NQ99HQ

Looking back, small things seem to mean a lot today.  Here's an example.  Our family had very little cash and so we did all of our wishful shopping in the evening when the stores were closed. It was called "window shopping". That way, we certainly were inspired regarding what we would like to buy, but we avoided the risk of making a foolish purchase, simply because all the stores were closed---except for one---the Planter Peanut  shop. The Planter Peanut man played an important role in our young lives.  Sure, we knew all the stores were closed, but we also knew that the Planter Peanut man would be open for business.   And, because we did not have the opportunity to buy big ticket items, we did have enough money to buy some peanuts---and so we did.  It made the day for us children. So, today, this is remembered far more than anything of greater purchases recalled.  Ask me why, I do not know, except its true. Every so often, we would go upscale ...

Cousin Harold is about 4 years older than I, and now lives so far away that meeting in person is hard to pull off.  So we talk on the phone every so often. Our conversation always focuses on the distant past, UFO's, or the history of atomic weapons development.  As children, we often visited each other's homes with our parents, but usually it was in the direction of his place, a farm of about 40 acres.  This 40 acre farmstead was in flat farming country in western Michigan, good for growing corn as we shall get into later. Going to the farm was always a fall event for some number of days as it was afforded by "teachers convention".  Harold's mother, my aunt, was a school teacher and teachers convention pulled her away for several days---that's when we visited the farm and ran wild. Harold tells the story of how  he and Art burrowed down in the sandy area behind the barn, making  a large cavern with a small entry hole over which they pulled a cover. ...

Went out and about the wilds for a walk and to hunt for arrowheads.  It was a nice day, sunny, about 65 degrees and rather quiet; no wind or other noise.  I did not find any arrowheads, but did find two spots on elevated areas that had a lot of debitage---flint knapping chips---but no arrow heads.  One doesn't usually find whole, complete arrowheads in the work area, just parts of arrowheads.  That's because in the making of arrowheads, there are a lot of failures and those that are broken while knapping  get discarded only for me to find hundreds of years later.  Must have been a good knapper in these areas scouted this day. Not long after starting out, I was standing on a spot and looked to my left and there it was, a big, mature skunk.  It had the most elegant tail I have ever seen on a skunk.  Had I had my .22, the tail might now be in the barn drying out.  But I didn't have my .22 with me, so it got to keep the elegant tail for another ...