Staying Within Budget

 

Staying Within Budget

There are many good reasons to save money or resources.  There are two main reasons why you should save money.

1.       Because you need to   

2.       Because you can

There is such thing as going over board: here are some examples from my years of growing up.  I’ve said before that my step father was so tight with money that he could squeeze the buffalo off of a nickel.  Before we moved to the Pacific NW we lived in the Rio Grande Valley part of Texas.

·       The Rio Grande Valley (RGV) or the Lower Rio Grande Valley, informally called The Valley, is an area located in the southernmost tip of South Texas. It lies along the northern bank of the Rio Grande, which separates Mexico from the United States.

·       The Rio Grande Valley is not a valley, but a floodplain containing many oxbow lakes or resacas formed from pinched-off meanders in earlier courses of the Rio Grande. Early 20th-century land developers, attempting to capitalize on unclaimed land, utilized the name "Magic Valley" to attract settlers and appeal to investors. The Rio Grande Valley is also called El Valle, the Spanish translation of "the valley", by those who live there. The residents of the Rio Grande Valley occasionally refer to the area as "El Magico Valle del Rio Grande" ("The Magical Valley of the Rio Grande"), and also simply by the initials R.G.V.

·       The region is made up of four counties: Starr County, Hidalgo County, Willacy County, and Cameron County. As of January 1, 2012, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population of the Rio Grande Valley at 1,305,782.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2008, 86 percent of Cameron County, 90 percent of Hidalgo County, 97 percent of Starr County, and 86 percent of Willacy County are Hispanic.

·       The largest city is Brownsville (Cameron County), followed by McAllen (Hidalgo County). Other major cities include Harlingen, Edinburg, Mission, Rio Grande City and Pharr.

Cost of Living 1956

·       How Much things cost in 1956
Yearly Inflation Rate USA 1.52%
Yearly Inflation Rate UK 4.7% 4.7%
Average Cost of new house $11.700.00 Average Monthly Rent $88.00 Average Yearly Wages $4.450.00 Cost of a gallon of Gas 22 cents Average Cost of a new car $2,050.00 Ground Coffee per LB 85 Cents

My family would go over the grocery (newspaper) ads, and actually drive between towns to buy the price leaders (the lowest priced items used to draw you into the store.  Grocery shopping used to take up to 6 hours and 40 miles for driving to get the best prices.  Try to remember that gasoline back then was a mere 22 cents per gallon (at that rate we would only spend about 66 cents on gasoline, at today’s gas costs you would spend almost $10).

Payday for my stepfather was every two weeks $120 take home per paycheck or approximately 81% of the average yearly Gross income. I am very proud of the old fella (he did very well for the times).  With the economic turmoil of 2008 the average national income for 2009 was $39,423.00.  Many young families struggled then and still do now to make 75% of the average yearly income.  Look for “Staying Within Budget.”  The best is yet to come…..

Halloween Stories 4

Something in the Dark (part II)

By Amber Morris (as told to SELINDA)

 

Halloween Stories series will be interesting and real stories as related to Selinda.  This post is an update to: Halloween Stories 3, posted October 11, 2013, http://www.being50.com/2013/10/halloween-stories-3.html

 

At 17 I had moved out of my parents’ house and was on my own.  The strange and creepy paranormal experiences my sister and I had endured as children in that house were in my past, and I suppressed them until they were almost forgotten.   A few years later, I was married and the mother of two small children.   My parents built a small home on their property.  It was next door to their house, but with enough distance that we had our own place and privacy.   There were plenty of acres with lots of trees on the land.  It seemed like an idyllic place to raise children and lots of space for my beautiful Labrador.  We moved in.   My husband started working late at night and I was often left alone with my kids.  Thankfully my dog kept me company.  

 

     One night, I heard whimpering outside my door.  "Come on girl.....come inside."  I opened the door and called her to my bedside.  She sat motionless outside my room.  "What's the matter?"  I noticed she never entered my room by herself.  I called and finally had to pull her in.  She laid on my bed as I stroked her soft fur.  Something captured her attention. She stared at my closet.  I shut the bedroom door and plopped on the bed. She continued to gaze at the closet door.   "What's the matter girl?"  

