I hope that your Christmas was as nice as mine. Just about everyone I am related to came by the house to wish everyone good tidings. Of course, it is always nice to see my kids and their kids, and even their kids. As January approaches, I hope to reach another birthday. It always amazes me to see how the years go by faster and faster. I’m not sure I really like it.
There was only one time in my life where I wished that the clock would speed up. It was when I was getting short on my third tour of Vietnam. Getting short has nothing to do with my height or lack there of. “Getting short” is the soldier’s calendar because the Government says, “You only have to fight and stay alive for one year and then you go home.” A soldier may have a girlfriend or family waiting for him back home and to preclude the break down of morale, the Government tried very hard to make sure you got on the return flight at the end of 365 days.
You see, Vietnam was the only war that I know of that was fought on a schedule. It was 12 months from the time you got on that jet plane in San Francisco till you boarded the plane usually in Saigon for your return flight. The Government was very good at this and it was one thing the soldier could depend on. The only period, in my life, that seemed to slow down the sun or moon was when I was in Vietnam.
I have a couple of photos from that era. They are in black and white and since they are about 40 years old I’m not sure if they will print to the satisfaction of the printer, but if I find someone to publish them I’ll be happy to include them in a column.
You would think that I have a lot to tell you about and you would be right, but often as we grow older and the past seems to get blurry, we forget how beautiful my wife and children are. It’s just that I can’t just write about the kids as they may not want their secrets told. Oh! I guess that I can write about them and the secrets that they have allowed me to know, but I’m sure that I would be in hot water and it’s not the time of year to be in hot water.
I guess that I could write about the handsomest dog I have ever owned. He may not be the biggest or even the smartest, but he is smarter than me and seems to have the loudest most irritating bark. I’m trying the get him to forget the bark, but he is pretty smart and getting smarter with every day. So the treats I leave in secret places are not anything to him. He can find anything he wants.
You know, I am like a lot of folks that call themselves writers. I’m not a movie writer or book writer or oh well… I like to write because it brings back memories that may have been relegated to the back row. Usually I write about my family or my pets or even about my past. I bring this up because my lovely bride is in Salinas chauffeuring her mother around to find all the gifts I said I wanted. I sat down at my bride’s desk so I could hammer out the column you are reading. It is actually pretty easy this week because I found myself on my walk with my wonder dog, Ranger. When you walk your dog a couple of miles a day, there are thoughts that flit through your mind. If you are like me, there has to be something that calls out to you to start pecking the keys.
Today, as I took my daily walk, I happened to see a field by the road that had just been disced and leveled up so it could be planted with some vegetable that we are famous for here in the Salinas Valley. I love to watch these plants come up out of the ground. I have been walking the same route for the longest time and I have watched the crops planted and then harvested. There should be a school requirement to follow the growth of any crop grown in the Salinas Valley so all students would understand what it takes.
I was interested because when I was in the seventh grade, I started my career as a tractor driver for my Pop who was Foreman of a farm over in the San Joaquin Valley. I had not a minute of practice driving a tractor, but my Pop didn’t much believe in schools to teach me. He showed me where to put my feet to get on the tractor and then how to stand up as I drove it because he thought I might go to sleep if I sat down. Oh yeah, he also showed me the gear selection and how to make a turn at the end of the row.
As you all know, I really loved my Pop. He never allowed me to say, “I can’t.” His favorite saying to his four sons was “Cain’t never did do nothing.” He was crippled all his life, but he never allowed “Cain’t” to stop him nor did he allow his boys tell him they couldn’t do anything. He was so proud of his sons and bragged about his Marine Sons and the wild soldier that just wanted to jump out of planes.
As we come to the end of 2024, I can say that I am grateful that I have met new friends and that my old friends are still around with a few exceptions. I pray that the New Year will bring you as many smiles as the old one did for me. I am so happy when I walk my dog and there are men and women and even young people who return my wave. It may not sound like a lot, but it always makes me smile. I’ll bet it will make you happy if you wave. It doesn’t cost any a dime, but it buys a smile.
God Bless.
