal was born yet. Cuz in my mind life was simple... but maybe not..

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That's funny, Everyone says I look at things too deep. That I'm thick, and that I'm protective. They say I think a bit too much and dig too deep into thought......... :unsure: .......I guess I ain't dug too deep yet........ :lol:

 

Those memories of the past are a thing to hold on to, and even a thing that one might strive to get back.

 

I know I do........

 

So, folks say your soul is too thin, folks say my soul is too thick, yet we think alike in a way.........strange, good, but strange.

 

Have a good'un. I gotta go to work. .........Got called in cause someone else didn't show up. <_<

 

~EE Taft~

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I miss the generation that spent so much time telling me people are honest, loving and good... What do ya' ll miss...

 

There are still honest, caring people who will take a stand against what they perceive is wrong. What I miss are the days when people who had differences could sit down and hash things out, instead of letting things escalate past the point of no return. Now it seems most people lawyer up, or snipe at you from the bushes. I fear the age of compromise is becoming extinct.

 

I also miss those paper tops they put in milk bottles. My cousin and me would put them on a hay bale and shoot them all morning. Then we'd gather pop bottles, cash them in, and buy another can of .22 ammo. :)

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Cuttin' class to catch a bus to New York to see the Mets play a Shea. Back then I knew how to sneak in and out of the stadium. I was ten years old.

 

Movin' back to Nashville in '64 and finding out that I could still go to the drags with my uncles and cousins. (I grew up in the pits)

 

Goin' to the movies by myself and coming home after dark and not havin' to worry about....

 

"Y'all git outside and play!"

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I miss it all except hoeing cotton. Most of all I don't miss forkin back and tromping cotton down in a trailer. All you fellows that grew up on cotton Texas/OK/NM farms where it was harvested with a stripper know what I'm talking about.

 

I would like to shake my Dads old strong hand again, hug Mother and listen to her sing "Red River Valley", and hear a joke from my recently departed brother. All in all it was good. We won't see those times again....here anyway.

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Lol.. you mean they don't simply send that to you still?

 

Oh they send me a check, but it ain't as good as the one I used to get.

(and it might get smaller if the new Gov has his way) :angry:

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When I was a little guy growin up in Indiana we spent the summer living on a small lake while dad drove back and forth to work in a town nearby. Those were the best times, taking a dip when it got hot,catchin lightnin bugs,LISTENING to the favorite radio programs of the day (I remember the Indy 500 race lasting for hours and hours.) In later years, working on the farms around the lake, sharing a meal with the farmers family at the end of the day,jumping into the lake with a bar of Ivory soap (cause it would float) and takin a bath, watching movies at the local beach under the stars,cream soda and reeses peanutbutter cups. We didn't take any vacations because that cottage on the lake was all we needed. I have thanked my dad a million times for that period of my life.

 

Recently I went back to see my dad and sister, taking my daughter with me. It was a great trip, and I took my daughter on several road trips in the area to see where I grew up, the different houses we lived in, the schools I went, and yes to the lake and the cottage we used to own. Brought back a lot of great times. Also I forgot about the Ammish buggies being on the back roads and having to make way for them when passing them and then remembering that, yes they are still there and what a different life style they lead, the same now as then (loving god and living a simple life.) These are just a few things I remember living in the midwest Deja. Like you,I miss those times and are thankfull for them.

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EEs. you are my little brother in sass.. lol.. You could be my twin but you are too young.. lol Some still are is so true, the trouble is deciding who? I trust first and ask questions later.. lol. yeah, gets me in trouble all the time.. But I want to go back to those midwestern nights and days of honesty and loyalty.. Yeah, we think alike.. my father says my soul is too thin. That I find far too much fun in the moment, and far too much joy in the present, and far too much gets by me.. lol.. Well, uh yeah, I know he is right.. but I can't be anything but me. lol.. So, I have decided I need to take his advice a bit more and just settle for life as it is. Gosh, though you know I wanted it all, the fairy tale, the whole cigar as they say? lol... But reality is that life and us have to meet some place in the middle I guess.. So, my past was a really cool time growing up in the middle of podunk ville, and while I have for years believed that life can be like Mayberry RFD.. the fact is it will not be ever again for me. And I need to listen to Dad for once .. and I will. gosh, I will miss the rag weed and the summer fresh cut hay, and the trips to the barn to see if the foal was born yet. Cuz in my mind life was simple... but maybe not..