 

Then I heard it....a noise coming from outside my room.  The door slowly creaked and slowly started to open.  My husband walked in.  "Oh it's you," I sighed with relief.    "What's she looking at?"  My husband asked with curiosity.  "I don't know she's been staring at that corner for an hour."  We finally settled for bed and we were beginning to doze off when she got restless and started to whimper.  "I' need to get some sleep," my husband complained under his breath. He got up and put her outside.   

 

Sometime during the night, I awoke from a stinging pain on my right leg.  Something had scratched me.  At first I thought it was my lab.  Then I remembered, she wasn't in the room.  I got up and in the bathroom saw two red lines running down my thigh.  "What?" I couldn't explain the scratches.  I turned off the light and went back to bed.     It was late and I forced myself back to sleep. Later that night I felt a deep, heavy pressure on my chest.  I couldn't breathe. I started to gasp for air.  It felt as if I was being suffocated.  When I opened my eyes, I couldn't move.  My body was paralyzed.  Someone or something was holding me in place.  Then I heard it.......the sinister low creepy laugh, one I was all too familiar with from my childhood from the house right next door.  Ha ha ha ha ha ha aaa................followed by heavy breathing on my face.

I could only move my hand that was right by my husband and I started hitting him until he finally woke up.   He sat up startled.   I was finally able to breathe.  Whatever it was, released me from his grip.  I coughed and coughed and eventually caught my breath.  My husband was catatonic.  He stared at the corner of the room.  I turned in the direction he was looking.  We sat frozen in disbelief.  

 

There, next to the closet in the corner of our bedroom was an ominous figure.  Through the darkness of the room, we could see it, blacker than the night.  But what was it?  His red eyes pierced right at us.  

 

Then I remembered and I knew.   It was the same menacing dark evil figure that frightened my sister and I as kids.  It stared at me and tore the stillness of the night with a low guttural evil laugh................... as if to say "welcome back."

 

Our mind has a way of protecting us (itself) by purposely suppressing hurtful (painful) memories by keeping them in the deep recesses within.  The best is yet to come….

Halloween Stories 3

Halloween Stories 3

 

Something in the Dark

​

By Amber Morrison

(As told SELINDA)

                                                                                                                                                                           

Halloween Stories series will be interesting and real stories as related to Selinda.  This is the third in the series.

 

It all started when I was 12 years old.  I wasn't aware of the strange happenings right away but I remember when my parents moved my sister, brother and I into my grandparent’s old house, the hauntings began. Due to hardship and a series of unfortunate events at the time, we suddenly found ourselves homeless. Thankfully, my grandparents took us in.   At first, the sudden move seemed like an adventure.  The house sat on a sprawling 5 acres of land.  But deep inside myself, I knew there was something not right about my grandparent’s house.  It wasn't anything you could put your finger on.  The best way to describe It is "a feeling of dread."   I tried to dismiss it to the strangeness and uneasiness of my new surroundings. After all, this was an old house.   But eventually the feeling of dread and the thickness in the air became abundant.

 

As time went by, our mother started to act strange.  She had always been a loving mother to us and had a wonderful sense of humor and would often joke with us.  In the months since our move, she began to change.  She would unexpectedly fly off the handle over nothing.  It was like she was so angry all the time.  Instead of her usual loving self, she was always drained, sick or angry.  One time she went to visit my older sister in South Carolina.  She stayed with her for a few months.  As soon as she was away from the old house, she was back to normal.  She was herself again.  It was as if something in the house would influence her personality or possess her. 

 

One night my sister and I were laying on our bed in the dark.    It was very late and everyone in the house was asleep.  My mom had gone to stay with my older sister for a few weeks.  We whispered and confided our worries, our dreams, and our fears to one another.  "Mom is so different in this house." I told her.   "I know!"  She murmured. "She has changed......it's like she's another person."  We snuggled in bed and found refuge and comfort in each other's arms.   

 

Across the room a creak interrupted our conversation.  The bedroom door gradually opened.  A dark figure was standing in the doorway.   "Who is it?" I stammered.  There was no answer.  I couldn't make out any distinct features except for one, a set of menacing red eyes.   

