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By chance I recently came across an interview of a man who left this dimension three days after Christmas 2005. The interview was conducted in 1996 by a graduate student to fulfill a college requirement to contrast differences, positive and negative, from the World War II generation to his own; the two being separated by two generations. The man who was the focus of this life history project was born within a scant 13 years after the inventions of airplane and automobile. His lifetime represented the largest technology leap including all of the recorded history that preceded him. One can only imagine what will occur over the younger man’s span on Earth. Not every change was or will be beneficial. We optimistic humans always perceive a rosy future; but are blind to possible negative outcomes. For instance, I saw a pictorial display from the 1939 World’s Fair predicting a gleaming, pristine city of the future. What the prognosticators missed was what happens underneath; i.e., pollution, graffiti, mutating diseases, bankrupt economies resulting in the likes of Detroit; and worst of all, the decline of morals and the polarization of people. What else would you call the need for bars on storefronts, and urban streets littered with trash? The latter is a symptom of a society that has no pride of ownership. The phenomenon is not limited to urban areas; e.g., I watched students at a high school in an affluent neighborhood routinely throw litter on hallway floors rather than use nearby trash bins. When I asked why, the answer was to provide job security for custodians. I prefer to call it condescension and laziness. My generation fits between the two principals of this essay, and so far during my era I’ve noticed many beneficial advances, but also others that are questionable. The former are legion and I will not attempt to list them here since we mainly know what they are: man-on-the-moon, Hubble telescope, internet, glow-in-the-dark condoms, yada, yada. Those I consider questionable are also many, but I’ll mention only two, viz.: 1) Neighborhoods of my youth contained all walks of people from different backgrounds and economic stations; however, neighborhoods of today are economic ghettos many featuring Nazi-type bureaucratic associations for oversight. Today diversity is preached; but then diversity was reality. 2) We blather so much about the environment and green this-and-that; but consume enough utilities to run small towns of yesteryear. For example, we throw wet clothes into a dryer (electric or gas) instead of hanging them outside to be dried by wind and sun. I do not question the convenience, only our so-called eco-commitment. What do you want to bet if I installed clotheslines in my backyard that I’d receive a threatening WTF letter from my homeowners’ association? …some highlights from THE INTERVIEW I refer to the interviewer as Kahuna and the interviewee as Fuzz because those were their nicknames as boys. KAHUNA: What made you the person you are? FUZZ: A number of pastors, people who mentored me in my engineering career, friends that always stood by me, and my family. Without the help and support of all I would have remained a laborer all my life. KAHUNA: Were you named for anyone? FUZZ: My middle name was my father’s first name. That used to be a tradition in many societies worldwide, and still is in Arab countries. I gave my eldest son my father’s full name. Another thing, childbirth was usually in the home and so were funerals. My parents were hard-working, Christian people; and my father was one of the most respected men in the community. He was a true entrepreneur owning one restaurant and half of two others. He also raised and sold Capon roosters. I have two brothers and a sister, all younger, and we’re all very close. KAHUNA: How about grandparents? FUZZ: On the paternal side, my grandmother died the year before I was born, and my grandfather passed away when I was 13, which was just about a year before my own father died. On the maternal side, my grandmother was a bit severe and standoffish, but my grandfather and I were very close. He was my buddy. Poor guy had full use of one arm only and limped quite a bit, the result of breaking horses bucking bronco style. His name was Karl, also my youngest brother’s middle name, but everyone called him Charlie. KAHUNA: When you got out of hand, what was the form of punishment? FUZZ: A nice, green switch across the backside, which I felt many times the result of swimming in a creek or river, which was forbidden. Of course, there were many other times I didn’t get caught. I remember another time when I got it for smoking when I was 12 except the punishment was not for smoking per se, but for lying about it. KAHUNA: Did you have specific jobs at home? FUZZ: Mainly I had to carry in the water and wood as needed. Homes didn’t have running water (or toilets) inside. People dug wells on their property and installed outdoor pumps. Wood was for a Benjamin Franklin style furnace in the living room and for my mother’s wood-burning stove in the kitchen. Bedrooms, being far away from the heat source, were piled thick with comforters. There was a reason for those pictures of people wearing nightcaps in winter. Summers were mosquito-laden and sweltering. KAHUNA: Any other memories from childhood? FUZZ: We were taught that it was important to attend church, protect our good name, to be honest and have integrity, and always live up to commitments. There was nothing worse than being called a thief. Today, urban thugs brag about being thieves, and white-collar crooks are admired—until they get caught. About the only serious