 

Deja...You and EE have touched a sore/happy spot in my life wif dis post.

 

While my early life was very hard, it made me tuff and later I would learn just how tuff I would have to be.

It taught me how to spot un-truth from truth... and I am still trying to learn forgiveness.

I see how da Natives where treated..not much has changed since my young days.

I remember how proud Dad was when I passed my Apache Manhood Test. He treated me as a man ever since, although I had a lot to learn.

 

I liked to wake up at Grandpaws house, layin' in da rope bed, piled high wif goose down, lookin' through da cracks in da floor at da chickens feedin' under da house.

The smell of da old stick kicthen match, meant Grandpaw and Grandmaw was cookin' breakfast..

Sawmill gravy, sausage, and cathead busicuts wif all da coffee I could drink...

The smell and da sound of creakin' saddle leather, da mooin' of da cattle,....

Nighthawkin' da herd and smellin' da sweetgrass, seein' da stars in a very clear desert night sky...

 

 

Da past is past....We can not chance dat no matter how we try..

And while we can't live da life others would like us to live,

We can and indeed, must learn to better ourselfs...to prevent our children from taking the same paths.

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oops! :lol:

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Deja...You and EE have touched a sore/happy spot in my life wif dis post.

 

While my early life was very hard, it made me tuff and later I would learn just how tuff I would have to be.

It taught me how to spot un-truth from truth... and I am still trying to learn forgiveness.

I see how da Natives where treated..not much has changed since my young days.

I remember how proud Dad was when I passed my Apache Manhood Test. He treated me as a man ever since, although I had a lot to learn.

 

I liked to wake up at Grandpaws house, layin' in da rope bed, piled high wif goose down, lookin' through da cracks in da floor at da chickens feedin' under da house.

The smell of da old stick kicthen match, meant Grandpaw and Grandmaw was cookin' breakfast..

Sawmill gravy, sausage, and cathead busicuts wif all da coffee I could drink...

The smell and da sound of creakin' saddle leather, da mooin' of da cattle,....

Nighthawkin' da herd and smellin' da sweetgrass, seein' da stars in a very clear desert night sky...

 

 

Da past is past....We can not chance dat no matter how we try..

And while we can't live da life others would like us to live,

We can and indeed, must learn to better ourselfs...to prevent our children from taking the same paths.

 

That's what this post was meant to do........I think. :huh:

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That's funny, Everyone says I look at things too deep. That I'm thick, and that I'm protective. They say I think a bit too much and dig too deep into thought......... :unsure: .......I guess I ain't dug too deep yet........ :lol:

 

Those memories of the past are a thing to hold on to, and even a thing that one might strive to get back.

 

I know I do........

 

So, folks say your soul is too thin, folks say my soul is too thick, yet we think alike in a way.........strange, good, but strange.

 

Have a good'un. I gotta go to work. .........Got called in cause someone else didn't show up. <_<

 

~EE Taft~

 

My father says my soul is too thin cuz I believe in everyone.. lol.. and I hurt easily and don't complain about it much...I just keep on going hoping that I got it right this time.. lol

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There are still honest, caring people who will take a stand against what they perceive is wrong. What I miss are the days when people who had differences could sit down and hash things out, instead of letting things escalate past the point of no return. Now it seems most people lawyer up, or snipe at you from the bushes. I fear the age of compromise is becoming extinct.

 

I also miss those paper tops they put in milk bottles. My cousin and me would put them on a hay bale and shoot them all morning. Then we'd gather pop bottles, cash them in, and buy another can of .22 ammo. :)

I meet then everyday... In fact I believe everyone has my best interests at heart.. that is the prolem per my Dad.. lol.. He would simply die if he knew I help a simple stranger today out on the freeway with a ride home to his family. To him I trust so much, to me I trust, and if it does not work out then I hurt.. and I get over it ... and move on.. pretty easy for me.. Once I know the score I can move on, I just don't always understand the game cuz I don't play games.. Makes it harder for me... but I prefer my way, being honest and true to myself is the best for me.

