As I get older, I seem to spend more time thinking and remembering things from when I was a kid; I guess we all, eventually, go that way...
We, originally, came from Illinois...a long time ago. Back then, the roads were much narrower, the cars bigger and different from what they are now. Back then, Gas was a LOT cheaper, but of course, people made a lot less money, compared to today's standards. By today's standard, I guess most of us were... what would be called...Poor? We were just kids and we didn't know we were poor. Didn't know what that meant...yet! We were going west and it was so exciting. We loved it; seeing all these new things and up to that point in time we never realized the world was so big.
I remember that we(kids) were disappointed that we were not attacked by Indians on the way out. We felt better when Dad explained to us that WE were Indian and they wouldn't bother us...NOW, we could relax and see the sights. Thinking now, about the so-called comforts of riding in the back seat of that old car all the way to Nebraska (in the middle of summer), well, it was good thing to be young...
One thing, I DO remember is the water bags(drinking water), that Dad hung on the front bumper of the car. In those days, there were not a lot of fancy coolers and air conditioners. We had the canvas water bags on the bumper and all the windows down for air conditioning...
We were young and didn't know then, what we know now, but the water was in no way cold(like ice) and it tasted like the canvas bag it was in, BUT, it was wet, and that is all that mattered. I remember it seemed to take forever, but at the time we didn't know where we were going, or when we would get there. The Doctor had recommended my Dad leave Illinois and move to a dryer climate and we were moving west to find a new place. Dad had, somehow, developed an allergy to CORN; Can't be a farmer in Illinois if you're allergic to corn.
We went west; on and on, and in those days corn wasn't found much in western Nebraska; Wheat was King then...We got to where there was only wheat and Dad felt fine, so we settled into our new life near Sidney, Nebraska. It was wheat harvest time, Dad got a job and for a short time, I remember, we lived in a big tent. For us, it was such an exciting time...
I realize now that it doesn't take a lot to be happy and have good memories. We had a place to sleep and enough to eat, AND we had our family right beside us...What more can one ask for...
We, originally, came from Illinois...a long time ago. Back then, the roads were much narrower, the cars bigger and different from what they are now. Back then, Gas was a LOT cheaper, but of course, people made a lot less money, compared to today's standards. By today's standard, I guess most of us were... what would be called...Poor? We were just kids and we didn't know we were poor. Didn't know what that meant...yet! We were going west and it was so exciting. We loved it; seeing all these new things and up to that point in time we never realized the world was so big.
I remember that we(kids) were disappointed that we were not attacked by Indians on the way out. We felt better when Dad explained to us that WE were Indian and they wouldn't bother us...NOW, we could relax and see the sights. Thinking now, about the so-called comforts of riding in the back seat of that old car all the way to Nebraska (in the middle of summer), well, it was good thing to be young...
One thing, I DO remember is the water bags(drinking water), that Dad hung on the front bumper of the car. In those days, there were not a lot of fancy coolers and air conditioners. We had the canvas water bags on the bumper and all the windows down for air conditioning...
We went west; on and on, and in those days corn wasn't found much in western Nebraska; Wheat was King then...We got to where there was only wheat and Dad felt fine, so we settled into our new life near Sidney, Nebraska. It was wheat harvest time, Dad got a job and for a short time, I remember, we lived in a big tent. For us, it was such an exciting time...
I realize now that it doesn't take a lot to be happy and have good memories. We had a place to sleep and enough to eat, AND we had our family right beside us...What more can one ask for...
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