Guess we were in the same situation as a lot of Y'all. When my 10 year old sister died of Cancer, well the Medical bills broke my parents, and we lost it all. My dad lost the service station he had and we lost our home. Grew up in a trailer in Florida, and fishing, crabbing, and shrimping were the only thing that manage to fill the larder for many years, even while dad worked 70 hours a week to pay off the bills.
I have never felt like someone else should have done anything for us....it was our life and our responsibility to make of it what we would. Don't understand some folks these days....
We never had extra money... my dad had a mill job... worked swing shift for 38 years.
He bought a piece of land to hunt deer on... so us kids would have a place to hunt... I remember he worked every week end he could, he put in a lot of 16 hour shifts... And, Mostly... he would make sure he worked every holiday... two or three 16 hour shifts in a row if possible, over a holiday weekend... Those really helped him get a jump on his bills.
Now days... when my friends ask if they can hunt the farm... I tell them ... nope, nope. Don't even set foot on that piece... Growing up I never had my dad on holidays and I'm sure you did... so, no, that piece is for family only. I tell them they can hunt the land I bought, But, stay off the farm.
Well... we have come to the point.... where... the parasites are killing the host. It's only a matter of time now.
When I was a kid, Mom & Dad would load us up the station waggon and take us to a drive-in movie. We'd back into the spot so all us kids could sit in back and watch the show while we ate our sandwhiches. We brought popcorn from home, too. We already had our PJs on cause we usually crashed out on the way home.
Good times on a budget.
They gave us everything. Food, roof over us, good clean clothes, love, teaching us moral and good behavior, and to love our country. Not sure if we were poor or not.
Mom's still with us. I miss my Dad like I'd miss my left arm.
These story's are what scares me most about the youth of today. People don't garden, they don't fish, and most think guns are only something bad guys shoot good guys with. Adversity is a dead cell phone battery, self driving cars, because today's youth are incapable of maintaining a train of thought long enough to reach their destination. And a government that has to tell coastal dwellers to stock up three days worth of food because of an impending storm.
It sure makes the aging process much more palatable.
We were poor. We weren't starving poor but we didn't have luxuries. Everyone around us was in the same position.It wasn't until middle school when they mixed us with kids in other communities I realized some kids had parents with regular jobs that didn't have to supplement their income with farms or gardens..
I don't look back on it fondly. In an effort to save money or so that was his justification, my old man made alot of questionable decisions that usually meant I was benefactor of meaningless work that did nothing to help us as a family.
My grandparents had it figured out and hanging out with them was a welcome reprieve from the craziness of the old man.
But my story was just one of a thousand like it. No one had a Pollyanna life.
Last edited by KFWA; 02/11/19.
have you paid your dues, can you moan the blues, can you bend them guitar strings
My father and grandfather were always talking about life in the Great Depression. Farm folks weren't affected as much as those in the big cities, as they could grow food, but they always said that there was practically no one with money. My grandfather especially knew the value of a dollar, and if he acted as though he had every one of his named, and held on to them as long as possible.
What we will miss the most, is the knowledge that our elders take with them when they pass......
I would give almost anything to be able to talk to my grandfather again. He only had an eight grade education, but in many ways he was the sharpest man I've ever known. He could do almost anything.
Being poor financially is not the same as being poor mentally.
When I see people that are filthy dirty and destitute, usually they have some sort of mental disability. OR, they have some sort of addiction habit. Drugs, alcohol etc.
James Pepper: There's no law west of Dodge and no God west of the Pecos. Right, Mr. Chisum? John Chisum: Wrong, Mr. Pepper. Because no matter where people go, sooner or later there's the law. And sooner or later they find God's already been there.
Just getting by for us meant it was a whole family effort. Dad was a darned good carpenter, but things always got tight in the winter. Everyone contributed. My brother and I trapped and hunted, and were counted on to put meat on the table. It was especially tight on the rare occasions when dad didn't get a deer. Dad ran a big garden,and we canned or froze everything we possibly could. There were no big fancy family vacations. We knew we were just getting by, but it never was discussed in front of us kids. My folks did all they could to give us a decent life. When your basic needs somehow get met, you don't tend to worry about the other things too much.
We had a HUGE garden when I was a kid. 1/2 acre in size. We supplied 5-6 families (all of my aunts and uncles) with green beans, peas, raspberries, carrots, cherries, yellow squash, zucchini and various hard or winter squashes and who knows what else. As others have mentioned. My mother canned, bottled, froze, dehydrated everything that she could. Made homemade grape juice, tomato juice. Jams and jellies.
We did not grow potatoes as I had relatives in Idaho that had access to a farmers property. He would let us glean the fields for free. I remember as a kid driving to Burley ID and Shelly ID in our old Ford F100. We'd load that thing up until the leaf springs were flat. Drive back home and share the wealth with family. We'd load well over 1,000 lbs of spuds in that old truck.
My mother was a stay at home Mom. She was always there for us. Our home was always spotless. Our clothes were always clean. When other kids were wearing Levis, Wranglers LAPD etc. I wore sears Tuff Skins.
My father was not a hunter. I only ever remember him hunting a few times. Nor did he fish. But I did it all. When I'd come home with two 5 gallon buckets full of crappie, we'd have a fish fry. The grand parents from both sides we're always there. If I came home with a goose or grouse or pheasants, we'd have the same family gathering to eat and enjoy the game together.
They were great times. I was taught how to work hard, how to have fun, how to help others, and how to respect people.
Sure glad that I was born of goodly parents.
James Pepper: There's no law west of Dodge and no God west of the Pecos. Right, Mr. Chisum? John Chisum: Wrong, Mr. Pepper. Because no matter where people go, sooner or later there's the law. And sooner or later they find God's already been there.
My dad was a physician, but grew up on a farm dirt poor. We always had vegetable gardens all over town. When things were in season, we ate them until they were gone. We froze and canned lots of stuf for the winter months. Things that came in cans or packages really weren't found at our house. We also cut, split and stacked our own firewood. I think a lot of our neighbors may have made a little fun of us behind our backs, but we never cared. I think that the adoption of my parents modest lifestyle has served me well. I'll eat just about anything, but my favorite is what is on sale.
When I was five, my mom was single and we lived in a run down duplex. Years later she told me how poor we were...at one point all that was in the cupboard was some Cream of Wheat, or some such. I don't remember being hungry or feeling deprived.
In college I had a girlfriend from Houston. Her folks were very well off, but they were scum. I told her class doesn't come out of a pocketbook, but she never did catch on. I know what she's up to even these days, and she's just like her folks---total trash.
Don't be the darkness.
America will perish while those who should be standing guard are satisfying their lusts.