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Cuttin' class to catch a bus to New York to see the Mets play a Shea. Back then I knew how to sneak in and out of the stadium. I was ten years old.

 

Movin' back to Nashville in '64 and finding out that I could still go to the drags with my uncles and cousins. (I grew up in the pits)

 

Goin' to the movies by myself and coming home after dark and not havin' to worry about....

 

"Y'all git outside and play!"

So you remember the times Mom would say, go play darn it.. and lock the door behind ya? lol..

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I miss it all except hoeing cotton. Most of all I don't miss forkin back and tromping cotton down in a trailer. All you fellows that grew up on cotton Texas/OK/NM farms where it was harvested with a stripper know what I'm talking about.

 

I would like to shake my Dads old strong hand again, hug Mother and listen to her sing "Red River Valley", and hear a joke from my recently departed brother. All in all it was good. We won't see those times again....here anyway.

My first step mom was from AR... we did go to visit her family and I got to know a bit about Cotton.. lol.. That stuff hurt your fingers darn it.. You had to be tought ot pick that stuff is all I can say..

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Oh they send me a check, but it ain't as good as the one I used to get.

(and it might get smaller if the new Gov has his way) :angry:

You need a law.. his check is as big as yours.. that will fix it.. lol

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Deja...You and EE have touched a sore/happy spot in my life wif dis post.

 

While my early life was very hard, it made me tuff and later I would learn just how tuff I would have to be.

It taught me how to spot un-truth from truth... and I am still trying to learn forgiveness.

I see how da Natives where treated..not much has changed since my young days.

I remember how proud Dad was when I passed my Apache Manhood Test. He treated me as a man ever since, although I had a lot to learn.

 

I liked to wake up at Grandpaws house, layin' in da rope bed, piled high wif goose down, lookin' through da cracks in da floor at da chickens feedin' under da house.

The smell of da old stick kicthen match, meant Grandpaw and Grandmaw was cookin' breakfast..

Sawmill gravy, sausage, and cathead busicuts wif all da coffee I could drink...

The smell and da sound of creakin' saddle leather, da mooin' of da cattle,....

Nighthawkin' da herd and smellin' da sweetgrass, seein' da stars in a very clear desert night sky...

 

 

Da past is past....We can not chance dat no matter how we try..

And while we can't live da life others would like us to live,

We can and indeed, must learn to better ourselfs...to prevent our children from taking the same paths.

 

The one place we differ.. my family left the reservation and my father does not talk about our culture in fact dislikes people who do talk about it at all.. He is more proud of our Mayflower heritage in this country, so at times I am sure I test his patience. We lived like everyone around us, and left the res.. but I was the one child who would visit again and again.. He dislikes that about me. He says it makes me weak, and I guess it does.

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The sound of the Bobwhite Quail on a crisp spring morning.

 

The smell of loblolly pines.

 

The soft scent of Lady Slipper flowers.

 

Women in STOCKINGS

 

The taste of freshly stolen watermelon.

 

Freshly made snow cream.

 

Whole milk...... very cold!

 

And mostly.... Every dog I have ever owned.

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The one place we differ.. my family left the reservation and my father does not talk about our culture in fact dislikes people who do talk about it at all.. He is more proud of our Mayflower heritage in this country, so at times I am sure I test his patience. We lived like everyone around us, and left the res.. but I was the one child who would visit again and again.. He dislikes that about me. He says it makes me weak, and I guess it does.

 

 

I say dis wif da utmost respect.....

 

 

I was taught to respect my elders....but......

 

 

I think he is wrong and I guess, if you beleive that, so are you.

 

Seeing how we lived... the struggles our people went through and learning from they're mistakes make me stronger.

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That's what this post was meant to do........I think. :huh:

 

EE, I know it is...

 

I like to re-live these events in my mind, if nothing else.

 

And when I try to tell my kids about my life, they look at me with blank faces.

 

 

It's ok. These are the things I endured and went through.

 

Someday, they too, will look back, with fond memories of they're childhood !

