Home In The Tent

They were known as the Okies that live down by the river; a family of seven Dad, Mom, Cecil, Ray, Lorrene, Bennie and Eulabell. They had sold out, packed up their belongings, and traveled from Oklahoma to the San Luis Valley in Colorado. They pitched a tent by the Rio Grande River among the tall evergreen trees and the roaring river sounds. Many families moved to California, and lived in migrant tent camps in 1935. They didn’t have tent neighbors in Colorado, but there were a couple of log cabins nearby that families lived in, their only neighbors. They also had access to an outdoor toilet.

They didn’t live very high on the hog, but didn’t go hungry. Fish was a great food source. Rainbow trout waiting to be caught, and all that was required was a rod and reel, and a hungry fisherman. They had fried fish and fried taters cooked over the camp fire. The drink of the day was Koolade, orange Koolade, and purple Koolade. There was also an ice plant nearby where they could pick up all the free ice they needed for their Koolade Breakfast was fried eggs and more fried taters and store-bought bread.
A lettuce picking job was found, and the family parked the car at the end of the field. The ones old enough to work in the field picked up the heads of lettuce. The younger ones left to dillydally around the car and watch the baby. Happy Hour was when it was time to go home to the tent.
One day it rained and it rained a lot. Somewhat as it was in Noah’s day only they gathered in the tent instead of the ark to wait it out.
Bath time was once a week whether they needed it or not. They had a galvanized tub which they carried around in the trailer with a few other necessities. The tub of water was heated on the campfire. Everyone took their turn in the tub in the same water until the bathing was about half over then a new batch of water was heated for the rest of the family. You do what you need to do. There was some privacy provided with quilts draped over chairs around the tub. The chairs were from the trailer.
Mom washed their clothes in the same tub, but with brand new water. The clothes were draped over the same chairs to dry, and anything else that was available. The water source they used came from a spring that came out of a nearby hillside.
They had relatives that lived nearby, and they came to visit. The two families would often go for long walks and explore the area. On one of the walks they were frozen in their tracks when a very loud roar came out of a dense group of trees not far away. They couldn’t see the animal, but it was a roar that sent chills up their spines. They continued to soft pedal their way back toward camp. Not even a whisper was spoken until they arrived at their tent home. That event ended the explorations. Mom said, “Whatever will be, will be, but it’ll be without me”. Everyone felt the same way.
One day Dad said, “We need to find a house to live in before it gets cold, and get these children in school”. He always called his kids children because his children were children and not goats as he explained to a smart-mouthed brother-in-law.

This was the end of our tent home in 1935. 

Blue Skies Will Come Again

  It is bluer today than yesterday. Smoke was so horrible you could almost choke on it. It's still smoky, but not nearly as bad as it was. 
There is the man killer hurricane on the way to kill and destroy as many as it can. I can't imagine why anyone would think they will be okay if they stay there. I think some people just like to prove something. If they don't prove it, they'll be too dead to care. 
I haven't heard anything about the fires since the hurricane is front and center stage.
Hurricanes destroy more than fires, at least where homes are concerned. 
 Living without wheels is a pain in the rear. How is this any different than living in a prison cell?
Well, maybe there is something on TV other than storms. 
I shall take a look. It's lunch time so I can eat, which I live for or do I eat to live. In my case I live to eat. 
Till next time.

No News Today

Can you imagine turning on your TV in the morning and the Announcer says, Sorry, we have no news to report today; you may as well go back to bed. Or perhaps you could make your own news. So I did, I sold my Van.

I have an old Van 27 years old, but it runs very well, and the last mechanic that looked at it said it's in excellent condition for it's age.  I need to sell it because I didn't pass the vision part of the licensing renewal procedure. How to sell a car. What is it worth? Start high because they'll offer you less and if they offer me anything I'll grab it. So I set the price at $900.00 and I'll be lucky if I get $600.00. It also has a set of snow tires included.
Chris, my DIL (if they'd ever get married) just called and said she sold my Van for $900.00. I know the person she sold it to so I know it's true. He is going on a trip so it will be one week and asked for me to please not sell it while he is gone. It's hid in the garage so there is no danger of that. I don't have to figure out how many cylinders it has or how many miles to the gallon and no one will kick it's tires or any of that cruel stuff. 
This is news. 

