MY FIRST ROCKET....WASN'T REALLY....A ROCKET

 

Go with me into the

  long ago dim pages

   of early U.S. times..

--------

WWII had just ended.

We grade school kids

had helped win it by

gathering scrap metal,

building P51 airplane 

models, and digging 

foxholes  on vacant

neighborhood lots.

We, at our house, every

morning while eating

our scrambled eggs...

or oatmeal and toast,

listened every 

morning  to KICA   before school.

 It was the time

of all the fighting in Europe

and the B-17 raids, like

the actor Jimmy Stewart

flew.

It was the time of great

songs-- "There'll be blue

birds over the White Cliffs

of Dover," and "We'll meet

again...don't know where,

don't know when...but I 

know we'll meet again 

some sunny day."

The old Poet can still 

sing 'em -all of 'em to

you...80 years later.

(So ...when did you 

"get a ROCKET?")

Interesting story--that.

Right  after the war  ended

and the boys were 

coming  home- I reckon

spring of '46' --we still

listened to KICA, every

morning.

The  station

had added a chit chat

program, with local news,

weather, and

right at the end of the

program  they had a 

daily JOKE-TELLING 

contest. You mailed your

favorite joke to KICA,

and if they read it-

you got an award! Kids

ate this up, big time.

I entered with  a

WWII joke about Adolf,

the Nazi guy,  my grand-

dad had told me...but I

didn't catch it    at all...

until he explained it. I

guess you could call it--

a sort of old-timey joke.

("Why didn't Hitler have

anything to carry his 

clothes in?" "Because 

he lost his grip in Russia.")

I never thought it was 

very funny but sent it

in anyway.. AND WON!

Got a letter saying "pick

up your award at 

Western Auto, near the

Hotel Clovis, on Main Street."

IT WAS A 

ROCKET.

Not the kind you're

thinking! That goes into

space! No sir:

    It was a "Reynold's

    Rocket," one of the

    new Ball Point Pens!

It was sky blue, maybe 

six inches long and with

a silver pocket clip...but

was really too long to 

carry in a shirt pocket.

It came in a round

plastic tube, with some

paper of 

instructions

the ink was blue

and balled up on the end

of the pen. 

I proudly showed the 

clerk my winning letter

and he nodded toward

a counter halfway back

in the store ...it had

those little glass dividers

and all kids of "notions."

That store is long-gone,

but I could take you right

to that counter today,

from memory, and pick

up a Reynold's even 

now...fork you see--

kids in those times didn't

have much stuff  or 

ever win anything.

A great thing had been

introduced to the world

with the ball point pen.

As time went along, the

points were improved

and the ink doesn’t  "ball up".

The CROSS Company,

one of the greats, has

provided the world with

the finest of pens.

Where my first ticket 

went ...who can tell...

wish I'd kept it.

------

MIL

16 FEBRUARY 2021

LESSONS FROM NATURE

 

Lessons from Nature

by Billy Gilbreath, Guest Writer

                                From Acorns

Alive, growing and still standing strong in the elements

Quercus texana, the famous live oak, the sturdy one

Unlike, others, its liveliness is always present by color

 leaves, tough, the branches seem sturdy and strong.

Those roots must be embedded and giving support

                                   That Daring Finch

Swinging on the feeder, a sock like, filled with seeds

Even the wind, doesn’t prevent its desire to succeed

Though the rewards seem small, the effort is present

Below those present pecking and gulping the obvious

The large grains, the broken ones and those falling

Falling from those above who continue with struggle.

                                       Others About

Awaiting without patience and without an invitation.

Those who become warriors and rush to interrupt

Taking, fighting, scaring away those who struggle.

Soon to leave, leaving the hidden for those returning

Grackles, Surely they must ha have an ecological purpose

 

                                      Prairie Dogs

Still around and still giving a lesson to be learned

Working together to warn of danger, signals

Below the surface with so much organization within

Returning to the openings with moments of clearance

Sharing their abodes with one of a different specie

Yet, suffering to survive the interruption of progress.

                                      Lessons

WE  find a lesson in each of these perhaps not obvious

A challenge for all as you considers and contemplate

Surely, Nature presents a lesson often not seen.

Ponder,  as those of old and even receive a lesson.

Billy Gilbreath

Fo rMIL'S January 16, 2021

DONCHA KNOW

DONCHA KNOW

by Billy Gilbreath, Guest Writer

Doncha Know

Doncha know that running in the hall is wrong

She caught me the next day, I was running again

 Mabel White, the mean one, caught me easily

Hiding nearby as a hunter would await its prey

                          Gotcha

Doncha know that that sign in black and white

Plainly stated clearly slow down to thirty-five

A black and white vehicle with a turning red light

Doncha know that there aren’t legitimate excuses

                            Gotcha

Doncha know eating those garden-fresh carrots

Will improve your ability to see those road signs

Need proof, read about the English and the Germans

Seems the Germans were convinced of the belief.

                              Gotcha

Doncha know that handling toads cause warts

Grandma and Grandpa both gave me warning

Got wart but perhaps not from touching a toad

Not a gotcha this time but sure others in time

                               Gotcha

Doncha know the song His Eye Is on the Sparrow

Sung for years and believed by those who sang

Is one we can sing today because in His Word

Matthew 6:26 reveals the caring of the birds

Are you not better than they?  Gotcha Again

                              I Hope Not.

Billy Gilbreath

After my discussion with Joey

FOR MIL'S: January 18, 2021

TEXAS ON NEW YEARS...MUSING IN THE ATTIC

 

The grandest PLACES in the world

for storing your stuff (i.e. "junk")
is in attics!  