 

They pierced through the darkness.  My sister and I stared in disbelief at the entrance.  Then, we heard it........ a very low creepy laugh.  My heart started to pound. Then without warning, the dark figure disappeared.  My sister and I stared for what seemed several seconds.  Finally, I got up.  We assumed it was our brother trying to mess with us.  We rushed to the doorway.  There was nothing there.  Our brother slept at the far end of the house.  I knew he couldn't have gone down the hallway without us hearing him.  I tiptoed to my brother's room as quickly as I could.  He was sound asleep.  Later in our room we tried to convince ourselves our eyes were playing tricks on us.  Secretly we knew that we both had seen something we couldn't explain.  Eventually we fell sleep.  After several minutes, I felt something sitting on my feet.  The pressure woke me up.   When I tried to move my feet, I couldn't.  I cried out and startled my sister awake.  She screamed and the sensation stopped.  "There was something dark sitting on your bed watching you!" 

 

I do not know what was sitting on my bed that night.  I never did find out.  I do know it was evil.  There were many paranormal events over the years in that house.  I am now grown with children of my own.  My parents later moved into a house they built on my grandparents land.  The hauntings continued. Be on the lookout for “Something in the Dark 2.”  The best is yet to come…..

 

Halloween Stories 2

Halloween Stories 2

 

THE EDGE OF DESPAIR (Conclusion)

As told to Selinda

 

Halloween Stories series will be interesting and real stories as related to the author Selinda.  This post is an update to: Halloween Stories, posted October 9, 2013, http://www.being50.com/2013/10/halloween-stories.html

 

I knew it was early evening.  But it looked like night had unexpectedly descended.  Any remnants of sunlight had completely vanished.  "Who are you?"  I managed to utter.  

 

He did not answer me. There was a pit in my stomach.  I could not make out any features from the dark shadow.  He raised an arm motioning me to come closer.  I was gripped with fear.  And yet, I couldn't scream, or move a muscle.  I reached for my gold medallion hanging from my neck.  My finger felt the imprint of Jesus Christ carved delicately in my precious heirloom that had been passed down from my grandmother.  She had given it to my mother and on my 15th birthday and as the oldest daughter, my mother had given it to me.   Frozen and paralyzed, I tried to recognize some facial features of this dark figure. But the oncoming storm had rendered an almost pitch black night. Only his eyes were a fiery red.  I kept staring. He stretched out his hand.  He knew my name and his low voice called me to him.  "Come closer," he said in a low voice.  I thought my heart was going to come out of my chest, it beat so hard.

 

Just then, lightning lit up the sky followed by a loud thunder.  It seemed to wake me from my trance.  Lightning struck again for a few seconds.  This time I got a good look at the mysterious figure.   Jutting out of his head were horns and his facial features resembled that of a goat.  His body appeared to have fur and his legs were strange and deformed.  The legs and feet looked as if they were from an animal.  I was in shock.  This was not a man.  My legs gave out and I fell weak to the ground on my knees.  I closed my eyes tight and placed the medallion in my mouth clenching it hard with my teeth.  I began to pray. I prayed and prayed.  I prayed the "Our Father" over and over without letting go of my medallion.  After what felt like a long time, the wind subsided and the dark clouds seemed to pass.  Suddenly there was light in the sky again.  I was still on my knees and somehow gathered the courage to slowly open my eyes.  I looked at the edge of the cliffs.  The dark menacing figure was gone.   It was dusk in the horizon. I quickly recovered and ran desperately through the dark woods all the way home.  Once in the front room, I ran to my father's arms.  The tears were still streaming from my face as I recounted what had happened to me.  To my dismay, no one believed me.  My sisters made fun of me, and my mother said I was being dramatic.  Everyone thought I had made up the story.  I pulled out my medallion and told them how I had bitten it several times with my teeth and prayed fervently for God's help.  Everyone suddenly stopped talking and stared.  My mom slowly approached and held the medallion in her hands.  Around it, were the many teeth marks I had permanently left on the medallion.