childhood illness I had was measles, and I was most frightened when a tornado came through our town and tore up the place. After that I got nervous every time we experienced an electrical or wind storm. Typical boy games were hide-and-seek, zippy, and cowboys and Indians. Probably wouldn’t be politically correct these days. Another clear memory I have was the day my father died. He was only 41, and I was in the eighth grade. KAHUNA: Did you have many toys? FUZZ: Toys were rare, but I did have a wagon and a sled. It was a far cry from the cornucopia of “stuff” children have today. I read quite a bit. My favorite was Robin Hood because I could fantasize about adventures in Sherwood Forest. Once I got some roller skates; the old clip-on-your-shoes, steel-wheel kind. Several friends and I skated to the next village and back, a round trip of 22 miles. KAHUNA: How about other favorite things and times as you grew up? FUZZ: Many. My favorite clothes were my first long pants suit because I was tired of knickers and knee socks. I loved my mother’s chicken and apple cream pie. Later my wife pried the pie recipe from Mom. It wasn’t easy. As far as music, during the depression I learned all kinds of songs about hobos and bums; also cowboy songs. My favorite radio shows were Jack Benny—loved his humor—Fred Allen, and Fibber Magee. I got in trouble for skipping catechism one Saturday to see my favorite movie, Ben Hur—the silent film version. Loved the excitement and the chariot race. Thanksgiving and Christmas were my favorite times of the year because of the family gatherings and dinners. KAHUNA: Did you enjoy school? FUZZ: About as much as most boys do, I suppose. After the fact I wished I would have studied harder because I missed a lot that I had to learn later. However, I did enjoy everything to do with art and science. I liked to draw, and was pretty good at it too. As a young man I was paid for making signs and lettering commercial vehicles. I could do any form of calligraphy and letter styles. Later I also made toys for my boys which were better than anything you could buy. KAHUNA: Did you experience personal trauma growing up? FUZZ: The depression was hard, and had to wear patched clothing, but since we owned restaurants had plenty to eat. Many people practically starved. I got yellow jaundice and had to miss so much school that I had to repeat eighth grade. Also, I broke my collar bone playing high school football. As a young adult I caught on fire and nearly lost my life. I rolled in some empty salt sacks to put out the flames. KAHUNA: Besides football were you interested in other sports? FUZZ: I also played basketball and tennis. My buddies and I swam all the time, but there were no pools, just damned-up creeks, lakes, and gravel pits. With a pool cue I was a magician. Even in high school I could beat any man or boy in the surrounding community in snooker, three-cushion billiards, and straight billiards. Sometimes an out-of-towner would make a trip just to play me. We preferred those games to pool, which seemed too easy. Later, I did pretty well in bowling leagues using a two-finger ball. I bet you never saw one of those. KAHUNA: What technologies that came along during your time had the biggest impact? FUZZ: That’s easy; electricity. Before then homes either used kerosene lamps, like we did, or had natural gas piped in for lighting and cooking. The problems with gas lines were that they leaked causing asphyxiation and fires. Then there was the phonograph; we had an old Edison player that used cylindrical records. Radio was fantastic, and of course much later, television came along. I was probably about four the first time I saw a train, but didn’t ride on one until I was a grown man. KAHUNA: I guess travel changed a lot as well. FUZZ: Yes, it was either horse-and-buggy, automobile, bus, or train. Commercial flying was very rare meaning average folks did very little traveling; probably less than 100 miles from where they were born. However, much later in life when it came to air travel, as a businessman I had it much better than most. My company owned four multiengine passengers planes. We traveled in style and according to our own schedule. KAHUNA: How about the automobiles of your youth? FUZZ: Not many had them. My grandpa—Dad’s father—bought a brand new 1921 Chevrolet. Driving was a challenge with terrible roads and unreliable tires. I learned to drive a Ford Model-T when I was 10 years old. You had to manipulate three pedals on the floor. Two years later Dad bought a new Buick, which was supposed to be used to drive Mom, her sister, brother, and my grandmother two states away to visit her old home. About that time Dad got sick and was taken to the Mayo Clinic; so at 12-years-old I drove everyone to Illinois. I lost track of the number of flat tires along the way. KAHUNA: You drove all that way with no driver’s license? FUZZ: At the time there was no such thing as a driver’s license and no age limitation. When licenses were brought into law all you had to do was go sign-up for them and pay a small fee. I forget how much. To be continued… Copyright by Gene Myers, author of AFTER HOURS: ADVENTURES OF AN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESSMAN (2009), Strategic Publishing Group, New York, NY – a hilarious account of the author’s overseas travels; and SONGS FROM LATTYS GROVE (2010), PublishAmerica, Fredericksburg, MD - a mildly sinister, but amusing work of fiction. Both are available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and available in Amazon Kindle and Nook formats. Watch for SALT HIS TAIL, a catch-me-if-you can crime thriller.
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