One Pharmacist's View

The crew of the USS Johnnie Hutchins, DE-360 had been enjoying various ports of call such as in Havana Cuba and Caracas where it was very nice. Exotic almost. But we eventually returned to our home port of Boston. Then one fine day at sea something happened.

Having a working bicycle in 1945 was very important to me and lots of my 10-year-old friends in Stonewall. But our WWII enemies, the Japs and the Germans had seen to it that bicycles, cars and such were fairly unavailable in the USA. Especially Stonewall.

My dad once told me about the first selfpropelled automobile he ever saw. He couldn’t remember exactly when but he was just a little kid who was born in 1910. The car amazed him and his numerous little brothers as the car chugged past their house on Goat Ridge Road in Leflore County, Oklahoma.

Last week was a busy week for many Allenites. It was the alumni week here in Allen and many former Allen grads were all about town for the big celebrations. Then last Saturday night I drove over to my old hometown of Stonewall for the alumni meeting over there.

I didn’t know that in order to leave one Baptist church and get into another (and keep your good standing) you had to walk down the would-be new church’s aisle, declare your intentions and instruct their church clerk to write your old church clerk a letter (on her own church’s stationery) and...

I know looks aren’t everything. At least that’s what mama tried to tell us when we were living hand to mouth over in Centrahoma. Things went pretty well when there was just immediate family around, but someone always came back.

For many of us the end of this pandemic is at hand. And I say, “Praise the Lord.” Being cooped up and suffering through one of the coldest winters in history has also been hard on us. I am a guy who loves getting out and seeing my fellow man.

May we always remember the long 17 days we just endured. It may not have been as entertaining as the winter of ’48 but so far it sure has my attention. It has been a time of something just getting worse. And yes it could have been worse. For many others it was. For me it started out on the 5 th .

Sitting in my cozy den, safe from the howling winds of this cold spell, Pat and I enjoyed watching the Grand Ole Opry’s celebration of its 95th celebration. It was good TV and to two octogenarians it made for many great memories. For me it went all the way back to the 1940s.

My old daredevil friend Bobby Newport of Stonewall could figure anything out — if he wanted to. Even in Ms.