 

It has been many years since my grandmother's terrifying experience.  I know the story to be true because I now have her gold medallion and it still has evidence of her teeth marks when she clenched it in fear before the dark and sinister figure.  Look for other Halloween Stories to be posted as we near Halloween Day!  The best is yet to come…

Unaffordable Family Entertainment

Unaffordable Family Entertainment

Every stage in life comes with advantages and disadvantages.  When we consider the cost of living during the time that we were raising our children, everything was cheaper.  Wages were no different, they were also cheaper (lower).  Some of us always find a way to come out ahead, and the majority of us simply roll with the punches, and get by.  I learned early on that there are only so many hours in the day that can be traded on a basis of labor for money.  Once again I digress, this subject will be followed on a different future post.

I recently posted a picture of the Disneyland Castle on Facebook (titled “A people trap set by a mouse”), and it took me back to the many years my family has visited the famous resorts in Southern California.

Evolution of Disneyland Tickets

When the gates to Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955, visitors paid a mere $1 to get into the park. This fee, however, did not include attractions and rides. Those additional tickets, roughly $2.50 for eight attractions, could be purchased in books, with the prices depending on which attractions you wanted to attend. Those books ranged in classes from A to D. A few years later, an "E" class was added, which covered all of the big thrill rides. Those rides were later coined "E-ticket rides," a name that has stuck throughout the years. Disneyland officials abandoned the books in 1982 and began charging a single fare for each patron entering the park. The price included all rides and attractions, with the exception of the arcades and the Frontierland Shooting Gallery.

Present Day Ticket Prices

Ticket prices are set for adults (ten years and older) and children ages three to nine, while guests younger than age three are free. There are no special discounts for senior citizens or disabled persons. California Adventure theme park admission prices are the same as Disneyland's, and there are several types of tickets to choose from.

·       Single-Day Theme Park: A one-day trip to Disneyland, not including parking or admission to California Adventure, costs around $92 for adults and $86 for children.

·       One-Day Park Hopper: Admission into Disneyland and California Adventure costs about $137 for adults and $131 for children.

·       Two-Day Park Hopper: For around $175 for adults and $162 for children, you will receive a two-day admission for either Disneyland or California Adventure. For $35 more, you'll receive admission to both parks for use on two days. The ticket expires 13 days after its first use.

·       Southern California CityPass: For $319 for adults and $279 for children, you can buy a three-day admission to Disneyland theme park, California Adventure, and several other Southern California attractions, such as Universal Studios Hollywood, SeaWorld, and either the San Diego Zoo or San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park. You must use the ticket within two weeks.

·       Bonus Park Hopper Tickets: Three, four, and five-day park hopper bonus tickets are also available. These tickets include a "Magic Morning" early admission at one of the theme parks (to be decided upon at time of purchase), but only when they're ordered in advance.

I don’t mean to pick on the world’s favorite mouse, but because it is so popular, is becomes an easy target.  Sports events are also pricing themselves out of the typical family range.  My children grew up attending concerts (NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, etc.), and WWF Main Events, NFL Games and on. While prices were high back then, today’s prices are through the roof.  I refuse to get a second mortgage for a weekend’s outing.  The best is yet to come…..

Halloween Stories

Halloween Stories

 

THE EDGE OF DESPAIR

As told to Selinda

Halloween Stories series will be interesting and real stories as related to the author Selinda.

My grandmother Natalia Lizardi was born in Spain in 1901 and later moved to the States.  

The following is a true account of what happened to her when she was 16 years old.

The morning had elapsed into early afternoon.  My four younger sisters were happy and talking all at once because we were going into town. Our house was close to the woods, not far from the beautiful but treacherous cliffs of Spain.  As children, my parents had forbidden us to play close to the cliffs as they were very dangerous and several people over the years had fallen to their deaths. Our cozy home was less than couple of miles outside the nearest "Pueblo."  It was a good walking distance for my family.  But going into town meant going to market and possibly buying new shoes.   My sisters could hardly contain themselves. My baby sister Theresa pulled my hand and tried to coax me to go with them.  She didn't understand why I wanted to stay home.  I offered to stay behind and finish the house chores.  My parents reluctantly agreed. I secretly looked forward to having the house to myself. The bustle and excited chatter from my sisters faded as everyone left. The house was silent.  

As soon as they were out of earshot, I ran upstairs to write in my diary.  Writing stories and poems was my favorite pastime. As a 16 year old girl who shared a room with two of my sisters, moments of privacy were scarce and precious. Rays of orange sunlight shone from the window.   