I do my best  musing upstairs
in my nice cozy medium-sized pine
wood, much-loved room.   you know-
you have read about it many times in earlier
years ...and likely you can describe that
wonderful place     as well as I ...with
     the sturdy GI 3/4 sturdy steel bed ,

old fashioned quilts, 
faded and stacked neatly in a
straw-bottomed kitchen chair in the
corner, the six- foot rough pine bookshelf

hammered together by me      with the 
 beat-up USMC Ka-Bar 

                  rakishly sticking into one end of the shelf. 

Shall I go on ...fishing poles, minnow
bucket, hip-waders, duck decoys, old
hunting jacket (faded to light mustard)
Ah, and barely holding together is a
box of 12's ...high base...green heavies,
in  a historical (beautiful ) old shotgun 
shell box....marked "Ft. Sam Houston,
Texas Commissary 1946 @ $1.49.”

There are memories galore, flavor and

                  personality in old attics,

not to even mention the marvelous 
aroma of   OLD BOOKS!

They say, no self-respecting attic is
complete without an airplane
propeller and a seamstress dummy. 
Someone gifted me these. I don't 
sew.

Resting here  in front of  me on my 
garage-sale table with the
old office Avanti fridge, the tiny
microwave and the coffee pot---
is my usual can of Beanie Weeneies,
my Delaware PUnch from old 
Mexico, and  a sack of Fritos....for
when I get  "meditated out"

(I won't bore you this time with all
my great SNACKS over there in the
shelf..  for my esapes ...up here...
Like the sardines in mustard sauce...)

Oft up here ...as the wind whistles...
and the snow blows  and whips the 
branch outside, against the shutters...
I get out all my old high school and 
college annuals    and look through
them all     remembering those who 
are gone....many recently ...and calling
their names out loud ...in remembrance....
of our times together.

Sometimes I end up with an old Mark
Twain or Wordsworth book curled up in
my GI Bed, under several quilts...and
B.E climbs up the stairs and sticks  her
head in the door and calls:
          "You okay up here?"
-------
But  on this early January Day in dreaded
2021 somehow I got to thinking/
    "How lucky I am to be an American...
and especially  TO BE A TEXAN!!!!!

No one can ever take that away from 
you...if you are a real borned -Texan!

Why I even own a piece of land where
the sand blows, and the cotton  grows, 
the watermelons flourish, and the grape
arbors  are loaded with purple grapes.m

I opened my Beanie Weenies and joy!
Found that B.E. knew of my New Year's
climb, and had stashed a bowl
of chili con queso    in my little fridge.

Ah, portents, harbingers... omens
     of a    GOOD  2021??  Hope so!
---------
MIL
5  JANUARY 2021






...






misxrowave,

CHRIST IS THE LORD! O PRAISE HIS NAME FOREVER!

This great phrase from "Cantique de Noel " ever

thrills and inspires us mortals on this Earth!

O Holy Night, the stars are 

   brightly shining,

It is the night of our dear 

   Saviour's birth!

Long lay the world in sin

  and error pining

'Til He appeared

And the soul felt its worth!

A thrill of hope, the weary

World rejoices, for yonder breaks

A new and glorious morn,

Fall on your knees, O hear the angel

Voices,

O Night, divine, O night when Christ

Was born,

O Night, O Holy night

O Night Divine. 

Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains shall he break for the slave is our

brother, 

And in His name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus

raise we,

Let all within us praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord!  O praise His Name

forever,

His power and glory evermore proclaim,

His power and glory evermore proclaim!

THAT UNINVITED GUEST

 

That Uninvited Guest

Often in the years that come and go

There will appear the unwanted visitor

News arriving by the sound of the phone

At an unexpected time, early morning

Relating with anxiety, he or she is gone

Headlines in the morning paper, boldly

An event that has carried world-wide

A knock on the front door and standing

Asking for help in finding a lost animal

Now comes the ultimate of the unwanted

Strangely shaped and, unseen without help 

Revealing oddly, colored covered with spikes

Such a small, lifeless but such capabilities.

Visited worldwide, and those isolated

Entering the masses without invitation

Causing the earth to become incapacitated

 That uninvited guest we know as COVID-19.

Fortunately, today slamming the door begins

Scientist have discovered a method of slamming

Preventing the unwanted guest: Vaccination.

Billy Gilbreath

December 4, 2020

 

LAYING IT BY in 2020

LAYING IT BY IN 2020

by Billy Gilbreath, guest writer

 Laying It BY  In 2020 

From a phrase from farmers of the past         

Some will remember, my Grandpa would

Times of ploughing, to prepare the soil

Making those rows perfect for the seed

Ploughing, sowing, waiting and watching

Sounds like this year and eager to end

Ploughing through the many months

Starting early, the political debates

Then the endless pleas for my vote 

My mute, channel changers got tired

Facebook also many wanting to rest

Suddenly the arrival of the pandemic

Ploughing again through many months

Reluctant to watch or read the paper

Those who are positive and those deceased

Anxiously awaiting the promise of a cure

The news is arriving and the seed sown

Is germinating with the promise, a vaccine

Now as the days of my farmer Grandpa

Laying it by for this lengthy unusual year

Ploughing, soil preparation, sowing the seed 

Waiting and Watching patiently Praying always

Could this be a lesson from the one of old?

Ploughing, Sowing, Waiting, Watching Praying

Me thinks it is a good way to start, 2021.

Me thinks that my sweet Annalon, agrees.

Sow with a view to righteousness, 

Reap in accordance with kindness,

Break up your fallow ground,

For it is time to seek the Lord

Until He comes to rain righteousness on you,

                        Hosea 10:12

Our Thoughts and Blessings from Annalon & Billy