I've done a bunch of things in my life. Was one of those smart kids in school. A hard-core bookworm with emphasis on the sciences. Got a Bachelor of Science degree. Worked as a chef. Wore a few stripes working for Uncle Sam. Then spent close to 25 years in California working at a nuclear weapons research facility. Retired. Now a tutor, a mentor, and writing software when I have time.
I'll always be a kid from the country. My parent's home is on a large hill. There were farms all around us, alfalfa fields bordering us to the south, west and east. Every season was special, but summer had one activity that was so routine back then and now you rarely encounter.
In the shade of a covered porch, my dad and I would sit in our favorite chairs. Some iced tea, lemonade, beer, or a soda along with a cooling breeze made even the muggy days feel nice. We even enjoyed watching the occasional T-storm from that porch - the lightning bolts making quite a show from our dry and safe location.
But we did more than just sit out there. We talked. Speculated if the corn and soybeans would be bumper crops this year. Debated whether our baseball and football teams were playing well. Wondered what that nutty beagle of ours was up to, hunting in the alfalfa. We also talked about the news. There was no internet back then, news came via the local paper, the town's AM radio station, or one of the three TV stations. Not very much rumor-mongering back then, gossip was relegated to The National Inquirer sold at a stand next to the store's cashier. News had little or no human-interest or opinion, as one TV character used to say, "Just the facts".
Opinions were our job. We'd discuss some topic and muse back and forth about what to do about it. If Nixon was going to China, we'd talk for hours about whether his playing of "The China Card" would get the Russians to come to the negotiation table or not. Would free agency be good for the NFL or would the owner's find a way to keep things as they are. We'd talk for hours, thinking away while sipping on our beverages.
All the time I lived in California I never forgot my roots. I may have taken care of computers ranging from desktops to supercomputers but never lost the knack for forecasting using just the clouds. My skill with a rifle got regular workouts at the local rod and gun club. I had a lot of polite, but firm arguments insisting that California did not invent "Happy cows". Wisconsin farmers would play country music during milking time to keep the herd mellow and producing heavily. But California is California, weird, hot/dry, not very friendly, and very urban.
Some may think it crazy to move from California back to a place infamous for its winter. Not a hard choice for me at all, this is home. There have been changes while I was away - fields cleared to build houses, old neighbors no longer here, the city nearby has grown. But there is still that back porch and there are chairs and a table there. I can enjoy the breeze while sipping a glass of beer, still able at times to spot the sun's reflection off a cross on a church some ten miles away. My dad is gone, so I share my thoughts with my wife and now here on this blog when it seems appropriate. There's a chair here for you too if you like - grab a drink and let's chat a spell. We'll see if we can solve the world's problems.
I'll always be a kid from the country. My parent's home is on a large hill. There were farms all around us, alfalfa fields bordering us to the south, west and east. Every season was special, but summer had one activity that was so routine back then and now you rarely encounter.
In the shade of a covered porch, my dad and I would sit in our favorite chairs. Some iced tea, lemonade, beer, or a soda along with a cooling breeze made even the muggy days feel nice. We even enjoyed watching the occasional T-storm from that porch - the lightning bolts making quite a show from our dry and safe location.
But we did more than just sit out there. We talked. Speculated if the corn and soybeans would be bumper crops this year. Debated whether our baseball and football teams were playing well. Wondered what that nutty beagle of ours was up to, hunting in the alfalfa. We also talked about the news. There was no internet back then, news came via the local paper, the town's AM radio station, or one of the three TV stations. Not very much rumor-mongering back then, gossip was relegated to The National Inquirer sold at a stand next to the store's cashier. News had little or no human-interest or opinion, as one TV character used to say, "Just the facts".
Opinions were our job. We'd discuss some topic and muse back and forth about what to do about it. If Nixon was going to China, we'd talk for hours about whether his playing of "The China Card" would get the Russians to come to the negotiation table or not. Would free agency be good for the NFL or would the owner's find a way to keep things as they are. We'd talk for hours, thinking away while sipping on our beverages.
All the time I lived in California I never forgot my roots. I may have taken care of computers ranging from desktops to supercomputers but never lost the knack for forecasting using just the clouds. My skill with a rifle got regular workouts at the local rod and gun club. I had a lot of polite, but firm arguments insisting that California did not invent "Happy cows". Wisconsin farmers would play country music during milking time to keep the herd mellow and producing heavily. But California is California, weird, hot/dry, not very friendly, and very urban.
Some may think it crazy to move from California back to a place infamous for its winter. Not a hard choice for me at all, this is home. There have been changes while I was away - fields cleared to build houses, old neighbors no longer here, the city nearby has grown. But there is still that back porch and there are chairs and a table there. I can enjoy the breeze while sipping a glass of beer, still able at times to spot the sun's reflection off a cross on a church some ten miles away. My dad is gone, so I share my thoughts with my wife and now here on this blog when it seems appropriate. There's a chair here for you too if you like - grab a drink and let's chat a spell. We'll see if we can solve the world's problems.
Wonderful start Gregg, love the memories it brings up for me of sitting with my Granny on the front porch when we would visit her in the summer.
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