 By late afternoon I was deep in thought, when in the distance I could hear faint music.  It was low at first and gradually seemed to get closer.  I sat still.  Then I heard my name.   Someone was calling me.  "Natalia.... come."  I didn't recognize the voice but it was coming from the woods.  

I looked outside the window.  I could hear strange music and my name, "Natalia, Natalia come here."  The music and the strange voice seemed to put me in a trancelike stupor.  I remember taking slow and deliberate steps down the stairs and out the door.  "Natalia." The voice beckoned me and I walked deeper and deeper into the woods.  A fierce wind had blown in from the ocean.  It picked up and swayed the tree branches back and forth in my path.  Above, the sky grew dark.  It looked more like night fall.  I knew I shouldn't be out at this time.  My parents would be returning soon.  Still, the voice kept calling my name.  It seemed to have a hold on me.  Dark clouds had rolled in and I kept walking toward the voice, until suddenly I found myself past the woods and at the edge of the cliffs.  I stopped.   The forbidden cliffs!  I remembered my parents warning.  Standing a few feet away from me was the outline of a tall dark shadow.   He was inches from the edge of the cliffs facing me.  Behind him, was the horizon and several hundred feet below were the rocks and the angry sea.  I could hear the waves crashing violently.  I knew it was early evening.  But it looked like night had unexpectedly descended.  Any remnants of sunlight had completely vanished.  "Who are you?"  I managed to utter.  

The conclusion of “The Edge of Despair,” will follow shortly, look for Halloween Stories 2 in the next posting.  The best is yet to come…

The Big Scam

Online Scams

There was a time when your local businesses would knock on your door to offer you a special price on service or product.  Most often the person knocking on your door was the owner him or herself or one of their immediate family members.  The explanation most often for the special discount offer, was that economic times were bad, and their service levels were dropping.  If you would agree to buy at the discounted price you would be helping their business survive the lean times while you and your family would benefit from their misfortune.

The above mentioned savings were such that you could actually see the value, not to mention trust the local vendor that you might actually recognize from church or community events.  However, with the advent of the world economy we are now bombarded with special offers and savings that may or may not be real.  My attitude for offers from across the country or world is that I will buy and take advantage of a special offer, if in fact I am actively searching for such product or service.  I don’t react to offers by mail or over the phone because more often than not the offer is simply a scam to part you with your hard earned money.  I don’t mind admitting that I would rather pay as much a 20% or more to buy locally, and where possible American Made.

• Most of you have received an email from a member of a Nigerian family with wealth. It is a desperate cry for help in getting a very large sum of money out of the country. A common variation is a woman in Africa who claimed that her husband had died, and that she wanted to leave millions of dollars of his estate to a good church.
  
  In every variation, the scammer is promising obscenely large payments for small unskilled tasks. This scam, like most scams, is too good to be true. Yet people still fall for this money transfer con game.
  
  They will use your emotions and willingness to help against you. They will promise you a large cut of their business or family fortune. All you are asked to do is cover the endless “legal” and other “fees” that must be paid to the people that can release the scammer’s money.
  
  The more you are willing to pay, the more they will try to suck out of your wallet. You will never see any of the promised money, because there isn’t any. And the worst thing is, this scam is not even new; its variant dates back to 1920s when it was known as 'The Spanish Prisoner' con.

 

Imagine how very powerful email would be as a means of buying and selling products and services, but because of the morons that sit around thinking of ways to make a living without working, email is all but useless.  95% of all my emails are discarded as spam through the security setting that I apply to my email account.  I may be missing out on some very good opportunities, but it’s a chance that I am willing to take.  Even when you recognize the sender of an email, there is no guarantee that the sender hasn’t been hacked.  Remember, know who you are dealing with, not only the name but their style of doing business; if their request of you doesn’t sound like the business you are familiar with, pick up the phone and call them. 