The Sun Comes Up

I wasn't born here, but this was the era when I was born. In a little farm house on the Plains of Oklahoma. The old car looks like the one my dad owned when I came on the scene. Life was so boring then, but no one knew it. The cows had to be  milked and the eggs gathered on a daily basis. Church was the highlight of the week. Neighbors gathered at the little country church and exchanged tidbits of their lives. What in the world did they talk about? Crops and cows for the men and canning, gardening and kids for the women? The mother was usually expecting another baby.
Our house had a tiny kitchen with a stand in one corner with a water bucket and a wash basin setting on it. A wood cooking range, an oval shaped table on the west wall with a bench behind the table which three of us kids sat on. Grandpa lived with us and he sat on one end of the table and Dad sat at the other end. Mom was a great cook and always had a nice meal. I remember we had lots of fried potatoes. She grew a big garden and canned everything We had a cellar to store the canned goods in. 
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. That's my life today. The sun comes up and the sun goes down. 

Till next time.

Holidays

These blogs are getting too complicated for me. Something is wrong with this one. It seems to be okay if I open it with the Internet Explorer, but if I open it with Chrome it's a mess. I have no idea how it looks to others.
People have moved on, why look at a blog when you can hear from everyone on Facebook. If you agree with this say amen. All those sentimental plaques are okay, but when you see fifty of them a day it gets a little much. If you agree with this say amen. If you have someone in heaven say amen. If you don't say, amen, does it mean they are in hell? If anyone that has reached adulthood, you can be assured they have lost a loved one so we all have someone in heaven. If you agree say amen.
My parents attended a little country Pentecostal church when I was a youth.  One corner of the church was called the amen corner. I doubt if that was an official title, but those men that sat in that corner said amen a lot. I think Facebook has an amen corner.
Since it's a holiday day I have nothing to do but wait for the end of the day and tomorrow will be the holiday so I will sit that one out as well.
Have a Happy Holiday !!!!

Sassy says, share this and say amen.

Horses and Harness

This is Ray Lockwood, my brother in his youth.

He's probably pretending he is a movie star acting out a role. He owned the horse named Sox. Life was a little different then, you created your own entertainment.

Horses are smart so why did man teach them that Gee means right and Haw means left. If the truth be known a horse may as well be taught left and right and forget the Gee and Haw. I guess you need to know horse language if you're going to own a horse unless of course your horse is the famous Mr. Ed.
(now, wasn't that cute)
I now need to wear a mask called a CPAP and when I put it on and cinch it up for a tight fit I think of a horse wearing his headgear. 
HeeHaw I'm outta here. Gee Haw Whoa.

Pets

This is Minnie, a wirehaired dachshund, she grew old and had to die. The only thing she seemed to be afraid of was a broom. She would hide out under the bed when the broom came out. I truly believe she had been abused with a broom before I came into her life. She required a lot of grooming. She was so short her belly dragged through the grass. I was constantly trying to keep her clean. When winter came and the snow was two feet deep in the back yard I would need to scoop out an area for her potty spot.

Whatever Will Be

1. Does anything ever turn out to be fun?
2. My life is nothing but a repeat of yesterday.
3. The lawn gets mowed on Thursday at two o'clock.
4. The paper is delivered at 5:30 AM. 
5. The school buses drive by. 
6. The phone rings. I don't answer unless I happen to feel like it. 
7.  You get the picture. It's monotonous!!!
8.  My neighbors are boring, they come and go and that's about all. No point in getting out the binoculars. 
9.  My memory is not so sharp, I think the doctors are aware of it because they have their robot call and remind me. 
10. The Snailman comes by and all he ever puts in my mailbox is junk.