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SMOKERS MUST BE WEALTHY PEOPLE
Everyone knows that I am not a man of great wealth. The fact that I worked for 43 years for AT&T will tell you that I am not a man of considerable means. But nonetheless I smoked cigarettes for 16 years, starting at age 16. Finally I quit smoking cigarettes or, as my father put…
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WARM WEATHER
During my enlistment in the United States Army, it was my fortune to wind up spending an inordinate time with the forces of the British Empire. I did not care much for the big shots such as Jumbo Wilson, he being of the rank of general or admiral. On the other hand, I tended to…
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A RIBALD HYMN
As most of you probably know by this time, my enlistment with the American Army resulted in my spending a great deal of time with the British. Specifically, it was to fly combat support for the valiant efforts of the British Eighth Army. From time to time, the troopers from the British Eighth Army sang…
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GUY D’
As most of you know, I worked for the AT&T Company for a long time. During the last seven or eight years, my duties were with what was then called the Overseas Department. Basically this had to do with telecommunications outside of the United States. It was an assignment that brought a great personal satisfaction. …
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SICK CALL
Anyone who wishes to extol the virtues of medicine as practiced by the United States Army is clearly out of his mind. This encompasses active military service as well as the Veterans Administration. My experience of a little bit more than three years in the American Army would seem to suggest very vociferously that anyone…
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REMARKS TO MRS. BRIBER’S FOURTH GRADE CLASS, GLENWOOD SCHOOL
All things considered, I was born in the year of 1922. I had nothing to do with the date that I was born. Those questions were settled by my parents. As it turns out, I was born the seventh child to a family who tended to the fortunes of the Lilac Roost Farm. It was…
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MURDER IN MISSISSIPPI
As it so happens, I finished my glorious career in the Army of the United States, not the United States Army, in the great state of Mississippi. I use that title, “the great state of Mississippi,” because it is always used by politicians. In August of 1945, I had returned to this country after 28…
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ENHANCED VULGARITIES AND/OR DO AMERICANS REALLY TALK LIKE THIS?
In an effort to be as straight forward as possible, I will admit at the beginning of this essay that the George Bush administration made it known to all Americans that enhancement had taken on a more sinister meaning. When the Bushies talked about enhanced interrogation, they were really talking about torture. This essay has…
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THE GIs
In the summer of 1942, I enlisted in the American Army. When I took the oath to become a soldier, automatically I became a GI. The term GI means Government Issue. The uniforms that we wore, for example, were Government Issue. There was no such thing as buying a fancy uniform to serve. The covers…
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GETTING KISSED
As soon as I could after the war, I returned to work for the AT&T Corporation in St. Louis. It may not have been the wisest move I ever made but Congress had passed a law that provided that those of us who had worked in industry prior to military service should be reinstated. AT&T…