Sisters

Three Smith sisters.Left to right Lema,Ada(my Mom)and Pauline.My Cousin Doris sent this the other day.It was the first time I had seen it.Doris said it looks like it was taken at Memorial day at the old school house at Bethel some years ago.Doris made the comment it must have been back during the days when big glasses where the fashion.

Dots and dashes

Back when I was a young man around 1975 before pc's and cell phones the number one hobby was amateur radio or as some call it ham radio.Number one to me anyway.A few years earlier I was introduced to it at what was called Troup Tech then.Going through a two year course in Electronic Technology one of the instructors was a ham and the school had a radio and tri bander on the roof.I was hooked from the start.Listening to those chirpping and beeping signals and voices from around the world really made an influence on me.All my free time was spent studying morse code.It got to the point I was even hearing dots and dashes in my sleep.1975 I took my novice test and in the mail received my callsign of wn4pfg.The N meaning I was an novice with limted bands and other restrictions.I loved the hobby and spent hours on the radio makings friends around the world using international morse code that hams used.Later before the novice license expired I took my general class test in Atlanta at the field engineers office.I passed and was assigned the callsign of wa4pfg which I still hold till this day. 37 years now I have been hamming.Now I'm called an old timer.Still even though I'm not very active on the radio the passion for those dots and dashes still is in my blood.

Old red truck

One of these days I am going to write about Daddy's old truck.I have pictures and will add them to the story.

1984 Ford F150 it was called an Explorer back then.Red with a silver top.Georgia Bulldog colors.Silver stripe down the side.

It was the only new vehicle he ever bought.His retirement truck he called it.He had this thing about money.He liked spending it and Momma didn't.Many a time he would tell me no need for your Momma to know how much this cost.Best I can remember she did not say anything about his new truck.

When he died in 1992 the truck only had 27,000 miles on it.He only drove it to work.Maybe to Macon a few times or the big farmers market in Atlanta.

The first time it was washed I did it.Leave it with me Daddy I will wash it.He fell for it. I just wanted to drive around a bit in his new truck.

This is true.Every time I drove the truck to Alabama something would happen to it.Once it caught on fire with me.Leaves down in the cowl of the truck burst into flames.Made it home but it would not crank so had it pulled in.Water pump went out on one trip.Transmission on another trip.Brakes went out after leaving Roanoke.

Someone said maybe the ole truck was trying to keep me in Alabama.

The day Momma died at hospice I was leaving and the old truck refused to crank same on the day of her funeral,would not crank.

Might have been it's way of mourning.

I wrecked the truck twice.First time it was totaled by insurance company.I told them I wanted the truck fixed and they did.

I had it painted solid red and talk about pretty that old truck turned heads.More than once a pretty woman would come up to me and say nice truck !

After the second wreck which by the way none my fault the old truck never did drive quite right but that was ok.It was Daddy's and that was all that mattered.

Oh I almost forgot the moral of the story.

What ever happened to me when driving that old truck it always got me home.Kinda like Daddy and the old truck where watching out for me.

That is what I like to think anyway.