Once a criminal infects your computer or steals your identity, you are looking at untold amounts of headaches and dollars to recover, if you ever do.  Always remember that there is no free lunch, unless I use my skills are brains to earn something, no one is going to give me a dime without effort or transfer of assets in exchange.  I wish life was more like the innocent times we grew up in, where a person’s word or a handshake was their bond.  In today’s digital technology world, even what you see isn’t always what you get.  The best is yet to come…

Last Cab Ride

Last Cab Ride

 

I was raised to respect my elders; no one said I had to appreciate them, but with respect, appreciation often follows.  I have spent a life time helping the elderly and less fortunate people than myself.  I found this article but couldn’t locate the author, but just the same I thought it was worth sharing.  At the end of the article we are asked to share and I am doing it by way of this posting.  I know that if you take a moment to reflect, you can think of at least one person you know that this instance might apply to.  Enjoy the posting and pass it one if you get a chance.

Last Cab Ride

I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked.. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase.

The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils
on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said.
I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.

She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her.. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.'

'Oh, you're such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave
me an address and then asked, 'Could you drive through downtown?'

'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly..
'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice.

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued in a soft voice..' The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me
the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.

We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that
had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and
would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired. Let's go now'.

We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building,
like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were
solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to
the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

'How much do I owe you?' She asked, reaching into her purse.

'Nothing,' I said

'You have to make a living,' she answered.

'There are other passengers,' I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.

'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said. 'Thank you.'

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning
light.. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life..

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove
aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What
if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.

We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.

But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU
SAID ~BUT~THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.

If you have read to this point, you won't have to be asked to pass it along
you just will...Thank you, my friend!  The best is yet to come….

Remembering Good and Bad

1957 Ford Failrlane Skyliner Hard Top Convertible

I’ve often been known to say that when we think of days gone by, we always think of the good things, and have a tendency to conveniently forget the negatives.  Most people call that tendency human nature.  I have a type of personality that focuses on the positive, not that I have a non-eventful life or perfect life, I just feel that life is way too short to constantly highlight the negative.

Today, I was having an untypical day and catching up with national and world news, and I caught myself thinking about how those types of crimes (kidnappings, rapes, stabbings, etc.) were almost non-existent when I was growing up.  So I decided to think about my life back then to see if I could identify, an occurrence where that type of crime might have entered into my life.

When my step brother turned 21 his beautiful wife of two years wasn’t old enough to go with him to a party that his friends were throwing for him to celebrate the legal age of drinking.  At first she was very upset that he would go and party with his friends, without her by his side.  He eventually convinced her over the course of a week that all they would be doing is shooting pool at the local tavern in town (the town population then was 3,250).  By quoting the population numbers, I am making the point that the town is very small, and everybody knows everyone, and he would definitely be in his best behavior.

Somehow I got dragged into it, and unlike in today’s times where a young wife might say, well if you are going out with the guys, I am going out with the girls.  My sister-in-law’s solution was to take me out to dinner, and a movie.  I was all of 14 years old, and I really felt it was more of an imposition on me than anything else.  I really felt that I was basically babysitting, although I was the young one.  My sister-in-law wanted a nice dinner, so I was treated to a very nice new dress shirt, tie and dress slacks.  We traveled 45 minutes to the big city (in their pride and joy, a 1957 Ford Fairlane Hard Top Convertible.  The trunk opened up and the whole hard top would mechanically drop into the trunk, and the trunk would automatically close), we ate dinner at a fancy restaurant, and went to see Elvis Presley’s Blue Hawaii (I will never forget the movie because as it happened my sister-in-law and I were equally lifelong fans of everything Elvis Presley did).

After the movie, we got in the Ford Fairlane, and decided to take a slow drive through the main drag of the big city.  My sister-in-law being young, and proud of her Ford responded as expected when challenged at a traffic light and totally embarrassed the driver and the two passengers of a 1958 Chevrolet Bel Air.  We tried to lose them as we made our way to the open road that would take us back home, but they kept tailing us.  I don’t know if they were trying to get even for being embarrassed or if they took a liking to my beautiful driver, but they wouldn’t give up. 

Even though, once out of town we noticed their headlights kept getting smaller as we put distance between us, they were still following us.  With hardly any traffic in either direction, my sister-in-law decided that it wasn’t safe to have this morons follow us all the way to our town, so she came up with a plan.  Since we had close to a half mile distance between us, she planned to pull to the side of the road and get the 30/30 Winchester out of the trunk and aim it at them as they approached.  I argued my case and stood my ground (call it Machismo if you want), I insisted that she should pull over as planned get out of the car and into the field bordering the road, while I stood next to and to the rear of the car, while holding the 30/30 as they drove (hopefully) by.  As it turned out they put on their high beam lights, as they neared and when they made out the figure of someone holding up a rifle, they floored it and passed right on by.

