There was a time when November 11th was my favorite day of the year. More so than Christmas, more than Thanksgiving, even more than my birthday was November 11th – Veteran’s Day. Veteran’s Day was always a special day for me because my father, James E. Brewer, was a veteran who lost his life in WW II. My stepdad, Daddy George, was also a Veteran, serving in the Pacific with the U.S. … [Read more...]

Back in the 50’s, one of the staple toys in a kid’s arsenal was a gyroscope. The little round balls of metal wire could do amazing things. None of us knew how they worked, but if you pulled a string and sent the toy spinning round and round, it would dance on the floor for long periods. You could even position it on top of a pencil, and it wouldn’t fall off. There were numerous tricks you … [Read more...]

A Genuine Flexible Flyer It was on every child’s wish list for Christmas, or at least on those lists where a kid didn’t have one. It was a Flexible Flyer Sled and “Look out hills, here we come.” I think I was six when Santa squeezed a new sled down the chimney. That was quite a feat, considering we didn’t have a chimney, but somehow it showed up beneath the Christmas Tree that … [Read more...]

I was still 4 when we were transferred to Beckley, WV. Daddy worked in an office with two other FBI agents. His territory covered 4 counties and he often was gone for several days at a time, often to the home office in Pittsburg. As I would come to learn, a lot of the work that Special Agents for the FBI did was investigative. If a woman from one of his counties applied for a Federal job in … [Read more...]

A Remington 1100 .410 gauge semi-automatic   I have owned a lot of guns in my life. Beside the two starter single barrel shotguns, I have owned and shot a 12 gauge LC Smith Double, a 16 Gauge Fox Sterlingworth Double, a Browning Sweet 16 and multiple rifles and pistols. But my favorite gun of all time – which I still have – is my Remington Model 1100 .410 shotgun. I came across it … [Read more...]

A 410 Single Barrel Shotgun   The week after Daddy took me squirrel hunting with my newly gifted 12-gauge single barrel shotgun that kicked like a mule on steroids, I set out on my own one afternoon when school let out. I put a handful of 12-gauge, hi-power shells in my pocket and walked to the nearest patch of woods. Suddenlly, I saw a squirrel, and my pulse raced, and my arms … [Read more...]

A 12-gauge Single Barrel Shotgun   Daddy said I could go hunting with him when I was 13 and how I looked forward to that date. For years, I had watched in awe as Daddy came home from his hunts and emptied his coat of quail and rabbits. I sat beside him as he cleaned them and admired his skill in dressing his kill. Then, one day, he said that I may be able to go hunting sooner if I … [Read more...]

A Smith and Wesson 38 Special   I have been around guns – rifles, pistols, and shotguns – all my life and some stand out in my library of memories. The first one was a Smith and Wesson 38 Special. It was Daddy’s FBI pistol, and it was always either in his holster on his hip or on his dresser, and it was always loaded. Daddy always said that more people were killed with “unloaded” … [Read more...]