In 1983, my Dad gave me an English Setter puppy out of Walter, a great setter and family pet. We named him Hunter. But this was the skitziest dog I had ever seen. He was super-hyper and deathly afraid of the trash men who used to pick up our trash cans from the back deck. I thought he would be gun shy for sure and he was so wild when you let him go, I wondered if I would ever see him again if I … [Read more...]

Not many Boomers were able to avoid the scourge of hand-me-down’s – clothes and shoes passed down from older brothers or sisters, or from one family to another. Most Boomer parents were children of the depression, and recycling was a way of life, not a fashion statement. Moms were even known to cut off buttons from old shirts and coats, so you know they were eager for gently used clothing in good … [Read more...]

  It was a typical morning on the farm. The four farmhands, Glen Allen and Richard McClung, Ben Benjamin and I walked through the hen houses to feed, water and remove the young pullets that didn’t make it through the night. Next, we were off to the lower pastures to sink a few post holes. There was always something to do on  Houston Moore’s cattle farm in Lewisburg and this day would bring … [Read more...]

The modern generation is accustomed to innovation. In recent years, they have seen voice-activated television sets, we have cars that run on batteries, transplant surgeries that take less than an hour, drone delivered packages and a phone - small enough for a shirt pocket - that will take videos, guide travelers, spit out data like a water fountain and – yes – it’s a phone. For our generation, … [Read more...]

Boomers recall lots of childhood memories. Some good and some not so good. One of those not-so-good memories for me was when I got “chiggered.” I was spending a week at Grandma Brewer’s, in Clemmons, NC, an annual event soon after school let out. My father, who was killed in World War II, had 8 living brothers and sisters and I was often passed around from Brewer to Brewer as I visited. On … [Read more...]

  A Chapel Hill legend died in 2007 – The Rams Head Rathskeller, fondly referred to as “The Rat.” The Rathskeller was a 4,800 square foot restaurant located beneath Franklin Street, Carolina’s version of The Corner at UVA. To access The Rat, you walked down steep concrete stairs off Franklin Street through a place called Amber Alley. At the bottom, you waited and waited and waited. … [Read more...]

I spend about an hour a day in my car, more if I’m on a trip, and I always have the radio on. I pretty much ignore talk radio anymore – too depressing, so I listen to the oldies station or light rock. It’s background noise, mostly, something to occupy the time. But there was once a time when the radio not only made noise, it entertained us. Many Boomers recall the Golden Age of radio. I grew … [Read more...]

  Garner, North Carolina. How well I remember this special place on the outskirts of Raleigh. Today, Garner is a bustling city, a bedroom community of Raleigh, but in the 1950’s, it was a small, sleepy village with a country store, a couple Baptist churches and a post office. Each summer, I spent a week or two in Raleigh with my grandmother, Mama Ida – who pretty much spoiled me rotten. … [Read more...]

One of my very special places was a field of dreams I was 8 years old when my family moved across town in Beckley, WV. Daddy had bought a new house, a modest 2-bedroom, 1 bath Cape Cod with an attic and basement. I believe it cost $12,000. The house was fine, but I found myself in a new school system and living on a block entirely occupied by girls. I was devastated. Then, my life changed. … [Read more...]

  Special places. Special memories. For me, one such place was the West Virginia State Fair. My parents took me as a child. I later took my children and then my grandchildren. You never tire of a State Fair and West Virginia’s showcase in Fairleigh, WV was always special. In the summer of 1956, I was still getting used to small town life in Lewisburg, population 2,000, after moving … [Read more...]