The answer to this is that I miss my parents. There are some friends I have not seen or talked with in 74 years. It would be good to see them and “catch-up”.
Having had responsibilities since I was a small child and as an adult, I still have responsibilities even though they are different, I don’t miss earlier life-stage responsibilities.
School was almost always a good thing for me. Eighth grade is not even a memory. Martha Evans and I walked to school together and were best of friends. I ran into her at the hospital one of the times Daddy was hospitalized. We didn’t really have time to visit. It was wonderful to see her. She is about the only memory I have worth recording in regard to eighth grade.
As soon as we moved to Gordo, I began to LIVE. I had a job immediately that I enjoyed for four years. I was immediately in the band even though I had to learn to play the tenor saxophone. It was difficult and never fully mastered. BUT percussion... I enjoyed snare drum, base drum & cymbals. Although I was not proficient in them, it was rhythm & I liked that.
I dated several boys the four years in Gordo; most had the last name of Junkin. There was one Elmore boy and I guess he was related to Mama Junkin since her maiden name was Elmore. Most Junkin families were related someway and the same for all the Elmore families. I even dated Ralph Junkin before I dated his big brother and I have to say that he and I did not “date”, we just “went out” a couple of times.
The band trip to other schools, competition, one Jacksonville State homecoming game, the band marching in the inaugural parade the last time Big Jim Folsom was Governor. My high-light each week was the football game.
My job was a cashier on the grocery side of a store that also carried dry goods. At Christmas time, my boss would have me work on the dry-good side because I was a good sales person. After all, I had been raised in a store for years before I turned 14 and went to work at the Yellow Front Store. In those days, the cashier had to add the tax to the total in their head. Thankfully, back then, I could do it. We had NO computers, just a cash register. There were NO scanners and as I emptied the basket onto the counter, I punched in the amount and slid it a short distance and went on to the next item. When all had been punched in, I added the amount of tax, totaled it and got the money. If the counter filled and there was no ‘sack boy’ that day, I also sacked the groceries. On most Saturdays, everyone for miles around came to town and bought a BIG basket full of groceries. If folks wanted coffee ground or cheese or bologna cut, that was also on my duty list. If he was available, Mr. Buckalew would sack groceries, and do the other things when I was checking a customer out. It was hard, but it was FUN. After I got off work, at 7:00 p.m. until I was 16 and then 10:00 p.m. I could go to the midnight movie with a date but he had to walk me home straight from the movie. Most of the boys I dated didn’t have a car. Sometimes, he would have the family pick-up or car.
So what else do I miss about childhood? The MOVING. (Thomas & I moved about 20 times the first ten years of our marriage and then only to Good Hope after 40 years in one house) nm . Of course, I adapted well to changing schools. Maybe because I enjoyed school or maybe I just liked meeting new people. Each time we moved, it was an adventure. No matter how hard it was for my parents, they always did what they always did; unpacked, found a church, already knew something about the school and went to work. Life was always good and hard at the same time. I had my chores and didn’t mind that. When I cooked, Mother washed the dishes. We had a wringer washing machine and I either helped or did laundry. We always had a clothesline for hanging the clothes. Part of my tasks was bringing in the clothes and ironing. I STILL enjoy ironing.
That’s about all. Life, as already stated, was good. Great parents, big brother who sometimes was not good to me. Thankfully, he did change with maturation.
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