Please understand that I wasn’t playing John Wayne or Robert Mitchum, but was in fact scared to death (scared enough, however, to open fire if I had to).  On the rest of the way home, we took some side roads that eventually got us home without running into the morons that would either be returning to their city (assuming that they were from the big city), or waiting for us in ambush up the road a ways.  We discussed how we had some excitement to top the night off, but pinky swore not tell anyone about the close encounter with the morons, that may have had evil plans for us.  My step brother and his wife are still happily married in their golden years and as far as I know we still have a secret in common.  As I think about it I can’t help but understand that evil and other crimes have always been around us, we have simply lived blessed lives. The best is yet to come…

Frightened to Death

Dia de Los Muertos (Mexican Holiday)

 

• Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in other cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico, where it is a national holiday, and all banks are closed. The celebration takes place on November 1 and 2, in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts. They also leave possessions of the deceased.

I have selected this time as appropriate to tell our family story about how my maternal grandfather died (due to the proximity of the Mexican Holiday “Dia De Muertos.”). I have repeatedly said that I don’t believe in the supernatural nor do I disbelieve.  I have had enough questionable encounters to be cautious when alone in the dark or in an abandoned property or similar place.  Not afraid just careful, and respectful.  For the most part I heard this story told directly by my maternal grandmother, however, some very important facts were purposely left out in the version of the story she told. My mother’s older brother told me the portion of the story that my grandmother left out.

My grandmother and grandfather were married when she was 14 years old, they went on to have two sets of twins, and a total of 12 children all together.  Except for the two sets of twins considering that it was the early part of the century (early 1900) ten births in a marriage were not all that unusual.  Large families in the early 1900 hundreds were the rule not the exception.  My grandparents lived in a small fishing community (almost without exception everyone on the island was dependent on the fishing industry for their livelihood.  My maternal and paternal grandfathers were amongst the first entrepreneurs in the family that I know of.  My whole family has had a lengthy and successful association with entrepreneurship, I’ve never had any doubt as to where we got it from.

My maternal grandfather accumulated a number of commercial vessels, and hired men to go out to sea and bring their catch to market on his behalf.  He was relatively successful and various families depended on his efforts for their very own survival.  My grandfather was a strong, healthy, and clean living kind of man who loved his family above all else.  I’d like to think that like me my grandfather had no commitment one way or the other to the tales of the supernatural.  Almost without exception everyone that worked for him had a healthy respect for the supernatural tales that were common amongst the fisherman.

When you deal with Mother Nature (as fisherman did and still do) especially in a time when science in everyday life was all but non-existent.  Folklore takes the place of science when things are hard to explain or make sense of.  As an example; weather forecasting, was dealt with by the amount of soreness in the body’s joints, or simply by looking for dark clouds in the horizon, another method closer to scientific was to observe the behavior of the animals (birds migrating or the fur coat on goats or donkeys).

The more experienced fisherman such as my grandfather almost always had a great experience because of the many years of doing the same thing and knowing where to set up for the catch.  They always prepared for the worst and hoped for the best.  Taking more supplies than they needed was one way to be prepared.  Plenty of food and drinking water, fuel for the fleet, extra mechanical parts for the infrequent required repairs.  Materials and tools to repair the fishing nets.  I understand that my grandfather never left anything to chance.  The men that worked with my grandfather always felt safe on his crew even with the unpredictability of the weather.

On the one occasion that would be the cause of my grandfather’s demise, they had set up their nets for the trip near an island that was supposedly inhabited by bad spirits (haunted); not believing but still being cautious all fishermen knew not to set foot on the island but keep a safe distance.  My grandfather had never seen anything to cause him concern, but was respectfully maintaining the vessel at the required distance from shore.

The length of this post requires that I submitted it in at least two parts.  Please stay tuned for part two coming very soon; Frightened to Death 2.  The best is yet to come….