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EE, I know it is...

 

I like to re-live these events in my mind, if nothing else.

 

And when I try to tell my kids about my life, they look at me with blank faces.

Mine too.

It's ok. These are the things I endured and went through.

 

Someday, they too, will look back, with fond memories of they're childhood !

 

I've learned earlier than most, that the past should be cherished. Simple times of goodness and honesty are hard to find in this day and age. It's all about speed and greed. But in a few spots here and there, life will take you back whether you want to go or not, and look at the times in your life when you were happiest (or sad) and make you think "that wasn't so bad.......that was pretty good........yeah, I had it made........

 

If you look back and smile on those times.........you still have it made.

 

There are those in my life that may soon be gone. Here at home in my family, and even some here on the wire and in SASS. Friends to me (true friends) are just as good as family to me. If (God forbid) this sport dries up and blows away I will look at it in my memories the same as those summer days.

 

Have a good evening, my friends.

~EE Taft~

 

Makes me miss Grandpa's real homemade ice cream. :(

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EEs. you are my little brother in sass.. lol..

 

:blush:

 

Y'all sure know how to yank a tear outta my eye sometimes.

 

Good thread, Sis.

 

:D

 

~EE Taft~

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I've learned earlier than most, that the past should be cherished. Simple times of goodness and honesty are hard to find in this day and age. It's all about speed and greed. But in a few spots here and there, life will take you back whether you want to go or not, and look at the times in your life when you were happiest (or sad) and make you think "that wasn't so bad.......that was pretty good........yeah, I had it made........

 

If you look back and smile on those times.........you still have it made.

 

There are those in my life that may soon be gone. Here at home in my family, and even some here on the wire and in SASS. Friends to me (true friends) are just as good as family to me. If (God forbid) this sport dries up and blows away I will look at it in my memories the same as those summer days.

 

Have a good evening, my friends.

~EE Taft~

 

Makes me miss Grandpa's real homemade ice cream. :(

 

 

YUP ! ME TOO !!

 

Grandpaw's ( on my Mama's side) was Pineapple and Strawberry...

 

 

Lord, it was soo good !!:lol:

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YUP ! ME TOO !!

 

Grandpaw's ( on my Mama's side) was Pineapple and Strawberry...

 

 

Lord, it was soo good !!:lol:

 

Ya know, Grandpa use to crank out all kinds of flavors, but I think my favorite was plain old vanilla. You remember that texture of REAL ice cream...........felt like little ice crystals when it first hit your mouth...........followed by that taste....... ^_^

 

Man, it's dangerous business wantin' a taste of something you'll never have again.:( It'll make ya miss it on a whole deeper level. Grandpa taugh me how to make it, but I was too little to turn the crank. Since then that old crank box has disappeared, probably thrown away over the years.

 

I've never had better ice cream in my life.:(

 

~EE Taft~

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The sound of the Bobwhite Quail on a crisp spring morning.

 

The smell of loblolly pines.

 

The soft scent of Lady Slipper flowers.

 

Women in STOCKINGS

 

The taste of freshly stolen watermelon.

 

Freshly made snow cream.

 

Whole milk...... very cold!

 

And mostly.... Every dog I have ever owned.

 

 

Oh, yeah.. my first dog was on the farm. a beagle mix .. she followed me everywhere even on horse back.. She was such a faithful friend.. Something about her made life calm, when she would lay down by me on the grass in the pastures..

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I say dis wif da utmost respect.....

 

 

I was taught to respect my elders....but......

 

 

I think he is wrong and I guess, if you beleive that, so are you.

 

Seeing how we lived... the struggles our people went through and learning from they're mistakes make me stronger.

Wrong or right.. he is my father.. and I love him.. and I respect him..

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Dad hooking the sled to the back of the car and pulling us up and down the road.

 

New mown hay.

 

Mowing down the bad guys (tin cans) with my BB gun.

 

Then latter on leaning on the fence watching the girls learn to ride and take care of thier horses.

 

They are all grown and far away now and in modern times I keep track of them by facebook or text message.

 

Just the other day I read my granddaughters post that she had been woken up by three cows mooing outside her window. Some things never change.

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