Thursday, December 17, 2015

THAT MOST WONDERFUL BOYHOOD COIN



  It was the most magnificent and beautiful coin in the world
  to me, a little boy aged five, in 1939 !! You might say it was the
  most miraculous thing I had ever seen. It had power!

  Why if you could just get possession of one, you could buy
  all kinds of sweets with it down at the candy store! You could 
  even get five cent potato chips, Planter's peanuts, and Tom's
  four crackers with peanut butter.

  Right north of the Clovis State Theater, was a little greasy 
  spoon that sold hamburgers for five cents....even if they came 
  with only small meat, smear of mustard, catsup, and small piece 
  of dill pickle.

  The Red-and-White Store, at about 521 West Grand in old Clovis
   had all kinds of nickel candy in its display case---Hersheys,
   Snickers, Baby Ruths, Black Cows, Paydays, Bit O' Honeys,
   O Henrys, Heath bars, packages of red hots or licorice....

   Mounds and Almond Joys (with coconut) were TWO  nickels
   as well as "plumgranites," which were sold only at the little store 
   across Thornton Street from La Casita School.

   A nickel would also buy us a soda pop...and we leaned toward
   (at that tender age) BARQ'S BIG ORANGE or their ROOT BEER;
   Delaware Punches with grape flavor and no FIZZ--- grapes, limes,
   and we rarely tested out those too-strong little 6 1/2 ounce Coca
   Colas in the fascinatingly-shaped light green bottles.

   As we little kids reached six, seven, eight...Pepsi Cola became a 
   favorite...they even had a jingle on the radio: 

        Pepsi Cola hits the spot
        Twelve full ounces, that's  a lot!
        Twice as much for nickel too,
         Pepsi Cola is the drink for you...
         Nickel, nickel, nickel
         Rubi-dot dot ta...!"

    We succumbed to advertising, and any time we could put 
    together TWO nickels we would buy a Pepsi and peanuts...
    and what else---pour the little sack of peanuts into the 
    Pepsi!  Its main drawback was that it was TOO much
    drink at twelve ounces---for little kids!

    As we got older and mowed lawns for a hot hour in the
    100 degree summertime, we amassed some change in 
    our pockets @ fifty cents a lawn...and had a few Mercury
    dimes and maybe a Walking Liberty half dollar, along with 
    our buffaloes, jingling in our pockets, for a movie and 
    popcorn, or a Gene Autry funny book. Now and then a 
    ten cent WWII SAVINGS STAMP.

    Those were splendid times, though hard on the nation,
     and even little boys....but it was a great country, a great
     time to come on the planet...and who CAN EVER FORGET
     THAT MOST BEAUTIFUL AND LOVED COIN OF ALL---

      THE "BUFFALO NICKEL ?"   I WON'T....NOT EVER....
      *********************
       BY MIL
       CHRISTMAS SEASON 2015

















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